News

​Four faculty members from the University of Texas at Austin's College of Natural Sciences have received 2018 Sloan Research Fellowships, which honor outstanding early-career scientists in eight fields.

Researchers from across the world are coming to Austin this week for one of the most important scientific gatherings of the year — the 2018 AAAS (American Association for the Advancement of Science) Annual Meeting. Among them are some remarkable undergraduate students from The University of Texas at Austin who will be presenting original research at the conference.

Two UT Austin College of Natural Sciences faculty members have been named 2018 Cottrell Scholars by the Research Corporation for Science Advancement (RCSA). This marks only the third time that a university has received two awards in the same year since they were first given in 1994.

When Samantha Pliego started her freshman year at the University of Texas at Austin in the College of Natural Sciences, things went well. Mostly.

"I did struggle in that first biology class," said Pliego, who is now a sophomore.

It wasn't just the super blue blood moon. From a major science event downtown to a STEM festival for girls to Explore UT, this year brings a rare alignment of science-centric events to Austin. The College of Natural Sciences is encouraging everyone to get out and enjoy some science in the weeks ahead.

The STEM fields – science, technology, engineering and math – have real work to do in terms of diversity. Right now, women make up only about 30 percent of the STEM workforce – and people identifying as black or Hispanic make up just 11 percent.

There's good news for anyone in our College of Natural Sciences community who has put "communicate better about my work" on their list of New Year's resolutions for 2018. UT Austin and others here in Central Texas have several resources and upcoming opportunities to hone your science communication skills. And with the American Association for the Advancement of Science annual meeting coming February 15-19 to Austin for the first time, it's the perfect excuse to brush up.

The American Association for the Advancement of Science—the organization that publishes the journal Science and holds the world's largest multidisciplinary scientific conference—is coming to Austin. The 2018 AAAS Annual Meeting offers many ways for the Texas Science community to get involved.

It's been a busy year for scientists and researchers at the College of Natural Sciences. Discoveries, findings, advancements and technology developed right here made news around the world. Here are just a few of the top science stories of 2017.

Three University of Texas at Austin professors have been chosen by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute to join the ranks of a select group of world-class scientist educators known as HHMI Professors. They will receive a combined $2.5 million to support their ongoing efforts to improve undergraduate education. UT Austin is the only institution to have three awardees among this year's 14 winners, selected from more than 200 applicants across the country.

Xiaoqin Elaine Li, associate professor in the Department of Physics, is one of two UT Austin recipients of the 2018 Edith and Peter O'Donnell Award in Science from The Academy of Medicine, Engineering and Science of Texas (TAMEST).

UT Austin alumna Lynne Chantranupong —currently a postdoctoral research fellow in neurobiology at Harvard Medical School—was named as one of the inaugural Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) 2017 Hanna H. Gray Fellows. HHMI is an early-career science award providing up to $1.4 million in financial support, mentoring, and active involvement within the HHMI community during early postdoctoral training through several years of a tenure-track faculty position.

Four University of Texas at Austin faculty members, including two based in the College of Natural Sciences, have been named fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the world's largest general scientific society. This year's AAAS fellows will be inducted at a ceremony during the AAAS Annual Meeting, which is scheduled to take place for the first time in Austin in February.

The University of Texas at Austin ranked No. 11 among all U.S. institutions (academic and nonacademic) and No. 10 among U.S. universities for publication of scientific research, according to the latest report from the Nature Index.

Students and researchers are stepping out of lab and onto the stage, building up their skills as science communicators using a perhaps surprising tool: improv theater.