Campus Kudos
Chemical Engineering Professor Elected to National Academy of Engineering
Keith P. Johnston, chemical engineering professor in the Cockrell School of Engineering at The University of Texas at Austin, has been elected to the National Academy of Engineering (NAE), one of the highest professional distinctions accorded to engineers worldwide. Johnston was elected for his advances in science and technology of particles and colloids used in drug delivery, biomedical imaging and therapy, microelectronics and energy applications.
Vice President Gregory J. Vincent elected to NADOHE board
Dr. Gregory J. Vincent, vice president for diversity and community engagement at The University of Texas at Austin, was elected to the board of directors of the National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education (NADOHE), filling a term through 2012.
Michener Center Graduate Named 2011 Outstanding Graduate Alumnus
Abhijat Joshi, an alumnus of the Michener Center for Writers at The University of Texas at Austin and Bollywood’s hottest screenwriter, has been named the Graduate School’s Outstanding Graduate Alumnus for 2011. Joshi, who earned a master of fine arts degree in 2002, has written for Bollywood’s biggest blockbusters of all time, including “Mission Kashmir,” “Lage Raho Munna Bhai” and “Three Idiots.”
Vocal Media Wins Texas Venture Labs Investment Competition
Vocal Media, a company that uses the dead-air time in international phone calls to advertise to U.S. immigrant populations, won the Texas round of the Texas Venture Labs Investment Competition (TVLIC). With its win Vocal Media is entered in this year’s Global VLIC, to be held in Austin May 4-7. The company also won the opportunity to work with Texas Venture Labs and a Launch Package from the Austin Technology Incubator.
Hutchison Receives Inaugural Annette Strauss Texas Leadership Award
U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas) received the inaugural Annette Strauss Institute’s Texas Leadership Award in recognition of her nearly four decades of civic leadership at the state and national level. The senator was honored at the Annette Strauss Institute for Civic Participation‘s 10th Anniversary dinner in Dallas. Proceeds from the Hutchison tribute will be used to enhance the institute’s Civic Education Fund, which provides resources to develop and expand educational outreach programs for high school and college students.
Press Mentions
The New York Times: The ‘two or more races’ dilemma
Feb. 13
Professor Gerald Torres, School of Law, contributed to this piece about the debate over new rules for how colleges count students by race and ethnicity.
Nature: Gulf research cash still in limbo
Feb. 15
Professor Tracy Villareal, Marine Science Institute, was quoted in this article about the frustration researchers feel in waiting for funds to investigate the aftermath of last year’s massive gulf oil spill.
BusinessWeek: Bernanke’s 2009 interview withheld by crisis panel
Feb. 11
Professor Robert Auerbach, LBJ School of Public Affairs, was interviewed concerning the decision from the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission to withhold some interviews from its report on the causes of the market meltdown.
The New York Times: Will a Watson ‘Jeopardy!’ win knock humans down a peg?
Feb. 11
Contributions from researchers at The University of Texas at Austin on Watson, an IBM super computer that competed on the TV game show “Jeopardy,” were recognized in this article.
ABC News: Looking for true love? Consider birth order, says author
Feb. 11
Professor Toni Falbo, Department of Educational Psychology, discussed her research on the importance of birth order.
The Christian Science Monitor: Is honesty waning in American business?
Feb. 11
Professor James Galbraith, LBJ School of Public Affairs, was interviewed in this article about business and financial system trustworthiness.
The Wall Street Journal: Bankruptcy experts gather to set research agenda
Feb. 10
School of Law Professor Jay Westbrook’s focus on secured credit was noted in this piece about a recent conference.
USA Today: Schools tout efforts to keep tuition in check
Feb. 22
USA Today and The Princeton Review named The University of Texas at Austin one of the nation’s 100 Best Value Colleges.
NewStatesman: In the archive with David Foster Wallace
Feb. 18
The Harry Ransom Center, home to the David Foster Wallace archive, tells a different story of Wallace as an “ambitious, insecure and hard-working author of complex novels and expertly precise journalism.”
The Times Higher Education: Demography and destiny
Feb. 10
President William Powers Jr. was quoted in this article about the increased diversity of the university.
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