Texas Science

We are excited to announce the 2nd Annual Cosmic Horizons Conference hosted by the NSF-Simons AI Institute for Cosmic Origins and @thenrao.bsky.social!

We are now accepting abstract submissions for both speakers and posters!

July 13th to 16th, 2026
Charlottesville, VA
go.nrao.edu/Cosmic-Horiz...

UT Undergrad Uncovers Country-Specific Factors Linked to Improved Cancer Outcomes UT biochemistry major Milit Patel collaborated with researchers at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center on research published in a top cancer journal.

Meet Milit Patel, who got his start in the award-winning Freshman Research Initiative at UT. Now a biochem senior & statistics & data science minor, he is corresponding author on a major paper in the Annals of Oncology.

#TexasScience #CancerResearch #HappyFRIday
cns.utexas.edu/news/feature...

Photograph of Dan Jaffe in front of an image of the Giant Magellan Telescope

UT Astronomer Appointed President of Organization Building World’s Most Powerful Telescope

mcdonaldobservatory.org/news/release...

5 Questions for Vernita Gordon A 2025 University of Texas System Regents’ Outstanding Teaching Award recipient reflects on why certain approaches in the classroom create lasting impact for students.

What approaches in the classroom create lasting impact for students?

Vernita Gordon, a UT Austin physics professor who recently won a UT System Regents’ Outstanding Teaching Award, has given that a lot of thought.

#STEMEducation #TexasScience #UTAustin

Mental Health Intervention Reduces Severe Depression, Anxiety for Vulnerable Groups The study highlights the importance of care tailored to the needs of particular communities, including immigrants and people in minority populations.

Gabriela Livas, chair of UT’s Department of Human Development and Family Sciences, helped create a community health program that reduces mental health symptoms in 80% of participants, erasing clinical symptoms altogether for many.

#MentalHealthCare #TexasScience

cns.utexas.edu/news/researc...

Calling all postdocs! Applications are open for Dept. of Molecular Biosciences 3rd Trailblazers Postdoctoral Symposium @utaustin.bsky.social. Come to Austin, meet your peers, showcase your work. Application is easy and all expenses are paid! Spread the word!

tinyurl.com/yw7ffjn9

Exalton Delco: UT’s First African American Ph.D. in Zoology This article is about one of the early black Ph.D.s in Zoology at UT: Exalton Delco

We honor Dr. Exalton Delco, UT Austin’s first African American Ph.D. in Zoology, who passed last week. He studied here in the 1950s with noted ichthyologist Dr. Clark Hubbs. Learn more about his remarkable life in a 2017 interview from the Integrative Biology History Project: tinyurl.com/mwbskc4y

Public voting is now open for our 2026 Visualizing Science contest!

See this year’s entries & vote at txsci.net/2026VisSciEntries

#SciArt #ArtinScience #ScienceArt #ScientificArt #ArtandScience @texas-ib.bsky.social @utaustinchemistry.bsky.social @texasastronomy.bsky.social @utmsi.bsky.social

YouTube video by Schmidt Ocean Collaboration for Understanding | Searching for the Asgards

That’s a wrap for #AsgardArchaea expedition, w/ @archaeal.bsky.social fr @texasscience.bsky.social! In the coming months and years, this research will likely open the door to new medical breakthroughs and unlock answers to questions about the origins of complex life.

youtu.be/mgmEh_qag5E?...

That's a wrap, what an amazing expedition!

#AsgardArchaea
@schmidtocean.bsky.social
@moorefound.bsky.social
@texasscience.bsky.social
@utmsi.bsky.social

Microbiology and Mentoring: Meet Grad Student Mariangel Correa Orellana Meet a UT PhD student and Gilliam Fellowship recipient.

Meet Mariangel Correa Orellana, 3rd-year grad student & 1st UT Austin person to earn HHMI’s prestigious Gilliam Fellowship — making a difference with microbial ecology research & mentorship.

@cientificolatino.com @sacnas.bsky.social @texas-ib.bsky.social @hhmi-science.bsky.social

Want to know why UT’s Brett Baker and other scientists are seeking our microbial ancestors in the depths of the ocean? This video from Schmidt Ocean Institute does a fantastic job of explaining!

#AsgardArchaea @archaeal.bsky.social @schmidtocean.bsky.social @utaustin.bsky.social

A bunch of activity in the Falkor (too) hangar today.

Diving now....https://www.youtube.com/@SchmidtOcean

#AsgardArchaea
@schmidtocean.bsky.social
@moorefound.bsky.social
@texasscience.bsky.social
@utmsi.bsky.social

Diving deep today, 2,700m.

Live stream here youtube.com/@schmidtocea...

