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From the College of Natural Sciences
Daniel J Oppenheimer

Daniel J Oppenheimer

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Dan was publications editor for the College of Natural Sciences from 2006-2013. He is now communications manager for the Hogg Foundation for Mental Health.

College & Campus

First-Year Jessica Gardea

For Jessica Gardea, the first few months of college have included a few surprises. One surprise was how difficult some of her classes have been. “Classes were pretty shocking at first,” says Gardea, who ranked third in her class of 600 at Franklin High School in El Paso. “I wasn’t quite as prepared as I thought I was. I’m getting the hang of thing...younger Jessica
Physics

The Dance of Quantum States

Topology is the branch of mathematics that tells you that a donut and a coffee cup are the same type of thing. They are topologically equivalent because they each have one handle, and you can continuously distort the shape of a donut into a coffee cup without changing the number of handles. Greg Fiete, an assistant professor of physics, was rece...Mug_and_Torus_morph
College & Campus

Young Scientists Recognized by President Obama

AUSTIN, Texas--Three scientists in the College of Natural Sciences are among the 2009 recipients of Presidential Early Career Awards for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE), the highest honor bestowed by the United States government on young professionals in the early stages of their independent research careers. The recipients are: Christopher...
Integrative Biology

Science High

Devan Fay Gartman, Crockett High School Class of 2009, amongst the fish tanks of Hans Hofmann's laboratory. When Hans Hofmann, an assistant professor of integrative biology, agreed to take on some interns from a local Austin high school, he imagined that he was doing them a favor. What he didn’t imagine was that both of the students from Crocke...Devan Fay Gartman, Crockett High School Class of 2009, amongst the fish tanks of Hans Hofmann's laboratory.
Integrative Biology

Learning to Hear

Neurobiologist Nace Golding studies the development of auditory neurons (one of which is pictured below) after the onset of hearing. The human ability to know roughly where in space a sound is coming from is so integral to our experience of the world that it’s basically invisible. A friend calls out our name, and we turn to the left, or turn to ...Neurobiologist Nace Golding studies the development of auditory neurons (one of which is pictured below) after the onset of hearing.
Chemistry

Natural Sciences Students Create Endowment for Fellow Students

The Natural Sciences Council (NSC) will become one of the only student organizations in the history of The University of Texas at Austin to create an endowment to support scholarships for undergraduates. The NSC, which acts as a liaison between undergraduates in the College of Natural Sciences and its faculty and administration, are setting up th...nsc logo
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College & Campus

HHPO wins first annual College of Natural Sciences Service Award

For its work conducting health screenings in the Hispanic and African-American communities in east Austin, the Hispanic Health Professions Organization (HHPO) has been awarded the first annual College of Natural Sciences Service Award. “Their work really shows how students can take what UT affords them and bring it back to the Austin community,” s...HHPO-Photo
Marine Science

Metacommunity Organizer

Marine scientist Pablo Munguia uses pen shells to study the effects of habitat destruction on metacommunities. In order to understand how habitat destruction affects different kinds of species and communities, ecologist Pablo Munguia begins simply. Munguia hops over the side of a small boat into the northern Gulf Coast waters. He takes a dead p...pablo munguia
Computer Science

Virtual Schizophrenia

Uli Grasemann and Risto Miikkulainen aren’t the first computer scientists to use neural network systems to model what might be going on inside a schizophrenic brain. They’ve had an advantage, however, that others have lacked. Their neural network system, DISCERN, can understand and produce natural language. Working with Ralph Hoffman, a psychiatri...
College & Campus

Two Natural Sciences Students Named Goldwater Scholars

AUSTIN, Texas — Lynne Chantranupong and Sean Simmons, undergraduates in the College of Natural Sciences at The University of Texas at Austin, are among the 278 students nationally who have been named Goldwater Scholars for the 2009-2010 academic year. The scholarships are awarded annually to outstanding second- and third-year college students enro...