research guide - UTEP Magazine - University of Texas at El Paso

Shaping ideas
and creating
economic
opportunity
Materials and manufacturing are two of the most dynamic
fields of research at UTEP, where chemists and engineers are
turning smart ideas into innovative products with commercial
potential. Here are just some of their projects:
• The Materials Research and Technology Institute is creating
start-up companies to market environmentally-friendly fuel
and materials technologies developed by UTEP researchers.
• Carl W. Dirk, Ph.D., a professor of physical and organic
chemistry, has drawn the attention of the art world with a
patented light filter that protects delicate works of art from
photochemical damage.
• An electrical and computer engineering research team
recently produced a million-transistor microchip designed to
detect electrical faults in appliances.
• At the W.M. Keck Center for 3D Innovation, research groups
are developing micro-scale electronics as well as implantable
devices for tissue engineering.
• Semiconductor work is being taken to a microscopic level in
the College of Engineering’s new NanoMaterials Integration
Laboratory.
• Nanoscale research also is being conducted by Associate
Professor of Analytical Chemistry Geoffrey Saupe, Ph.D., who
is revealing new and unusual behaviors of materials at the
nanometer level.
Throughout the University, industry and government
agencies are tapping the expertise of UTEP researchers for
development of innovative solutions for real-world problems.
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