TAMEST Member News Roundup – February 2024
TAMEST loves to share the accolades of our membership. If you have been nominated for an award, been interviewed by the media or otherwise have a reason to celebrate, please share your news with TAMEST.
TAMEST In The News
The Franklin Institute: Franklin Institute Awards Class of 2024 Announced, TAMEST Members Bob Metcalfe, Ph.D. (NAE), The University of Texas at Austin and Lisa T. Su, Ph.D. (NAE), AMD
UT News: UT Designates 2024 ‘The Year of AI’, TAMEST 2024 Annual Conference Co-Chair and TAMEST Member Karen E. Willcox, Ph.D. (NAE), The University of Texas at Austin
D Magazine: Winners Revealed: The Innovation Awards 2024, Hill Prizes Funder Lyda Hill Philanthropies
National Inventors Hall of Fame: 15 Innovators to be Inducted as the National Inventors Hall of Fame Class of 2024, TAMEST Member and Nobel Laureate James P. Allison, Ph.D. (NAM, NAS), The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
Innovation Map: Rice University Launches $12.5M Climate Tech Accelerator, TAMEST Member Reginald DesRoches, Ph.D. (NAE), Rice University
Texas Public Radio: Science & Medicine: The Avanzando Caminos Hispanic Cancer Survivor Study, TAMEST Member Amelie G. Ramirez, Dr.P.H. (NAM), UT Health San Antonio
The Daily Texan: UT Professors Awarded $500,000 for Scientific Research, 2024 Hill Prize Recipient in Engineering Recipient Maria A. Croyle, Ph.D., and 2024 Hill Prize in Physical Sciences and TAMEST Member Allan H. MacDonald, Ph.D. (NAS), The University of Texas at Austin
The Dallas Morning News: Lyda Hill Philanthropies, Academy Grant $2.5M to Texas Researchers, 2024 Hill Prize in Biological Sciences Recipient and TAMEST Member Russell A. DeBose-Boyd, Ph.D. (NAS), UT Southwestern Medical Center
Heath Day: A ‘Universal’ COVID Vaccine Could Save Billions if Another Pandemic Strikes, TAMEST Member Peter J. Hotez, M.D., Ph.D. (NAM), Baylor College of Medicine
Mind Matters: Are Good Ideas Hard to Find?, TAMEST Member Roberta B. Ness, M.D. (NAM), UTHealth Houston
Rio Grande Guardian: UTRGV Hosts Engineers Week 2024 to Boost a Diverse and Vigorous Engineering Workforce, The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley
UTEP News: UTEP Celebrates Advanced Manufacturing and Aerospace Center Construction Milestone, The University of Texas at El Paso
Member Briefs
TAMEST Mourns the Loss of Beloved TAMEST Members Allen J. Bard, Ph.D. (NAS), The University of Texas at Austin and Jonathan W. Uhr, M.D. (NAS), UT Southwestern Medical Center
TAMEST mourns the loss of beloved TAMEST Members Allen J. Bard, Ph.D. (NAS), The University of Texas at Austin and Jonathan W. Uhr, M.D. (NAS), UT Southwestern Medical Center. Dr. Bard was known as the ‘father of modern electrochemistry’ and was instrumental in providing inspiration during the past 20 years at TAMEST and nearly 65 years at UT Austin. Learn more about Dr. Bard’s legacy. Dr. Uhr was a renowned immunologist known for his success commercializing cancer detection techniques and his groundbreaking discoveries that have expanded our understanding of cancer and immunity. We cherish Dr. Uhr’s time and devotion mentoring students and recruiting faculty to UT Southwestern and his work building a world class department as Chair of Microbiology. Learn more about Dr. Uhr’s legacy.
Texas A&M to Host National Academy of Engineering Regional Meeting and Symposium
Emerging technologies in space and time travel. The influence of science fiction on technological evolution. Challenges engineers will face as these technologies progress. These topics and more will be discussed at the 2024 National Academy of Engineering Regional Meeting and Symposium: Space and Time. Registration is now open for this year’s symposium, which will be hosted at Texas A&M University on April 2, 2024. Students and faculty from all disciplines are invited to attend all sessions, lunch and a post-symposium reception. Read More
George T. Ligler Appointed to National Acadmies Oversight Committee
TAMEST Member George T. Ligler, D.Phil. (NAE), Texas A&M University, has been appointed to serve as a member of the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine’s Division on Engineering and Physical Sciences (DEPS) Committee — an entity that oversees 11 boards in the engineering and physical science areas. Read More
Digging into the AI Data
TAMEST 2020 Edith and Peter O’Donnell Award in Science Recipient Alessandra Corsi, Ph.D., Texas Tech University, has taken on a collaborative research project that focuses on data science but with application to her research bailiwick of multi-messenger astronomy. Dr. Corsi is part of a team that recently received a $10 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy aimed at employing artificial intelligence to protect and share centralized data without violating proprietary standards that typically safeguard such sensitive information. Read More
Texas Children’s: Hugo J. Bellen Named Recipient of the 2024 Gruber Genetics Prize
The Gruber Foundation at Yale University has named eminent geneticist, TAMEST Member Hugo J. Bellen, Ph.D. (NAS), Baylor College of Medicine, as the recipient of the 2024 Gruber Genetics Prize. This prize honors Dr. Bellen’s varied and deeply impactful contributions to genetics research that range from identifying underlying mechanisms for many fundamental biological processes to how disruptions in these pathways lead to rare and common brain disorders and finally, to finding new ways to diagnose and treat these conditions. Read More
UT Dallas Engineers, Scientists Strengthen Teamwork with Physicians
Seven researchers from The University of Texas at Dallas are moving their labs from Richardson to the new Texas Instruments Biomedical Engineering and Sciences Building on UT Southwestern’s East Campus in Dallas. The $120 million, 150,000-square-foot facility, containing labs, classrooms and a Biodesign Center, and was made possible by a transformative gift from Texas Instruments, support from the Permanent University Fund of the UT System and additional philanthropic donations including Lyda Hill Philanthropies. To date, The University of Texas at Dallas faculty members have worked on 163 projects in collaboration with UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers. Read More
RRC Begins Planning and Oversight with Newly Established Texas Hydrogen Production Policy Council
Hydrogen will soon become a vital component in the expansion of the energy industry in Texas, providing greater energy production and further boost the economy with job creation. After House Bill 2847 was passed by the 88th Legislature, The Texas Hydrogen Production Policy Council, (TxH2 Council) was established within the Railroad Commission and clarifies the agency’s regulatory jurisdiction over hydrogen pipelines and underground storage facilities. Among the council members is TAMEST Member Brian A. Korgel, Ph.D. (NAE), The University of Texas at Austin. Read More
Gulf Research Program Announces Newest Cohorts of Early-Career Research Fellows in Offshore Energy Safety and Education Research
The Gulf Research Program (GRP) of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine announced its 2023-2025 cohorts of Early-Career Research Fellows in the Offshore Energy Safety and Education Research tracks. Included are fellows from Texas Tech University and University of Houston. Read More
David Zuckerman Receives the NAS Michael and Sheila Held Prize
The National Academy of Sciences will honor University of Texas at Austin computer scientist David Zuckerman with the Michael and Sheila Held Prize at its annual meeting on April 28. Given annually since 2018, the Held Prize recognizes “outstanding, innovative, creative and influential research in the areas of combinatorial and discrete optimization, or related parts of computer science.” Read More
