• From left: Dr. Mark Spong, dean of the Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science, Steve Lyle, director of university and engineering workforce development programs at Texas Instruments, Dr. Hobson Wildenthal, executive vice president and provost of UT Dallas, and Steve Anderson, senior vice president and general manager of TI’s analog business, mark the opening of the new TI Innovation Lab at the University.

Dr. Roozbeh Jafari recently explained how an electrode-studded glove worn by a student communicating through sign language translated her motions into words on a computer screen. Eventually, the technology developed by Jafari and his students could be used to help the hearing impaired communicate in a whole new way. 

Jafari, associate professor of electrical engineering, and the students demonstrated their work at the official opening of the new Texas Instruments Innovation Lab at UT Dallas, a facility for both student and faculty engineers and computer scientists to build electronic and electromechanical solutions to a variety of engineering problems. 

About 100 students, faculty, employees and officials from Texas Instruments and UT Dallas gathered to celebrate the company’s creation of the 1,100-square-foot innovation lab. 

UTD shares TI’s passion for turning ambitious dreams into realities, and we are thrilled to support them in their efforts to provide their students with the kind of hands-on engineering education that it takes to create the next generation of engineers and Tiers.

Stephen A. Anderson,
senior vice president and general manager of Texas Instruments’ analog business

“Our ties to UT Dallas run deep and our partnership dates back to the school’s inception and a shared vision by TI’s founders more than 50 years ago,” said Stephen A. Anderson, senior vice president and general manager of TI’s analog business. “They knew that we needed a partner in innovation here in North Texas that would help us make our area a destination for PhD-level engineering talent.” 

It was the founders of TI, Cecil H. Green, J. Erik Jonsson and Eugene McDermott, who identified a need to develop highly educated resources in the Dallas area and envisioned an institution that would foster learning and further research. In 1961, they established a research center that later became The University of Texas at Dallas. 

“UTD shares TI’s passion for turning ambitious dreams into realities, and we are thrilled to support them in their efforts to provide their students with the kind of hands-on engineering education that it takes to create the next generation of engineers and TIers,” Anderson said. 

The TI lab is within the UTDesign Studio. It will be used for academic classes, student projects and workshops taught by TI staff. The TI workshops will focus on how to design well-rounded products that account for reliability, cost savings, product size and harsh environments. 

“TI’s partnership with UTD is a true, deep mark that we’re doing things right at this University because this great company is tying in with us more and more in a mutually beneficial relationship,” said Dr. Hobson Wildenthal, executive vice president and provost of UT Dallas. 

Students like Kristen Villemez, a senior in electrical engineering, will benefit from the company’s generous gift. Villemez completed two internships at TI and will start working as a product engineer there this summer after her graduation from the University.

 “The innovation lab’s hands-on applications will really complement perfectly the program’s existing curriculum,” she said. 

The lab will be open to students to work both collaboratively and independently on research for their products. 

“We couldn’t do much of what we do without the generosity, support, advice and collaboration of TI,” said Dr. Mark W. Spong, dean of the Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science.