Ram Dantu, director of UNT's Center for Information and Cyber Security and professor in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering, was named DCEO’s Dallas 500 list for his effort and dedication to technology and cybersecurity.

The list recognizes the top 500 influential business leaders from 60 categories in North Texas who help to advance the Dallas-Fort Worth economy. This is Dantu’s second time on the list.

“It is an incredible honor to be listed to the Dallas 500, and I am deeply humbled to have been selected,” said Dantu. “Cybersecurity is such an important arena for us to explore and understand, and I am excited to be at the forefront of such an stimulating field.”

Dantu is the founding director of the Network Security Laboratory at UNT, which was created to study problems and issues related to next-generation networks. He also serves as the director of the Center for Information and Cyber Security, which coordinates joint research projects to advance the knowledge and field of computer security.

This past year, Dantu, along with other faculty within the department, launched new bachelor’s and master’s programs in cybersecurity. He also received four new grants from the National Security Agency to help solve cybersecurity issues in healthcare and academia.

Dantu holds 25 patents and has published more than 200 research papers.

Other UNT finalists included UNT President Neal Smatresk and Marilyn Wiley, dean of the UNT G. Brint Ryan College of Business.