Dr. Lu Liang (pictured third from right) and her research team are testing whether there's a correlation between heat and air pollution in urban areas with the help of citizen scientists who are installing small air quality sensors at their homes, businesses, and schools to collect data. Dr. Liang, assistant professor in the Department of Geography and the Environment, received a $400,000 National Science Foundation grant to deploy a low-cost sensor network throughout Denton County. The sensors measure particulate matter, and the data will be available to researchers and citizens through an online map that shows air quality changes wherever the sensors are installed throughout the country. Some of the sensors will provide data for a collaborative project between UNT's Advanced Environmental Research Institute and the City of Lewisville to create a new park in support of the city's initiative to ensure every resident has a park within a 10-minute walk of where they live.

Our faculty consistently earn awards and acclaim for their professional excellence and dedication to teaching, research, and service. Cornelius "Neil" Foote Jr. (pictured), a principal lecturer in the Mayborn School of Journalism, recently was named a member of the National Association of Black Journalists Hall of Fame and will be inducted during a virtual awards ceremony Dec. 4. Earlier this week, we celebrated a remarkable career milestone for Chemistry Professor Dr. Bill Acree, who had his 1,000th work accepted for publication. Nearly half of Dr. Acree's published articles have been co-authored by graduate, undergraduate, and high school students that he has mentored over the years. His dedication to collaboration and student engagement epitomizes what makes a UNT education. I also want to call attention to three faculty recipients of the prestigious U.S. Fulbright Scholar Program. Dave Meder, assistant professor of jazz piano, will travel to Egypt to explore and refine his teaching methodology of jazz improvisation with students at the Cairo Conservatoire. UNT's 2020 Fulbright recipients — Dr. Shobhana Chelliah, Distinguished Professor of linguistics and associate dean of research and development in the College of Information, will complete her Fulbright-Nehru fellowship in India, and Julie Leventhal, principal lecturer in UNT's Honors College, will head to the University of Bucharest in Romania. Congratulations to everyone on their tremendous accomplishments!