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From the College of Natural Sciences
​Faculty Member Tony Gonzalez Earns President's Associates Teaching Excellence Award

​Faculty Member Tony Gonzalez Earns President's Associates Teaching Excellence Award

Tony Gonzalez, an associate professor of practice with the College of Natural Sciences' Freshman Research Initiative (FRI), has received a President's Associates Teaching Excellence Award.

Graduating Senior David Sarabia Found Passion for Research in FRI

Graduating Senior David Sarabia Found Passion for Research in FRI

David Sarabia served as lead peer mentor for the Supra Sensors stream of the Freshman Research Initiative. He is a 2022 Graduate of Distinction.

A first-generation undergraduate student from Mexia, Texas, David Sarabia is among the seniors graduating this month. On his way to receiving his bachelor of science degree in chemistry, Sarabia participated in the Supra Sensors Research stream of the Freshman Research Initiative (FRI) and as an undergraduate researcher in Eric Anslyn's laboratory in the Department of Chemistry.

When Good RNA Turns Bad

When Good RNA Turns Bad

RNAs are molecules that carry genetic information and control and regulate virtually all processes in our cells. Though RNA is vital, certain kinds can clump together in a way that is correlated with neurological disorders such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and Huntington's disease. Biophysicist Dave Thirumalai, Collie-Welch Regents Chair in Chemistry at The University of Texas at Austin, and his team now have developed a computer model that helps explain how this occurs.

UT Austin Selected for EcoCAR EV Challenge to Make Next-Gen Vehicle

UT Austin Selected for EcoCAR EV Challenge to Make Next-Gen Vehicle

Rishab Anand, electrical and computer engineering Ph.D. student; Junmin Wang, mechanical engineering professor and faculty advisor lead; Alex Huang electrical and computer engineering professor and faculty advisor; and Xingyu Zhou, mechanical engineering Ph.D. student.

The University of Texas at Austin is one of 13 university teams in North America set to participate in the EcoCAR EV Challenge, a prestigious collegiate competition to re-engineer state-of-the-art vehicles and prepare students for the future.

Senior Uses Passion for Health Communication to Create Popular Blog

Senior Uses Passion for Health Communication to Create Popular Blog

When she first arrived at The University of Texas at Austin, biology senior Tien Nguyen found herself taken aback by the size of the school. As a first-generation college student, she was uncertain about how best to navigate college life and find an outlet for her passions and energy.

Sessler Elected to American Academy of Arts & Sciences

Sessler Elected to American Academy of Arts & Sciences

Jonathan Sessler, a professor of chemistry at The University of Texas at Austin, has been elected to the prestigious American Academy of Arts & Sciences. The Academy has been electing and engaging a cross-section of highly talented and brilliant individuals for more than 240 years.

Supernova Reveals Secrets to Texas-led Team of Astronomers

Supernova Reveals Secrets to Texas-led Team of Astronomers

Schematic of Supernova 2014C

An international group of astronomers led by Benjamin Thomas of The University of Texas at Austin has used observations from the Hobby-Eberly Telescope (HET) at the university's McDonald Observatory to unlock a puzzling mystery about a stellar explosion discovered several years ago and evolving even now. The results, published in today's issue of The Astrophysical Journal, will help astronomers better understand the process of how massive stars live and die.

NSF Awards Graduate Research Fellowships to 22 UT Natural Sciences Students

NSF Awards Graduate Research Fellowships to 22 UT Natural Sciences Students

The National Science Foundation (NSF) awards a Graduate Research Fellowship to students who plan on pursuing a research-based master's or Ph.D. program in a STEM-related field. The fellowship is awarded to exceptional individuals and will support them in elevating their research with the goal of furthering advancements that will transform the future.

Plastic-eating Enzyme Could Eliminate Billions of Tons of Landfill Waste

Plastic-eating Enzyme Could Eliminate Billions of Tons of Landfill Waste

An enzyme variant created by engineers and scientists at The University of Texas at Austin can break down environment-throttling plastics that typically take centuries to degrade in just a matter of hours to days.

Live Cell Imaging Reveals New Clues About Processes Linked to Birth Defects

Live Cell Imaging Reveals New Clues About Processes Linked to Birth Defects

John Wallingford, professor of molecular biosciences at The University of Texas at Austin, and his team used a process called live cell imaging to make observations about how a developing embryo transforms from its early ball shape into a more elongated shape with a distinct head and rear. Disruptions to this process in human embryos can lead to birth defects.