The Dallas Morning News Robert Miller column: UTD snags prestigious researchers

Aug. 19--In one fell swoop, the University of Texas at Dallas recruited outstanding researchers in three of the vanguard fields of tomorrow. That qualifies as a coup.

They are Dr. Yves Chabal, Dr. Denise Cortis Park and Dr. Russell Hulse. Here's why they are so impressive:

Dr. Chabal is one of the world's foremost authorities on semiconductor surfaces and materials and the interfaces between them -- areas that are central to developing microchips in the realm of nanotechnology.

Since nano means one-billionth, a nano future will usher in an era of miniaturization almost beyond the layperson's comprehension.

Dr. Chabal will be the first person to hold the Texas Instruments Distinguished University Chair in Nanoelectronics. There's a special relationship between the company and the school: Three TI co-founders created the Southwest Center for Advanced Studies, which morphed into UTD.

The $2 million chair was made possible by the Texas Nanoelectronics Research Superiority Initiative, a joint venture of the State of Texas Emerging Technology Fund, the University of Texas System, UTD, the University of Texas at Austin, the University of Texas at Arlington and private industry. The initiative seeks to attract the best scientists and engineers to these universities and make Texas a leader in nanoelectronics research.

The new chair is a permanent endowment for UTD's Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science, and Dr. Chabal will lead its materials science and engineering program.

The chair is the first at UTD in nanoelectronics, a multi-disciplinary area that includes materials, processes and devices for the electronics, defense, automotive, aerospace and energy industries.

Dr. Chabal most recently served as director of the Laboratory for Surface Modification at Rutgers University, where he also had appointments in the departments of chemistry and chemical biology, biomedical engineering, and physics and astronomy.

Before that, Dr. Chabal spent 22 years at Bell Labs at Murray Hill in New Jersey.

He received his bachelor's degree in physics from Princeton and his doctorate in physics from Cornell.

"Dr. Chabal will add tremendous expertise to the nanoelectronics research activity at UT Dallas, and we would not have been able to attract someone of his stature without the support made possible by the Texas Nanoelectronics Research Superiority Initiative," said Dr. Bruce Gnade, UTD vice president for research.

Dr. Park, a leading scientist in the rapidly expanding field of cognitive research in the aging, will become the T. Boone Pickens Distinguished Chair in Clinical Brain Science in January.

The $2 million endowed chair is part of UTD's School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences, headed by Dr. Bert Moore.

Dr. Park will also hold the title of Regents' Research Scholar and work closely with researchers in UTD's Center for BrainHealth, headed by Dr. Sandra Bond Chapman.

Dr. Park's areas of interest include the neuroscience of memory and aging as well as how cultural differences may affect patterns of neural activation.

She is particularly interested in whether stimulating cognitive and social experiences can enhance brain function in older adults.

The addition of Dr. Park "will fortify the university's already renowned programs in our School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences and our Center for BrainHealth," said UTD President David E. Daniel.

Dr. Park comes from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, where she was a professor of psychology and director of the Center for Healthy Minds. She was also a faculty member in the university's Beckman Institute, under the cognitive neuroscience group.

"Opportunities for new discoveries in the field of brain health abound," Dr. Park said. "I am interested in not only understanding how the mind changes with age, but what techniques and interventions we can use to delay the process of cognitive aging and maintain brain health over the life span. I believe my new position at UT Dallas offers the resources for further breakthroughs."

"I have no doubt that Dr. Park's insightful studies will aid in improving the cognitive function of humans as they age," Dr. Moore said. "Her talent and enthusiasm are contagious, and I look forward to working closely with her."

Dr. Park received her bachelor's degree in psychology from Albion College in Michigan and her doctorate from the State University of New York at Albany.

She is the first person named to the T. Boone Pickens Distinguished Chair in Clinical Brain Science.

Earlier this year, Mr. Pickens donated $5 million to UTD with the goal of broadening and extending clinical studies in brain science at the Center for BrainHealth.

The Regents' Research Scholar is a distinction given by the UT System to highly productive and distinguished faculty. The award provides funds to outfit labs and pay for other start-up expenses.

Dr. Hulse, a co-recipient of the 1993 Nobel Prize in physics, became Regental Professor and associate vice president for strategic initiatives at UTD on July 1.

Since January 2004, he has been splitting his time between UTD and Princeton University's Plasma Physics Laboratory.

He will devote his energies at UTD to a major challenge of tomorrow -- furthering science and math education among our youth, from kindergarten through college, augmented by $1 million from the UT System Science and Technology Acquisition and Retention Program.

He will continue his collaboration with the Dallas Museum of Nature and Science toward that same end.

Dr. Hulse will also work closely with university officials to plan a science education building at UTD.

His Nobel Prize resulted from his discovery of a binary pulsar -- two pulsars (thought to be neutron stars) that rotate around one another.

They offer a way of proving some aspects of Einstein's Theory of General Relativity.

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