TAMEST Member News Roundup – October 2026

TAMEST In The News

AMD: AMD CEO Lisa Su Receives National Medal of Science, TAMEST Member Lisa T. Su, Ph.D. (NAE), AMD

Bioengineer: Dense Polymer Membranes Hide Interconnected Nanopore Networks, Scientists Find, TAMEST Member and TAMEST 2027 Annual Conference Speaker Menachem Elimelech, Ph.D. (NAE), Rice University 

Earth: Why Is Autism More Common in Boys? A Single DNA Letter Offers a Clue, TAMEST Member and Nobel and Breakthrough Prize Laureates Committee Member Huda Y. Zoghbi, M.D. (NAM, NAS), Baylor College of Medicine

Center Times Plus: Taking a Closer Look at Biomolecular Condensates, TAMEST Member Michael K. Rosen, Ph.D. (NAS), UT Southwestern Medical Center

The Daily Texan: The University of Texas at Austin Hosts National Engineering Symposium, TAMEST Member and TAMEST 2024 Annual Conference Co-Chair Karen E. Willcox, Ph.D. (NAE), The University of Texas at Austin

Texas A&M Stories: DNA’s ‘Molecular Sunscreen’ Offers Clues to Life’s Origins, TAMEST Member Peter M. Rentzepis, Ph.D. (NAS), Texas A&M University

CW33: Lyda Hill Receives 2026 Pride of Texas Award at State Fair of Texas, 2025 Kay Bailey Hutchison Distinguished Service Award Recipient Lyda Hill and Lyda Hill Philanthropies

Houston Chronicle (Subscription Required): Texas’ Space Industry Is Booming. Now It Needs the Workers to Build It, TAMEST Member and Rice University Executive Vice President for Research David Scott Sholl, Ph.D. (NAE)

Medical Xpress: Artificial Intelligence and Fruit Fly Tests Link BRSK1 Gene to Rare Neurodevelopmental Disorder, TAMEST Member Hugo J. Bellen, D.V.M., Ph.D. (NAS), Baylor College of Medicine

Cancer Letter: Two Gulf Coast Cancer Center Directors on Why NCI Designation Matters — And Why They Want It, 2026 Hill Prize in Medicine Recipient Raghu Kalluri, M.D., Ph.D., The University of Texas Medical Branch

Yahoo News: UT Austin Is Building More Than a Hospital. It’s Building AI Into Health Care, The University of Texas at Austin

Texas Public Radio: Space Hardware Built in San Antonio at SwRI Will Soon Take Measurements on Mercury, Southwest Research Institute (SwRI)

Member Briefs

Chronic Disease Affects All of Us. Science Is Rising to the Challenge

Chronic disease is among the greatest health challenges of our time. On October 19, the National Academy of Medicine’s Annual Meeting Scientific Symposium, “Harnessing Science, Prevention and Innovation in Chronic Disease,” brought together experts across science, medicine, public health, policy and other fields to discuss why these diseases develop and how they can be better managed or prevented altogether. In this interview, Symposium Chair and TAMEST Past President Brendan Lee, M.D., Ph.D. (NAM), Baylor College of Medicine, explains why the time is right for a new approach to chronic disease. Read More

National Academy of Engineering Annual Meeting Celebrates 250 Years of Engineering Innovation

For 250 years, engineering has helped shape the United States, from the infrastructure that connects communities to technologies that transform how people live and work. The National Academy of Engineering highlighted this history at its 2026 Annual Meeting, held October 4-5 in Washington, D.C. The meeting centered on the theme “Engineering America: Building on 250 Years of Impact” and convened engineering leaders to reflect on engineering’s contributions to the nation, explore the innovations shaping its future and celebrate the induction of 158 new members. TAMEST Member and O’Donnell Awards Committee Chair Frances S. Ligler, D.Sc., D.Phil. (NAE), Texas A&M University, served on the meeting’s planning committee. TAMEST Members Bonnie J. Dunbar, Ph.D. (NAE) and Thomas J. Overbye, Ph.D. (NAE), Texas A&M University, served as section chairs. Read More

Rice University Convenes Statewide Scientific Leadership to Build Momentum at the Inaugural Texas Materials Consortium

