Research

Research

Bringing Jane Austen to a New Generation

2026 President’s Research Impact Award recipient Janine Barchas reaches broad audiences with Jane Austen scholarship using innovative formats
Research

First Clearly Documented Split in World’s Largest Known Chimpanzee Community Leads to Deadly Violence

After decades of stable social bonds, a rare and permanent split among a chimpanzee group in Uganda led to deadly violence between former companions, offering insight into the underlying social dynamics that may also shape conflict in human societies.
Research

Celebration of Research: 5 Faculty Members Honored for Transformative Contributions

Learn more about the 2026 recipients of the President’s Research Impact Award, honoring researchers whose work has fundamentally changed lives and perspectives, and the University Research Excellence Awards, celebrating career-long accomplishments, creative research endeavors and groundbreaking research papers.
Research

UT Energy Week 2026 To Bring Together Leaders From Industry, Government and Academia

The free, five-day conference runs Monday through Friday this week and is open to the public.
Research

McDonald Observatory

Astronomers Thought the Early Universe Was Full of Hydrogen. Now They’ve Found It.

Astronomers using data from the Hobby–Eberly Telescope Dark Energy Experiment (HETDEX) have discovered tens of thousands of gigantic hydrogen gas halos, called “Lyman-alpha nebulae,” surrounding galaxies 10 billion to 12 billion years ago.
Research

Jackson School of Geosciences

UT Geodynamicist Thorsten Becker Elected to German Academy of Sciences

Thorsten Becker, a professor at UT’s Jackson School of Geosciences, has become one of only three geodynamicists to be elected to the German Academy of Sciences, Leopoldina, in the organization’s more than 400-year history.
Research

Plants Need Water? Breakthrough Sensor Measures Leaf Hydration in Real Time

Researchers have developed an electronic tattoo to track moisture levels in plant leaves, potentially leading to improvements in wildfire prediction, agricultural yields, water conservation and food security.
Research

Leaders in AI, Robotics and Ethical Innovation Come Together at UT Austin

The Texas Symposium on Machine Learning, Responsible AI, and Robotics explored the future of intelligent systems – and how we can collaborate to shape that future.
Research

College of Natural Sciences

New Research Finds Humans Prefer the Same Animal Calls as Frogs, Birds and Even Bugs

Music to the ears of amorous amphibians and other creatures sounds best to humans, too, a new study finds.
Research

Fossil X-ray Reveals New Species of Baby Dino Named for Iconic Korean Cartoon

Researchers used advanced X-ray scanning to reveal a young dinosaur skeleton in South Korea, leading to the discovery of a new dinosaur species named Doolysaurus after a beloved cartoon character.
Research

Fernanda Leite Receives Prestigious Peurifoy Construction Research Award From American Society of Civil Engineers

Leite is the third faculty member from UT to receive this award, considered akin to a lifetime achievement honor in construction engineering research.
Research

Robot Hands So Sensitive They Can Grab a Potato Chip

New technology created at UT overcomes one of the biggest hurdles in robotics: sensitive touch.