#Asgardarchaea
@schmidtocean.bsky.social
@moorefound.bsky.social
@texasscience.bsky.social
@utmsi.bsky.social

Microbiology and Mentoring: Meet Grad Student Mariangel Correa Orellana Meet a UT PhD student and Gilliam Fellowship recipient.

Meet Ph.D. student Mariangel Correa Orellana. When not researching how Hawaiian shrimp interact with microbes & water temp, she inspires younger students as a mentor & through a UT Turtle Pond research project.

#STEMMentorship #TexasScience @texas-ib.bsky.social
cns.utexas.edu/news/feature...

In the water diving to 900m. www.youtube.com/@SchmidtOcean

#AsgardArchaea
@schmidtocean.bsky.social
@moorefound.bsky.social
@texasscience.bsky.social
@utmsi.bsky.social

This fluttery finned fish, possibly from the family Oreosomatidae, was spotted during #AsgardArchaea at around 1000 m. Read more about this expedition led by @archaeal.bsky.social from @texasscience.bsky.social here: https://schmidtocean.org/cruise/searching-for-the-asgard/

Destroying Crazy Ant Nest Structure Makes Them Vulnerable to Pathogens Research initiated at a UT field station keeps progressing, in good news for the war on this invasive species.

UT biologists have devised a 1-2 punch that could curb populations of invasive tawny crazy ants — which are wreaking havoc across the U.S. Gulf Coast from Florida to Texas — using a natural pathogen & a little elbow grease.
#InvasiveSpecies @texas-ib.bsky.social
cns.utexas.edu/news/researc...

Today's dive site, to ~2,200m. We will be streaming 9am-3pm Central. At www.youtube.com/@SchmidtOcean

#AsgardArchaea
@schmidtocean.bsky.social
@moorefound.bsky.social
@texasscience.bsky.social
@utmsi.bsky.social

Kudos to Dr. Norma Fowler on her well-deserved award!

Reel Science: How Deep is Your Love & Special Live Stream From Research Vessel Falkor Hear from leading researchers and experts in this series that is a partnership with the Long Center for the Performing Arts.

Join us for “How Deep is Your Love” on Nov. 20—with a special live stream from UT marine scientist Brett Baker & team on the R/V Falkor (too) as they search the deep seas for #AsgardArchaea!

@archaeal.bsky.social @schmidtocean.bsky.social @moorefound.bsky.social

cns.utexas.edu/events/publi...

Sampling is underway!

#AsgardArchaea
@schmidtocean.bsky.social
@moorefound.bsky.social
@texasscience.bsky.social
@utmsi.bsky.social

We are sailing!

#AsgardArchaea
@schmidtocean.bsky.social
@moorefound.bsky.social
@texasscience.bsky.social
@utmsi.bsky.social

Taking my little boat out tomorrow

The science team have boarded the Falkor (too)!

#AsgardArchaea
@schmidtocean.bsky.social
@moorefound.bsky.social

The explosive death of a star at its earliest, fleeting stage has been revealed by the ESO & a group of astronomers — including UT’s J. Craig Wheeler.
#Spectropolarimetry #Supernova @texasastronomy.bsky.social

More: mcdonaldobservatory.org/news/release...

Artist interpretation video by @eso.org:

UT Doubles Size of One of World’s Most Powerful AI Computing Hubs AUSTIN, Texas — The Center for Generative AI at The University of Texas at Austin, already among the most powerful artificial intelligence hubs in the

Already among the most powerful artificial intelligence hubs in academia, the UT Center for Generative AI is keeping its foot on the gas. “It’s exciting to accelerate discovery and to create more opportunities for our researchers to push the boundaries of what’s possible.”

Vernita Gordon Receives 2025 Regents Outstanding Teaching Award Vernita Gordon Receives 2025 Regents Outstanding Teaching Award

Kudos to Vernita Gordon of UT Physics on winning a 2025 Regents Outstanding Teaching Award!

#TexasScience @utphysics.bsky.social

physics.utexas.edu/news/accolad...

Taft Armandroff and Brian Schmidt Elected to Lead Giant Magellan Telescope Board of Directors New leadership appointed to guide the next phase of construction as Dr. Walter Massey concludes nearly a decade of service as chair of the GMTO Corporation Board of Directors

Giant Magellan Telescope: Taft Armandroff and Brian Schmidt Elected to Lead Giant Magellan Telescope Board of Directors giantmagellan.org/2025/11/04/t...

Meet Steng-Wyer Fellow: Tianyi Xu This article is about Stengl-Wyer Fellow Tianyi Xu

Meet new Stengl-Wyer Fellow: Tianyi Xu. Her research examines how reptile diversity responds to global change across space and time using tools from #paleobiology, #ecology, and evolutionary #biology. Blog here: tinyurl.com/eb85be2p #herpetology