The Center for Space and Data Science launched in fall of 2025 and since is launching a degree program and new labs are being developed.
The mission of the center is to enhance UTA’s research capability and collaboration internally and externally, Yue Deng, distinguished professor and director of the center, said. Deng said that the idea for the center came to her years ago with the desire to help younger faculty succeed and grow.
This center was funded by the National Science Foundation’s Faculty Development in GeoSpace Science project, which awarded $1.5 million in 2024 and supported the development of the center and the hiring of new professors.
The center is also supported by multiple funding agencies, such as NASA and U.S. Air Force projects, and gains $3 million a year in grant funding and $450 million in proposed state support.
Deng said they are working to build an instrument laboratory, a computational laboratory and a new synergy laboratory in Science Hall through the center and are in the communication phase of building a new observatory at UTA West. She said she hopes the labs will be done in two years.
“We want to have an observatory,” she said. “Then students, no matter, you know, K-12 students, graduate, undergraduate, can have a tour to our observatory and can have hands-on experience with our instruments as well.”
UTA has been a leading school in space physics education and research, according to a UTA press release. This expansion aims to take them into the top five and further strengthen UTA’s position as a leader in the space science community, Deng said in the press release.
“The center will prepare students for success in the space workforce and position UTA to make a meaningful impact on the space industry in Texas and beyond,“ said Morteza Khaledi, College of Science dean, in the press release.
With 16 to 20 new faculty members, the center will provide students with a more rounded fast-track physics master’s program focusing on space simulation, space instrumentation, astrophysics, data science, aerospace engineering and physics education.
The center is also launching undergraduate and graduate degrees in space physics and data science, designed to give students the skills required by the space workforce.
The degree program will hopefully be available for students to register in fall 2026 or spring 2027, Deng said in an email.
The goal is not only to bring UTA closer to the space industry but also to provide students with a solid foundation of knowledge, connections and job opportunities, Deng said.
“We look at ourselves as a bridge between student and the space companies. So we want to connect them together. We want to prepare a student [to be] ready for the next space era, and also bring them or connect them with our space industry down the road,” she said.
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