The Hill Prizes Committee

Hill Prizes

The Hill Prizes, funded by Lyda Hill Philanthropies, recognize and advance top Texas innovators and researchers whose work could have significant impact on science and society. Broad in scope, the Hill Prizes will fund both high-risk, high-reward research and ideas and innovations that demonstrate very significant potential for real-world impact.

The Hill Prizes have five categories: Medicine, Engineering, Biological Sciences, Physical Sciences and Technology. The Medicine, Engineering, Biological Sciences and Physical Sciences prizes will be given to researchers at academic and medical institutions. The Hill Prize in Technology will be given to individuals in the private sector in applied sciences and engineering. The selection committee is patterned after the O’Donnell Awards Committee, with five subcommittees with three to five members each.

Each prize recipient’s institution or organization will receive $500,000 in direct funding from Lyda Hill Philanthropies to accelerate their work. Prize recipients will be announced and recognized on February 5, 2024, at the opening reception of the TAMEST 2024 Annual Conference in Austin, Texas.

Hill Prizes Committee Members

Professor; David Allen Cockrell Chair in Engineering, Cockrell Family Regents Chair in Engineering #7

David E. Daniel, Ph.D. (NAE)
Hill Prizes Committee Chair
President Emeritus, The University of Texas at Dallas
Past President, TAMEST

Medicine

Malcolm K. Brenner, M.D., Ph.D. (NAM)
Professor, Center for Cell and Gene Therapy
Baylor College of Medicine

Ellen R. Gritz, Ph.D. (NAM)
Emerita Professor and Former Chair of Behavioral Science
The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center

Antonios G. Mikos, Ph.D. (NAM, NAE)
Louis Calder Professor of Bioengineering & Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
Rice University

Charles B. Nemeroff, M.D., Ph.D. (NAM)
Matthew P. Nemeroff Endowed Chair, Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences
The University of Texas at Austin Dell Medical School

Engineering

Joan Frances Brennecke, Ph.D. (NAE)
Professor and Cockrell Family Chair in Engineering #16
The University of Texas at Austin

John L. Junkins, Ph.D. (NAE)
Director, Hagler Institute for Advanced Study; Distinguished Professor of Aerospace Engineering
Texas A&M University

Linda Katehi, Ph.D. (NAE)
Professor, Electrical & Computer Engineering and Materials Science & Engineering
Texas A&M University

Kishor C. Mehta, Ph.D. (NAE)
P. W. Horn Professor of Civil Engineering
Texas Tech University

S.V. Sreenivasan, Ph.D. (NAE)
Professor; David Allen Cockrell Chair in Engineering, Cockrell Family Regents Chair in Engineering #7 
The University of Texas at Austin 

Biological Sciences

Arthur L. Beaudet, M.D. (NAM, NAS)
Professor (Retired)
Baylor College of Medicine
Luna Genetics, Inc.

Guillermina “Gigi” Lozano, Ph.D. (NAM, NAS)
Department of Genetics, Division of VP, Research
The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center

David W. Russell, Ph.D. (NAS)
Professor Emeritus
UT Southwestern Medical Center

Huda Y. Zoghbi, M.D. (NAM, NAS)
Professor, Molecular and Human Genetics
HHMI Investigator
Baylor College of Medicine

Physical Sciences

Paul C.W. Chu, Ph.D. (NAS)
Professor of Physics; T.L.L. Temple Chair of Science; Founding Director and Chief Scientist, Texas Center for Superconductivity
University of Houston

David R. Nygren, Ph.D. (NAS)
Professor, Physics
The University of Texas at Arlington

William H. Press, Ph.D. (NAS)
Leslie Surginer Endowed Professorship
Warren J. and Viola Mae Raymer Chair
Oden Institute
The University of Texas at Austin

Peter G. Wolynes, Ph.D. (NAS)
Bullard-Welch Foundation Professor of Chemistry
Professor of Physics & Astronomy
Rice University

Technology

The Honorable Gordon R. England (NAE)
Distinguished Professor
University of North Texas
Partner, Dyno-Tech

Bob Metcalfe, Ph.D. (NAE)
Professor Emeritus
Chandra Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
The University of Texas at Austin

Joseph B. Powell, Ph.D. (NAE)
Founding Director, UH Energy Transition Institute; Aspire Initiative Endowed Executive Director
University of Houston

Ann Beal Salamone (NAE)
Chairman of the Board
Rochal Industries, LLC

James J. Truchard, Ph.D. (NAE)
Co-Founder
NI

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