Thursday, Nov 07, 2024 • Brian Lopez : contact

After his strenuous service in the Marine Corps, Tim Eastep (’23 MS, ’21 BS, Bioengineering) now finds it challenging to walk or stand for long periods.

“Every step, I feel it in my knees,” he said. I can’t even think of playing sports or doing much physical exercise because I would have to deal with pain for days.”

Eastep, a veteran pursuing his doctorate in bioengineering at The University of Texas at Arlington, founded T7 Biotech, a research and development company aimed at building devices to reduce the stress and strain on military members' bodies. With his company, Eastep is also developing a medicine that could increase bone density to prevent other service members from going through what he has.

“The amount of equipment we carry on us and the missions we handle take a toll on your body,” Eastep said. “In general, an infantry job will have someone carrying at least 40 pounds. That just destroys the joints. Humans naturally experience bone loss, so for us veterans, that is accelerated.”

Eastep said he pursued a doctorate because he wanted to do something to give back to his fellow servicemen. UTA provided the perfect blend of being a prestigious Carnegie R-1 research university and consistently a top school nationwide for veterans.

UTA has long been a leader in supporting military students and their family members. About 4,200 military-connected students attend, including 2,000 veterans and about 2,200 children and spouses of military members. UTA was ranked the nation’s top public university and No. 2 overall on the 2023 Military Times Best for Vets: Colleges list and named a top 10 Military-Friendly School for the past two years.

Additionally, this past September, UTA was one of just 24 public colleges and universities to be honored with a 2024 Veteran Education Excellence Recognition Award by the Texas Veterans Commission. For its efforts, UTA was placed at the gold level.

“Recognizing our veterans is important, and I firmly believe I have to give back to them and those still in service,” Eastep said. “It’s also vital for our veterans to know there is an abundance of resources available to them to pursue higher education.”

For example, UTA’s Military and Veteran Services assisted Eastep with his military paperwork so he could focus on school. It offered him the tools and resources to achieve his dream of giving back to the service men and women.

“Getting my benefits and services has been a breeze with the help I’ve received at UTA,” he said. “They’ve done much of the heavy lifting, and now I am on my way to completing my doctoral degree.”

About The University of Texas at Arlington (UTA)

Located in the heart of the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, The University of Texas at Arlington is a comprehensive teaching, research, and public service institution dedicated to the advancement of knowledge through scholarship and creative work. With an enrollment of approximately 41,000 students, UT Arlington is the second-largest institution in the UT System. UTA’s combination of outstanding academics and innovative research contributes to its designation as a Carnegie R-1 “Very High Research Activity” institution, a significant milestone of excellence. The University is designated as a Hispanic Serving-Institution and an Asian American Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institution by the U.S. Department of Education and has earned the Seal of Excelencia for its commitment to accelerating Latino student success. The University ranks as the No. 1 national public university in the U.S. for veterans (Military Times, 2024), No. 4 in Texas for advancing social mobility (U.S. News & World Report, 2025), and No. 6 in the United States for its undergraduate ethnic diversity (U.S. News & World Report, 2025). UT Arlington’s approximately 270,000 alumni occupy leadership positions at many of the 21 Fortune 500 companies headquartered in North Texas and contribute to the University’s $28.8 billion annual economic impact on Texas.