RICHARDSON , Texas (Oct. 19, 2004) – National Instruments (NI) has awarded the Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science at the University of Texas at Dallas (UTD) a three-year, $150,000 grant to establish a premier signal and image processing program using National Instruments LabVIEW software.
Award recipients Dr. Nasser Kehtarnavaz and Dr. Issa Panahi, both faculty members in the Jonsson School’s Department of Electrical Engineering, will utilize the software in teaching and research projects to bring hands-on learning and innovative design techniques into the classroom.
Dr. Nasser Kehtarnavaz 
Dr. Issa Panahi
“The unique graphical development paradigm of NI LabVIEW will allow our students to design more complex signal processing systems in a fraction of the time when compared to previously used text-based programming languages,” said Kehtarnavaz, professor of electrical engineering and director of the Signal and Image Processing Laboratory at UTD.
“As a result of this award, UTD students will gain experience with the latest software tools for signal analysis and system design, giving them a significant competitive advantage in their professional careers,” added Panahi, assistant professor of electrical engineering.
The award brings with it some matching funds from the Jonsson School, bringing the total amount of funding for the initiative to $225,000.
LabVIEW is a graphical development environment that provides an intuitive and powerful way to acquire, analyze and present data. National Instruments, based in Austin, is a technology pioneer and leader in virtual instrumentation – a revolutionary concept that has changed the way engineers and scientists approach measurement, automation, control and system design.
About UTD
The University of Texas at Dallas, located at the convergence of Richardson, Plano and Dallas in the heart of the complex of major multinational technology corporations known as the Telecom Corridor®, enrolls more than 14,000 students. The school’s freshman class traditionally stands at the forefront of Texas state universities in terms of average SAT scores. The university offers a broad assortment of bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degree programs. For additional information about UTD, please visit the university’s web site at www.utdallas.edu.