Mickey McCabe named UT Arlington Research Institute executive director

ARLINGTON, Texas, Sept. 3, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The University of Texas at Arlington announces that Mickey McCabe, vice president for research at the University of Dayton in Ohio and executive director of the University of Dayton Research Institute, has been appointed executive director of the UT Arlington Research Institute in Fort Worth.

McCabe, an expert in aerospace and composite materials, has led the UD Research Institute since 1999. He is credited with forging innovative partnerships with business and industry and leveraging state and federal funds to more than double annual sponsored research activity at the nationally ranked, private university.

This summer, UD announced a $20 million Innovation Center in partnership with Emerson Climate Technologies. The previous year, UD announced a $51 million partnership with GE Aviation to create EPISCenter, or the Electrical Power Integrated Systems Center, where researchers simulate and test complete electrical power systems in airplanes. Both companies have located their research centers on the University of Dayton campus.

At UT Arlington, McCabe will lead the University's research and development unit and its research teams consisting of faculty, professional staff, and students who specialize in applying cutting-edge technologies to real-world engineering problems. UTARI's current work is focused on advanced robotics, medical technologies and product engineering, including micro- and nano-manufacturing. Walmart recently partnered with UTARI to build a robotic small motors assembly and testing system that would cut the manufacturing costs of goods that were formerly built overseas.

"Dr. McCabe has been responsible for attracting an average of $90 million in research projects over the past three years to the University of Dayton, and he has fostered strategic partnerships with industry giants that have had an enormous economic impact on the region and the state," said UT Arlington President Vistasp Karbhari said. "We know that he can achieve similar results at UT Arlington in the heart of the dynamic North Texas economy."

McCabe will join UT Arlington in mid-October. He succeeds retired Lt. Gen. Rick Lynch, who had served as UTARI executive director since April 2012.

McCabe said the UT Arlington Research Institute "is positioned to become a global leader in technology-based economic development given the talented and experienced faculty and researchers who are already in place at UT Arlington and in its Research Institute."

"All the ingredients are there and the potential of the organization is amazing," McCabe said. "We are going to let people know that we are committed to excellence and have the talent and ability to make real contributions to business, industry and government agencies.

"As we craft a strategic approach to the next five years, we will concentrate on regional businesses and industry, along with the traditional federal research opportunities, to grow UTARI's presence in the Dallas-Fort Worth region. We will focus on turning technology into economic outcomes for the region and on increasing our ability to be a resource to our community, our state and our nation."

McCabe holds a doctorate in chemistry and master's in business administration from the University of Cincinnati. His research expertise is in the areas of polymers, fibers and composite systems including organic matrix composites, ceramic matrix composites and carbon/carbon materials.

McCabe is the sole inventor on U.S. Patent #4,661,336 concerning the production of carbon fibers. He was named a Fellow in the Society for the Advancement of Materials and Process Engineering in 2002.

McCabe served as chair of the Board of Governors for the University Clean Energy Alliance of Ohio from 2008 to 2010. He also is a member of the board of trustees for the National Composites Center in Kettering, Ohio, and serves on the board of governors of the Ohio Aerospace Institute and on the board of directors for CityWide Corp. in Dayton.

At the University of Dayton, McCabe focused the University's Research Institute on high-performance materials; fuels and energy; sensors and electro-optics; and bioscience and bioengineering.

Before joining the University of Dayton, McCabe spent 17 years in the composite materials industry, including six years at General Electric Aircraft Engines in Cincinnati.

About UT Arlington 
The University of Texas at Arlington is a comprehensive research institution with a global enrollment of about 38,000 students and the second largest institution in The University of Texas System. The Chronicle of Higher Education ranked UT Arlington as the seventh fastest-growing public research university in 2013. U.S. News & World Report ranks UT Arlington fifth in the nation for undergraduate diversity. Visit www.uta.edu to learn more. Follow #UTAdna on Twitter.

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SOURCE The University of Texas at Arlington