LIBRARY INNOVATION

UNT JOINS ELITE GROUP OF RESEARCH LIBRARIES

IN U.S. AND CANADA

The University of North Texas Libraries became a member of the Association of Research Libraries (ARL) effective Jan. 1.

ARL is a nonprofit made up of research libraries and archives in Canada and the U.S. with a mission “to create a trusted, equitable and inclusive research and learning ecosystem and prepare library leaders to advance this work in strategic partnership with member libraries and other organizations worldwide.”

ARL members voted to invite UNT into the association during its fall meeting in Washington, D.C.

The ARL Membership Committee noted UNT’s designation as a Tier One research university and Hispanic-Serving Institution as well as its commitment to multiple initiatives supporting system-wide expansion of diversity, equity, inclusion and access.

As the most-used service on campus and an essential component of education and research at UNT, the Libraries offer access to more than six million print and digital items along with programs, support services and expert personnel to assist patrons with their academic and scholarly goals.

UNT is the 128th member organization for ARL. Other members include libraries at Johns Hopkins, Harvard and Yale universities as well as the U.S. Library of Congress and National Archives and Records Administration.

“We have been successful in supporting learning, research and digital collections in a culture of innovation and inclusivity,” says UNT Libraries Dean Diane Bruxvoort. “Membership in ARL allows us to now take our initiatives to the next level as we gain new opportunities to collaborate.”

Crop Policy Framework

Richard Dixon, a Distinguished Research Professor Emeritus of Biological Sciences and founding director of UNT’s BioDiscovery Institute, was among an interdisciplinary committee of researchers hoping to spur governments to rethink regulations on genetically engineered crops.

Dixon coauthored a paper published in Science, which outlines possible options for a policy overhaul that would bring more consistency and scientifc merit to safety standards across the world and put more emphasis on regulating the product rather than the methods used to genetically engineer crops.

Troughout his career, Dixon has made signifcant contributions to plant science, especially in better understanding how molecules are made within plants and the implications that has for agriculture and human health. UNT celebrated his career and retirement during the Plant Biochemistry Symposium in October.

FUNGAL-DERIVED MEDS

Researchers in UNT’s BioDiscovery Institute secured a $1.4 million grant from the W. M. Keck Foundation to explore the potential to cultivate fungal-derived pharmaceuticals like penicillin in plant hosts for more accessible and environmentally sustainable medicine.

Tis study will establish a new concept for producing valuable fungal products and may lead to medicines that can be delivered in plant seeds.

“What we’re thinking longterm is that if plants can store medicines in seeds, you eat the seeds, and the medicine is already contained. You don’t have all these factories, and you don’t need any chemicals,” says Elizabeth Skellam, assistant professor of chemistry. Skellam is leading the research team that includes Kent Chapman, director of the UNT BioDiscovery Institute, Ana Paula Alonso, associate professor of biological sciences, and Michael Carroll, professor and director of UNT’s Economics Research Group.

BIO-BASED SOLUTIONS

College of Science faculty member Calvin Henard (above) earned a $1 million grant from the National Science Foundation and the Agile BioFoundry, a consortium of national laboratories committed to accelerating biomanufacturing. His work will further research to develop a methanotroph that can mitigate greenhouse gas emissions by eating carbon dioxide and methane. Specifcally, the project will create more advanced genetic tools that will reduce the genetic modifcation time of methanotrophs from months to a matter of weeks.

Te research proposal was one of only six selected nationwide for this inaugural funding opportunity. Te research is part of UNT’s BioDiscovery Institute, which includes an interdisciplinary team of researchers focused on creating innovative bio-based solutions to create a sustainable bio-based economy.

Stormwater Control

Lauren Ames Fischer, associate professor in public administration, is part of a team that received a National Science Foundation CIVIC 2022 Stage 1 Planning Grant to address urban water sustainability challenges.

Te collaboration with Texas A&M AgriLife and Te Nature Conservancy addresses urban fooding and the concern that traditional food control systems are less efective under climate change. Te project’s initial phase collaborates with the City of Denton to create and pilot solutions that can be adapted for the Dallas-Fort Worth area and beyond.

Members of the group say that nature-based stormwater solutions can be an efective strategy for food resilience, but are more successful when aligned with community needs.

Tis project aims to educate stakeholders on the benefts of Blue-Green Infrastructure (BGI) – a globally recognized nature-based alternative to traditional stormwater infrastruc- ture – and develop a Community Green Asset Management (CGAM) tool that augments existing asset management software used by municipalities to manage and identify sustainable infrastructure solutions.

“Infrastructure planning and management has evolved considerably in the past few decades to accommodate shifting climate conditions, but it remains difcult for many local governments to strategically integrate nature-based and sustainable solutions into current practices,” Fischer says. “Tis project targets known barriers to change while also prioritizing community needs and concerns using innovative engagement strategies.”

Te project will include interactive workshops to provide hands-on exposure to BGI, such as rain gardens and blue-green roofs, and to gather community feedback, address concerns and explain the benefts of the technology.

Nuclear Recycling

Engineering professor Haifeng Zhang (above) is helping advance technologies for recycling used nuclear fuel (UNF).

He earned a $2.7 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to develop a self-powered, wireless sensor that provides long-term, real-time monitoring of high-temperature molten salt density and level. Tis will enable accurate safeguarding and monitoring of the electrochemical processing of UNF.

“Tere is a lot of wasted spent fuel in the United States,” Zhang says.“More than 90% of energy remains in spent fuel rods in the form of unused fssile metals. Reprocessing is a means of using the remaining energy. If we can do that, we can improve fuel utilization as well as drastically reduce the high volume of radioactive waste that has been deposited where spent fuel is stored.”