2015 Strat Plan in Action 18Sept NEW-DEVEL

GLOBAL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
KEY INITIATIVES
1. Enhance the Shimadzu Institute for Research Technologies to
enable greater research in areas related to environmental science,
and build faculty strength in this area.
2. Establish a cross-cutting institute to enable key thrusts in water
and environmental impact.
3. Develop strengths in areas related to environmental policy.
4. Develop new programs focused on water resources, conservation,
pollution, and disaster mitigation.
5. Establish a department/school of Resource Engineering.
6. Enhanced the continuing and professional education efforts
aimed at environmental effects, regulation, and compliance.
Implemented In progress Planned
EASING WATER WORRIES
Civil engineering Associate
Professor D.J. Seo is developing
an urban water prediction system
to improve the sustainability
of large cities from extreme
weather, urbanization, and
climate change. “This is the first
system of its kind in the country,”
he says. Dr. Seo’s work is part of
UTA’s Urban Water Institute,
which transforms water-related
challenges into opportunities for
North Texas.
CORAL CONCERNS
Research by biologist Laura
Mydlarz shows that older coral
species are better able to survive
various diseases. The findings are
important because stressors like
pollution, overfishing, and
climate change have weakened
coral defenses and made some
species more susceptible to
white plague and other diseases.
The work also could help predict
what the oceans of the future will
look like.
ENVIRONMENTAL
ECONOMICS
Economics Professor Roger
Meiners researches the
legal and economic aspects of
environmental policy, property
rights, and common law and the
environment. “Experience shows
that strong property rights help
provide the incentives necessary
for people to use resources wisely,”
he says. “They increase the
likelihood that we leave a better
world for future generations.”
BOLD SOLUTIONS
GLOBAL IMPACT
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