UALR Names New Analytics Center Director

Dr. Carolina Cruz-Neira, globally recognized as an international pioneer in the areas of virtual reality and interactive visualization, is the new director of the George W. Donaghey Emerging Analytics Center (EAC) at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.

On Aug. 27, the Arkansas Research Alliance (ARA) and Gov. Mike Beebe announced her appointment as one of two new ARA Scholars who will “share their knowledge and research to create new paths for the state’s economic success,” according to a UALR press release. The first ARA scholar from UALR, Cruz is also a Donaghey Distinguished Professor in Information Science.

UALR Chancellor Joel Anderson said Cruz brings a new dimension to the EAC that will benefit UALR students, faculty, and the entire state.

“Within five to 10 years, EAC’s vision is that UALR and the Little Rock region will be among the national and international leaders in advanced visualization and interactive technologies,” Anderson said.

Prior to joining UALR, Cruz was William Hansen Hall Board of Regents Superchair in Telecommunications, Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and the founding CEO of the Louisiana Immersive Technologies Enterprise. Last year, she was asked to serve on the EAC board.

She succeeds Dr. Mary Good, who was appointed to lead the center when it opened in 2013. Good now serves as special assistant to Dr. Anderson.

The EAC was established through a $5 million gift from the George W. Donaghey Foundation to enable UALR and Arkansas to solve critical problems through research and innovation in virtual reality and interactive visualization.

Cruz’s work has received multi-million dollar awards from the National Science Foundation, the Army Research Lab, the Department of Energy, and Deere and Company, among others.

She received a Ph.D. in 1995 and a master’s degree in 1991, both in electrical engineering and computer science (ECCS) from the University of Illinois at Chicago. She graduated cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in systems engineering in 1987 from Universidad Metropolitana.

Dr. Gareth Morgan, was the other ARA scholar announced. Morgan is an internationally recognized scientist and clinician in the field of molecular genetics in blood cell cancers — in particular, multiple myeloma, a rare form of bone marrow cancer. Morgan has joined UAMS as director of the Myeloma Institute for Research and Therapy in Little Rock. His move was announced in April 2014.

Prior to joining UAMS, Morgan was at The Royal Marsden Institute NHS Foundation Trust and the Institute of Cancer Research in London, where he was a professor of hematology and director of the Centre for Myeloma Research. Morgan received his doctorate on the genetics of leukemia from the University of London and his Bachelor of Medicine from the Welsh National School of Medicine. He is a director of Myeloma UK, a respected UK patient organization, as well as a member of the Scientific Board of the International Myeloma Foundation.