Shimadzu Scientific Instruments has given $7.5 million to The University of Texas at Arlington to support its science programs. Due to the size of the donation, UTA is renaming the Institute for Research Technologies at UT Arlington the Shimadzu Institute for Research Technologies.
“This partnership promises to make North Texas a new hub of scientific discovery and innovation,” said James Spaniolo, UTA president in a statement. “The Shimadzu Institute will be a magnet for world class students and a resource for discovery across Texas and beyond.
The Institute will house $25.2 million in equipment from Shimadzu, the Maryland-based subsidiary of the Shimadzu Corp., which is headquartered in Kyoto, Japan. The company’s technology is used in medical diagnostics, aerospace and industrial endeavors, and in analytics and has worldwide sales top $3 billion annually, according to the press release.
The partnership will bring UTA some instruments that will debut in the United States for the first time. Said Shuza Maruyama, president of Shimadzu Scientific Instruments in a statement: “Our technologies enable research that improves people’s lives, and we have a great passion for preparing students to be the next generation of great scientists.”
The new Research Technologies Insitite will include the Shimadzu Center for Advanced Analytical Chemistry, which was established in 2012, and the Center for Imaging and Center for Environmental, Forensic and Material Analysis.
UT Arlington and Shimadzu began collaborating in April 2012, when Shimadzu made an in-kind gift of equipment, which was valued at roughly $3 million to establish the Shimadzu Center for Advanced Analytical Chemistry at UTA.
In November, the UT System Board of Regents allocated $7.5 million from the Permanent University Fund to help UT Arlington establish the Institute for Research Technologies in partnership with Shimadzu.
“The Shimadzu Institute for Research Technologies will allow our students to examine their world at a level they’ve only dreamed of, from using light to see how parts of the brain function together to finding environmental contaminants as small as one part per billion in a sample of drinking water,” said Pamela Jansma, dean of the UTA College of Science in a statement. “Their experiences will position them for lifelong success in critical fields.”
