SDG Observatory

Student Wellness Center

SDG 4: Quality Education

SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities

Photo Source: UTD Student Counseling Center

The UT Dallas Student Wellness Center offers a variety of services related to public health, including prevention education and health consulting. With almost 2,200 followers, the @healthycomets Instagram account provides valuable infographics related to nutrition, drug abuse, and even COVID-19 prevention. Students may email the center directly, schedule a virtual appointment, or even give the center a call to get any questions related to sexual health answered. Through the center, students may also make individual appointments with a registered dietitian to assist them with nutritional advice. Their work is essential in reducing barriers to essential health information. You can visit the Wellness Center website for a variety of additional health resources, including websites to visit and Instagram accounts to follow.

Student Health Center

SDG 4: Quality Education

SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions

Photo Source: UTD Student Health Center

The Student Health Center on campus provides individual appointments to students for their primary and preventative healthcare needs. Students who opt into paying the medical services fee with their tuition can schedule appointments with providers for no additional cost. The center is also home to a variety of other programs for students, including the After-Hours Nurse Line, Oral Health Exams through a partnership with Canyon Creek Dentistry, and the Sexual Assault Nurse Examination (S.A.N.E.). You can read more about their services or schedule an appointment through the Student Health Center website.

Workplace Health and Safety

SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth

SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities

Students outside of the Student Services Building on campus at UT Dallas

All workers, students and visitors have the right to work, visit and live in a safe and healthy environment. The department of Environmental Health and Safety promotes this concept through programs and services designed to prevent accidents and injuries on the job and as a general procedure around campus. Our department works proactively with employees to reduce occupational injuries and illnesses in the workplace by providing consultation, training, and inspections on improving the safety culture on the campus by

1. Conducting workplace inspections and safety audits for offices and observed work.
2. Consultation of unsafe construction projects and equipment.
3. Response to worker incidents about safe procedures during work hours.
4. Conducting accident investigations where the need for increased training can benefit all involved.
5. Holding necessary specific training that targets hazards like fire extinguisher training, fall protection, ladder safety, and arc safety awareness. The UTD Industrial Hygiene program focuses on anticipating, recognizing, evaluating, and controlling potential health and safety hazards; and environmental factors that may affect the health, comfort, or productivity of the campus community. Industrial Hygiene also emphasizes identifying general safety hazards and correcting of the factors that contribute to accidents and injuries.

Air North Texas

SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities

SDG 13: Climate Action

A map displaying major polluters and air quality sensors in the DFW [Dallas / Fort Worth] area from Dallas Magazine. The black dots are the polluters. The green dots are the air monitors.

With leadership from the Office of Sustainability, UT Dallas became a partner with Air North Texas. Air North Texas was formed by the North Texas Council of Governments (NCTCOG) with a goal of improving air quality in North Texas. This is accomplished through building partnerships, conducting research, and increasing public awareness of the issue. On campus, Dr. David Lary leads the students in his Applied Physics Lab in developing and deploying low-cost air sensors. These sensors utilize machine learning to collect high precision data in a cost-effective manner. They have been deployed to collect data not only at UT Dallas, but across the DFW [Dallas / Fort Worth] metroplex as well.

Read more about the Shared Air DFW monitoring system.

Geospatial Health Research Group

SDG 2: Zero Hunger

SDG 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure

Dr. Dohyeong Kim, GIS professor at UT Dallas

Led by Dr. Dohyeong Kim, the Geospatial Health Research Group is a collective of GIS professors at UT Dallas who contribute to the advancement of public health solutions. The group has worked on a variety of projects across the globe and published over 30 research articles in peer-reviewed journals. One current project funded by the National Institute of Health looks to investigate road-traffic associated morality through mobile technology in sub-Saharan Africa. In Summer of 2020, the center worked to make a local impact through applying crowdsourced data to map urban food deserts in the Dallas area.