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Alcatel Picks UTD To Help With Second Design
Project, This One for Mobile, Wireless Devices
RICHARDSON, Texas (April 7, 2003) - In another example of
the benefits of The University of Texas at Dallas' participation
in Alcatel's Research Partner Program, the global communications
network provider has selected UTD to collaborate with it on
the design and demonstration of a next-generation, wireless
Graphical User Interface (GUI) prototype for Personal Digital
Assistants (PDAs), pocket PCs and other mobile devices.
It is the second project for which Alcatel has selected UTD
- specifically, the university's new Institute for Interactive
Arts and Engineering - as its collaborative design partner.
The first involved a number of wire-based telecommunication
products.
The 11-month collaborative effort is expected to run at least
through December. Thomas E. Linehan, head of the Institute
for Interactive Arts and Engineering, and Dean Terry, assistant
professor in UTD's School of Arts and Humanities, will direct
the project; and Chip Wood, an adjunct professor at UTD and
principal of Plano-based Ignition, Inc., will serve as the
lead designer.
"We are delighted that Alcatel has selected UTD to work
on a second project, one that is important to the company,"
said Linehan, who joined UTD from The Ohio State University
15 months ago. "We intend to make sure that their confidence
in us is deserved by coming up with a design that is technologically
innovative, aesthetically pleasing and, most important, provides
a competitive advantage to both Alcatel and to the end-user."
UTD, which has had a long relationship with Alcatel, is one
of only three U.S. research organizations selected by Alcatel
for its global Research Partner Program, which was established
in the fall of 2001 to foster technological innovation through
relationships with key universities and research institutes.
The program has three components - research collaboration;
mobility, training and education; and incubation and start-up
initiatives. The research partners are part of a select group
likely to be consulted first regarding new Alcatel collaborative
research topics.
"The Alcatel collaboration with Tom Linehan of the UTD
Institute for Interactive Arts and Engineering during 2002
was very useful and provided several innovative ideas for
the design of graphical interfaces for use in the next generation
communications services," said Rajiv Shah, who is the
vice president of Reseach and Network Strategy at Alcatel.
"The perspective, talents, skills and experience provided
by the UTD Institute are very complementary to the engineering
design and development expertise available at the Alcatel
Research and Innovation group in Plano. This year we hope
to get similar innovative contributions in the design of multimodal
user interfaces for new telecommunications applications and
services."
UTD's Institute for Interactive Arts and Engineering was
established to provide students with an opportunity to learn
about interactive advancements in the fields of communication,
entertainment, education and training, as well as in scientific
and medical applications. As part of their studies, students,
along with faculty, are charged with inventing new pathways
for the converging disciplines and fields.
The Institute is a collaborative, inter-disciplinary effort
by two of UTD's seven schools: the School of Arts and Humanities
and the Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science.
About Alcatel
Alcatel provides end-to-end communications solutions, enabling
carriers, service providers and enterprises to deliver content
to any type of user, anywhere in the world. Leveraging its
long-term leadership in telecommunications network equipment
as well as its expertise in applications and network services,
Alcatel enables its customers to focus on optimizing their
service offerings and revenue streams. With sales of EURO
16.5 billion in 2002, Alcatel operates in more than 130 countries.
For more information, http://www.alcatel.com.
About UTD
The University of Texas at Dallas, located at the convergence
of Richardson, Plano and Dallas in the heart of the complex
of major multinational technology corporations known as the
Telecom Corridor®, enrolls more than 13,000 students.
The school's freshman class traditionally stands at the forefront
of Texas state universities in terms of average SAT scores.
The university offers a broad assortment of bachelor's, master's
and doctoral degree programs. For additional information about
UTD, please visit the university's Web site at http://www.utdallas.edu/.
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