UNT Research, Volume 18, 2009 Page: 6

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DISCOVERY PARK
DEVELOPS INTO ECONOMIC
ENGINE FOR TEXAS
When research meets entrepreneurship,
the economy grows and communities ben-
efit. To inspire growth within the Texas
economy, the University of North Texas
is developing a 290-acre research park
located about 4 miles from its campus in
Denton, where nearly 35,000 students are
working to build their futures.
Fully developed, Discovery Park will
be home to an array of laboratories, cen-
ters and offices dedicated to research and
development. It also will house incubator
space and companies resulting from the
development of prototypes and research
and development activities. And, it could
be home to corporate headquarters for
companies seeking partnership with uni-
versity talent. To support this activity, the
park may feature food, recreation, confer-
ence center and childcare facilities.
"The park will provide its future part-
ners with access to the intellectual talent of

the university's faculty and students, who
conduct both basic and applied research,"
says Harold Strong, who became director
of Discovery Park and technology transfer
in fall 2008 after leaving Texas A&M's
research park to join the UNT research
team. "Through the commercialization of
research, the U.S. economy will grow, and
through active, forward-looking research
and development, the United States will
remain competitive in the global market-
place."
Today, Discovery Park is home to
UNT's College of Engineering and
College of Information, Library Science
and Technologies, as well as several
research laboratories and centers, including
the federally funded Center for Advanced
Research and Technology and Institute for
Science and Engineering Simulation (see
back cover).
Professors from engineering, biology,
physics and chemistry use CART's 28
cutting-edge instruments to test and ana-
lyze materials from the micro to atomic

Discovery Park, UNT's nearly 290-acre research
ldcility, is home to an array of laboratories and
centers, including the federally funded Center
for Advanced Research and Technology and the
Institute for Science and Engineering Simulation.
level. Researchers work across disciplines
and with colleagues at other universities,
at corporations and in the government to
develop and improve technology. In addi-
tion to the faculty who rely on CART,
nearly 100 students have been trained to
use the equipment.
Establishing the center, which was cre-
ated in 2004 and has received $15 million
in federal funds, was a critical first phase
in the development of Discovery Park. The
center has attracted outstanding faculty,
researchers and students to UNT.
To ensure that CART and other
research centers within the park expand,
Strong was hired to lead the strategic
development of the park by providing clear
guidelines for the physical development of
the 290 acres, the efficient protection and
transfer of intellectual property, and the
support of incubation opportunities.
"UNT is a thriving university in one
of the nation's largest metropolitan areas,"
Strong says. "We have a significant array
of faculty and student talent and are poised
to partner with established corporations
and start-up companies seeking research
and development opportunities."
Importantly, the research and devel-
opment-focused partnerships at the park
will provide UNT students with relevant
hands-on laboratory experience, while
simultaneously helping to grow the econ-
omy in Denton and throughout Texas.
Today, UNT is poised to become an
even stronger partner in the growth of
the Texas and U.S. economies. And the
university will do more than ever before to
help meet society's most pressing needs.

6 j SPRING 2009 UNr RESEARCH

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