Rice University’s Department of Materials Science and NanoEngineering convened academic leaders, department chairs and researchers from across the state for the inaugural Texas Materials Consortium. The landmark gathering, inspired by successful collaborative models like TAMEST (Texas Academy of Medicine, Engineering, Science and Technology), establishes a unified statewide strategy to drive advanced research, leverage state-of-the-art infrastructure and secure large-scale collaborative funding across Texas institutions. “Texas has extraordinary strength in materials science and engineering, but we have not previously had a statewide forum dedicated to bringing that collective expertise together,” said TAMEST Member Karen Lozano, Ph.D. (NAE), Rice University. Read More

Hagler Institute Names 10 Fellows and 1 Distinguished Lecturer to 2026-27 Class

The Hagler Institute for Advanced Study at Texas A&M University has selected 11 accomplished scholars for its 2026-27 class, which will consist of 10 Fellows and one Distinguished Lecturer. All Hagler Fellows and Distinguished Lecturers are recognized for outstanding achievements in their fields and are members of the National Academies or hold recognitions of equal stature. “We welcome this 15th class of 11 stellar scholars. They represent the highest level of excellence,” said TAMEST Member John L. Junkins, Ph.D. (NAE), Founding Director of the Hagler Institute at Texas A&M University. Read More

UTSW Spinoff Receives $2.6 Million CPRIT Grant to Develop Novel Cancer Immunotherapy

MusiQ Bio, a startup built to advance an anticancer technology from UT Southwestern Medical Center, has received a $2.59 million grant from the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT) to develop treatments that boost the immune system’s fight against cancer. Sina Khorsandi, Ph.D., and Jacques Lux, Ph.D., and their colleagues reasoned that microbubbles could deliver cGAMP, which was discovered by TAMEST Member Zhijian “James” Chen, Ph.D. (NAM, NAS, FRS), UT Southwestern Medical Center, to immune cells called antigen-presenting cells, activating the STING pathway to stimulate cancer-fighting T cells. Read More

Rice University Researchers Develop New Way to Quickly Recycle Electronic Waste

Many electronic devices use flame-retardant plastic as casing in order to reduce the risk of electrical fires. This plastic is formulated using a metal called antimony along with organic bromide compounds. About 39% of the world’s antimony is used to create flame-retardant plastics, most of which will eventually end up as part of the tens of millions of tons of electronic waste generated each year. TAMEST Member James M. Tour, Ph.D. (NAE), Rice University, recently published a study in Nature Chemical Engineering detailing an improved method to recover antimony from this electronic waste stream. Read More

Catherine Y. Spong Named Associate Dean of Clinical Research

TAMEST Member Catherine Y. Spong, M.D. (NAM), has been named Associate Dean of Clinical Research at UT Southwestern Medical Center, transitioning from her role as Chair of Obstetrics and Gynecology to a broader institutional leadership position. A leading clinical investigator with deep experience in multicenter trials and translating evidence into practice, Dr. Spong will work with Eric Peterson, M.D., Vice Provost and Senior Associate Dean for Clinical Research, to elevate UT Southwestern as a national hub for clinical research. Read More

UT San Antonio School of Dentistry Co-Leads NIH-Funded Center That May Provide an Alternative to Root Canal Procedures

The National Dental Practice Training Center, funded with nearly $2 million from the NIH, is exploring an alternative to root canals: a pulpotomy, which removes only inflamed tissue and could be done more often in general dental practices. “As an endodontist, I know how much it means to a patient to stop the pain and keep their natural tooth,” said TAMEST 2025 Hill Prize in Medicine Recipient Kenneth M. Hargreaves, D.D.S., Ph.D., UT San Antonio. “This alternative approach may help general dentists and endodontists offer it safely to the right patients.” Read More

Texas A&M University to Prepare Space Force Leaders Through 2036

Texas A&M University will help prepare officers to lead U.S. military operations in space for the next decade, giving the university a central role in developing leaders for one of the nation’s most consequential national security missions. The U.S. Space Force has chosen Texas A&M University to continue hosting its Captains Leadership Course through 2036. Beginning in fiscal year 2027, the four-week resident program will instruct up to seven cohorts of 60 students each, serving as many as 420 Guardians annually. Read More

Gulf Research Program Welcomes Eight New Early-Career Research Fellows Building Community Resilience

The Gulf Research Program (GRP) of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine announced its 2026-2028 cohort of Early-Career Research Fellows in the Community Resilience track, including early-career researchers from Texas A&M University and University of Houston. The eight fellows from various disciplines will be working to identify how climate-related stressors — such as heat, flooding and pollution — affect human health, community resilience and regional economies. Read More