TAMEST Member News Roundup – January 2023
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 Dallas Morning News: Maria Elena Bottazzi and Peter Hotez Named the 2022 Dallas Morning News Texans of the Year, TAMEST Member Peter Hotez, Ph.D. (NAM) and 2020 Protégé Maria Elena Bottazzi, Ph.D., Baylor College of Medicine
Dallas Innovates: UT Southwestern Team’s Gene Editing Battles 1-in-250 Heart Condition, TAMEST Member Eric Olsen, Ph.D. (NAM, NAS), UT Southwestern Medical Center
KSAT-12 News: University Health Leads the Nation in Living Donor Kidney Transplants for Children, TAMEST Member Francisco Cigarroa M.D. (NAM), UT Health San Antonio
Tech Explorist: A Novel Immunotherapy Combination as a Possible Treatment for Pancreatic Cancer, TAMEST Member Ronald A. DePinho, M.D. (NAM, NAS), The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News: Drug Targets Discovered for Alzheimer’s Disease and Other Tauopathies, TAMEST Member Huda Y. Zoghbi, M.D. (NAM, NAS), Baylor College of Medicine
Member Briefs
TAMEST Mourns Loss of Cherished Member H. Norman Abramson, Ph.D. (NAE)
TAMEST mourns the loss of cherished member H. Norman Abramson, Ph.D. (NAE), Retired Executive Vice President, Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) and Professor of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Texas at San Antonio. Dr. Abramson was dedicated throughout his career to mentoring and nurturing the next generation of researchers. He was passionate about highlighting the work of industry members in TAMEST and was the driving force behind the creation of the Edith and Peter O’Donnell Award in Technology Innovation. His extensive service to TAMEST included terms on the Edith and Peter O’Donnell Awards Committee and Finance Committee. He made a great impact on TAMEST and our research community and will be dearly missed. Read More
J.N. Reddy Elected to Multiple International Academies
Three prestigious organizations recognized TAMEST Member J.N. Reddy, Ph.D. (NAE), Texas A&M University, for his outstanding and continued contributions to the field of engineering and science. Dr. Reddy’s recent recognitions include his elections as a fellow of the Spanish Royal Academy of Engineering, as an honorary member of the European Academy of Sciences and member of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts. Read More
Three TAMEST Members Receive Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Medals
Three TAMEST members have won prestigious honors in the 2023 IEEE Awards. TAMEST Members Lydia Kavraki, Ph.D. (NAM), Rice University, Rebecca Richards-Kortum, Ph.D. (NAE, NAS), Rice Universityand James J. Truchard, Ph.D. (NAE), National Instruments, are all recipients of the 2023 IEEE Medals in recognition of their “exceptional achievements and outstanding contributions [that] have made a lasting impact on technology, society and the engineering profession,” according to the organization. Read More
National Academy of Engineering Member Joe Powell Named Director of UH Energy Transition Institute
The University of Houston has named TAMEST Member Joseph Powell, Ph.D. (NAE), Former Chief Scientist for Shell, as the founding director of the new UH Energy Transition Institute. Powell’s recruitment to the University was funded by a matching grant from the Governor’s University Research Initiative (GURI) aimed at helping Texas public institutions of higher education recruit distinguished researchers from around the world to the state. Read More
2023 Edith and Peter O’Donnell Award Recipient Jamie Padgett Named NSF BRITE Fellow
2023 Edith and Peter O’Donnell Award in Engineering Recipient Jamie Padgett, Ph.D., the Stanley C. Moore Professor in Engineering and chair of Rice University’s Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, is one of five United States researchers to be named a National Science Foundation (NSF) BRITE Fellow. BRITE stands for Boosting Research Ideas for Transformative and Equitable Advances in Engineering. Padgett will receive a five-year, $1 million grant. Read More
Antonios Mikos wins Jensen Tissue Engineering Award
TAMEST Member Antonios Mikos, Ph.D. (NAM, NAE), Rice University, will receive the 2023 Jensen Tissue Engineering Award, the highest award of the Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine International Society (TERMIS) to a scientist anywhere in the world for “sustained scientific contributions, translational impact towards clinical realization and professional distinction in the field of tissue engineering and regenerative medicine.” Read More
Sigma Xi Recognizes UTSA Biomedical Engineer Rena Bizios
TAMEST Member Rena Bizios, Ph.D. (NAM, NAE), The University of Texas at San Antonio, was honored by Sigma Xi, the international scientific honor society of science and engineering, with the William Proctor Prize for Scientific Achievement. This award recognizes visionaries who have made outstanding contributions to scientific research and successfully shared their research with colleagues in other disciplines. Read More
Texas A&M Dean Roderic Pettigrew Inspires Development of a Powerful New MRI by Siemens Healthineers
A scanner that could see coronary or vascular diseases before they cause a heart attack or stroke, for example, or identify prostate cancer in its earliest stage before a biopsy is done could help maintain health and wellbeing throughout a lifespan. This was the “brainchild” of TAMEST Member Roderic Pettigrew, M.D., Ph.D. (NAM, NAE), Texas A&M Health, Texas A&M University & Houston Methodist, whose proposal to “push the limits of MRI performance physics to the furthest point allowed by safe execution in the whole body” persuaded Siemens Healthineers to undertake the challenge. Read More
Salud America! Looks for Pledges to Complete CDC’s Project Firstline Training, Activities
Pledge to Complete CDC’s Project Firstline Training, Activities! Infection control saves lives by stopping the spread of disease, and frontline healthcare workers play a critical role. This is why frontline healthcare providers can publicly pledge to take training through the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention’s Project Firstline program, in collaboration with Salud America! at TAMEST Member Institution UT Health San Antonio and the National Hispanic Medical Association. Trainings cover topics for all types of healthcare workers. Modules also offer continuing medical education (CME) credit. Read More
