TAMEST Member News Roundup – September 2025
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
Fort Worth Star-Telegram: UT Arlington Researchers See Opportunity to Innovate as AI Devours Energy Resources, TAMEST Member Dereje Agonafer, Ph.D. (NAE), The University of Texas at Arlington
Dallas Morning News: (Subscription Required): Opinion: Texas is a Leader in Flood Research, but More Coordination is Needed, TAMEST Member David R. Maidment, Ph.D. (NAE), The University of Texas at Austin
Tech Xplore: Improving the Novel RoboBall: From Sea to Space, this Robot is on a Roll, TAMEST Member Robert O. Ambrose, Ph.D. (NAE), Texas A&M University
The Boss: Meet Dr. Samuel Achilefu, Inventor of Cancer Vision Goggles, TAMEST Member Samuel Achilefu, Ph.D. (NAM, NAE), UT Southwestern Medical Center
Texas Public Radio: Science & Medicine: Eat Your Pain Away, 2025 Hill Prize in Medicine Recipient Kenneth M. Hargreaves, D.D.S., Ph.D., UT San Antonio
Neurology Live: How Circadian Clock Regulation Can Potentially Influence Headache, TAMEST Member Joseph S. Takahashi, Ph.D. (NAM, NAS), UT Southwestern Medical Center
Dallas Innovates: NIH Taps UT Southwestern Medical Center for $23M North Texas Alzheimer’s Disease Research Hub, UT Southwestern Medical Center, The University of Texas at Arlington and The University of Texas at Dallas
San Antonio Express News (Subscription Required): San Antonio Research Hub Finds New Moon Orbiting Uranus, Southwest Research Institute
Member Briefs
Three TAMEST members from UT Southwestern Medical Center are being honored with prestigious national awards for their scientific achievements: Zhijian “James” Chen, Ph.D. (NAM, NAS, FRS), has been awarded the 2026 Elaine Redding Brinster Prize in Science or Medicine; Steven L. McKnight, Ph.D. (NAM, NAS), has been awarded the Albert Lasker Basic Medical Research Award; and Eric N. Olson, Ph.D. (NAM, NAS), has been awarded the 2025 Louisa Gross Horwitz Prize.
Ganesh Thakur, George Wong Receive More Than $1M for Rigorous Reservoir Simulation, Statistical Analysis
A pair of professors in the Petroleum Engineering Department of the Cullen College of Engineering at the University of Houston have received four Ocean Energy Safety Institute (OESI) grants totaling $1.1 million for work on reservoirs and analysis of past efforts to effectively produce high impact deepwater Gulf of America (GoA) reservoirs. The Principal Investigators for the projects will be TAMEST Board President Ganesh C. Thakur, Ph.D. (NAE), and George K. Wong, Ph.D. Read More
International Award Named for UT Arlington’s Marion Ball
A global health informatics award now bears the name of TAMEST Member Marion J. Ball, Ed.D. (NAM), a distinguished professor at The University of Texas at Arlington whose career has shaped the field for decades. The International Medical Informatics Association (IMIA) created the Marion Ball Leadership Award this year to recognize individuals who demonstrate exceptional vision and impact in health informatics. Read More
Kim Orth, Margaret Phillips Honored with ASBMB Awards
Two TAMEST members are being honored with national awards from the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (ASBMB). TAMEST Board Secretary Kim Orth, Ph.D. (NAM), UT Southwestern Medical Center, will receive the 2026 Earl and Thressa Stadtman Distinguished Scientist Award, which is given every two years and recognizes researchers whose work has made a lasting impact on the fields of biochemistry and molecular biology. TAMEST Member Margaret Phillips, Ph.D. (NAS), UT Southwestern Medical Center, will be awarded the 2026 Alice and C.C. Wang Award in Molecular Parasitology for her significant contributions to advancing the understanding of parasitic diseases. Read More
Innovator Joins UT Dallas to Advance Integrated Circuit Simulation
TAMEST Member Ronald A. Rohrer, Ph.D. (NAE), an inventor recognized for pioneering simulation technology for integrated circuit design, joined The University of Texas at Dallas on June 1. Dr. Rohrer is UT Dallas’ first faculty member to be supported by the Governor’s University Research Initiative (GURI), a Texas program that recruits distinguished researchers and provides matching grants of up to $5 million paid on a cost-reimbursement basis. Read More
Webinar: What You Should Know about Your Amazing Liver
UT San Antonio’s webinar, “What You Should Know about Your Amazing Liver,” at 11 a.m. Central on Wednesday, Oct. 8, 2025, will cover the latest in liver health issues and solutions. This webinar will feature TAMEST Member Amelie G. Ramirez, Dr.P.H. (NAM), along with expert panelists from Mays Cancer Center, UT San Antonio, Texas Liver Institute, Genentech, and more to explore the state of liver health in South Texas. Read More
Faster, Smarter, Energy-Efficient Sensors with New Digital Twin
From drones to security systems, a team of researchers at Texas A&M University, including TAMEST Member Linda Katehi, Ph.D. (NAE), is reimagining how future technologies sense and process the world around them. With a new National Science Foundation grant, they are creating advanced digital twins of intelligent computer chips that could revolutionize how devices gather and use information. Read More
The Engines of John Lienhard’s Ingenuity
TAMEST Member John H. Lienhard IV, Ph.D. (NAE), University of Houston, has left an indelible legacy on our understanding of how engineering and creativity converge. Dr. Lienhard is not only a world-renowned professor emeritus of mechanical engineering but also the mind behind one of the most inspiring and enduring public radio programs in Houston history. Read More
Leif Andersson Honored for His Genetic Breakthroughs
TAMEST Member Leif Andersson, Ph.D. (NAS), Texas A&M University, received the Finish Society of Sciences and Letters’ Grand Prize award for his research in animal genetics. Specifically, this honor is known as Professor E.J. Nyström’s Prize 2025. The award was presented to Dr. Andersson for his outstanding scientific achievements. Read More
The Future of AI is Human: Rice, Baylor College of Medicine to Lead Center for Humanities-based Health AI Innovation
The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) has selected Rice University and Baylor College of Medicine to establish the Center for Humanities-based Health AI Innovation (CHHAIN), a pioneering initiative that will embed humanities research into the development of trustworthy health AI technologies. Read More
The Activate Fellowships for Entrepreneurial Scientists and Engineers
Activate is a premier program for scientists on a mission. The two-year fellowship provides early-stage hard tech science entrepreneurs $100K in research funding, yearly living stipends of $100K, intensive entrepreneurial training, mentorship, networking, and other benefits. Applications opened on September 9 and will close on October 28. Learn more about upcoming recruitment events and deadlines. Read More
