A federal spending package passed by Congress and signed into law in December will boost a number of infrastructure projects at The University of Texas at Dallas.
As a result of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, UT Dallas will receive more than $6.8 million to improve the North Texas semiconductor industry workforce, to enhance UTD’s wind energy research, to create a behavioral health services center and to promote small-business partnerships. Additionally, there will be $2.5 million allocated to support a rail transit hub at the UTD station on the Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) Silver Line.
“While much of this funding is considered infrastructure, the benefits to the research and educational missions of UT Dallas will be significant,” said Dr. Joseph Pancrazio, vice president for research and innovation and professor of bioengineering.
The spending package provides $3 million to develop workforce training for the region’s growing semiconductor industry through UTD’s new North Texas Semiconductor Institute, whose first initiative — the Center for Harsh Environment Semiconductors and Systems — recently opened. The institute will provide infrastructure and curriculum for job training in collaboration with community college partners and area businesses.
In North Texas, Texas Instruments (TI), Coherent and Globitech Inc. are constructing new semiconductor manufacturing plants in Sherman. The new plants, along with an expanded Richardson TI facility, are expected to boost the region’s position in the industry.
The package also provides $1.6 million for UTD’s Wind Energy Center, which develops and tests technologies to advance wind energy science and engineering.
The center, part of the Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science, plans to use the funds to create a central space for its research and activities, which are spread among different labs and offices on campus. The new facility will include places to host industry partners for collaborations and a makerspace with equipment, including 3D printers, where students can work on projects such as turbine design.
Once finished, all of the center’s offices will be in the same building as the Boundary Layer and Subsonic Tunnel, which features a 26,000-pound fan that creates wind conditions similar to those in the atmosphere for researchers to study and test the effects of wind.
“These initiatives will go a long way in supporting important research and educational programs that benefit the North Texas region.”
Dr. Joseph Pancrazio, vice president for research and innovation at UTD
The act also includes $1.5 million for the development of a Psychological Services and Education Center, which will serve as the principal training center for psychology students in clinical programs in the School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences.
Its educational programs in behavioral health will aim to address the shortage of mental health services in North Texas by graduating students prepared to enter the local mental health workforce, trained in performing in-person and telehealth clinical services.
Some $745,000 will be directed to the STartup REsearch To Capstone Honors (STRETCH) project for Small Business, which will support small businesses through mentoring, co-working facilities and student capstone projects. The effort will leverage educational and innovation programs at UTD and collaborations with the Richardson Innovation Quarter.
The STRETCH project combines a business-accelerator program, a mentoring network and business/technology capstone projects — by teams typically comprising four to six UTD seniors — for up to 30 ventures. The projects will form the foundation for small-business growth for targeted underserved populations in the city of Richardson and in Collin and Dallas counties, and will expand to other North Texas areas over time.
Also, $2.5 million was allocated for an intermodal transit hub at DART Silver Line’s UT Dallas Station. The transit hub will include on-demand transit and electric vehicle-charging and will provide riders with options for getting from the station to their destination.
“These initiatives will go a long way in supporting important research and educational programs that benefit the North Texas region. We greatly appreciate the support from Representative Colin Allred and his team to make these programs a reality,” Pancrazio said.