Category: College of Science

Mathematician Harold Boas, biologist Paul Hardin and chemist Karen Wooley are among six Texas A&M University faculty members recognized as 2020 Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science for their scientifically or socially distinguished efforts to advance science or its applications.

Chemist Lei Fang and biologist Christine Merlin are among 11 campus-wide faculty unveiled November 10 as Texas A&M University's most recent class of Presidential Impact Fellows, a coveted title recognizing the development of and excellence in one of the university's greatest strengths — its faculty.

When plans were made for Texas A&M's main campus to reopen this fall, faculty and staff were faced with a daunting task — creating safe and comfortable learning environments for all students while simultaneously navigating the ongoing health crisis created by COVID-19. In the College of Science, where active learning is often so crucial to instruction, professors continue to find innovative ways to keep students hooked, despite the ongoing challenges of a global pandemic.

Texas A&M Science celebrated 15 faculty, staff and student award recipients, not to mention another year of overall achievements and progress as part of the college's annual Faculty & Staff Meeting and Awards Presentation, held virtually due to the ongoing pandemic on October 27 from the Stephen W. Hawking Auditorium.

Physicist Alexei Safonov and biologist Joseph Sorg are among the 19 campus-wide faculty announced October 8 as Texas A&M University's 2020 class of Chancellor Enhancing Development and Generating Excellence in Scholarship (EDGES) Fellows — mid-career faculty who are making significant marks in their disciplines as promising researchers and educators.

Four of the 10 Hagler Institute for Advanced Study Fellows for 2020-21 will be affiliated with Texas A&M Science, including an expert in mass spectrometry and related phenomena, instrumentation and analysis; a pioneer in fruit physiology and ripening and signal transduction systems; a science, technology and policy advocate for low-carbon and negative-emissions science; and a theoretical chemical physicist who studies molecules using short pulses of light.

Texas A&M students interested in learning more about the fundamental science behind COVID-19 and other trending topics while satisfying a CORE science requirement will have a unique opportunity to explore such issues in real time this fall, courtesy of a new interdisciplinary course team-taught by instructors from the College of Science and College of Liberal Arts.

Inspired by the financial support she received in nursing school, Agnes Hrncir established a scholarship for students in the College of Science enrolled in aggieTEACH, a program that certifies undergraduates to teach math and science courses at the middle and high school levels. Her gift pays tribute to her late husband, Richard, who taught math for remedial students in Rosenberg, Texas.

Phenomenal faculty and staff aren't just the exception in the College of Science; they're the rule. Three are among the university's current recipients of the 2020 President's Meritorious Service Award, Texas A&M's highest recognition for staff.

Three College of Science faculty are among the university's 24 recipients of the 2020 Distinguished Achievement Award recognizing exemplary efforts in teaching, research, student relations, administration, extension and outreach, staff and graduate mentoring.

The Trotter Prize and Endowed Lecture Series, set this year for Thursday, Feb. 27, in the Interdisciplinary Life Sciences Building, seeks to illuminate connections between science and religion, often viewed in academia as non-overlapping if not rival world views.

Chemist Holly Gaede and biologist Andrew Tag are among the 10 campus-wide faculty celebrated February 27 as Texas A&M University's inaugural cohort of Provost Academic Professional Track Teaching Excellence Award recipients honored for exceptional classroom teaching that fosters meaningful learning experiences.

If experience truly is one of life's most effective teachers, now's your chance to learn from some of the best in the STEM professions and Aggieland at the 28th Annual Women In Science & Engineering Conference, "Women Evolving in STEM," set for Saturday, Feb. 22, at Texas A&M.

Texas A&M construction science professor and Center for Health Systems and Design Fellow Dr. Zofia Rybkowski will present the 2019-2020 Ethel Ashworth-Tsutsui Memorial Lecture, set for noon on Friday, January 17, in the Langford Architecture Center.

Thanks and gig 'em to The Association of Former Students for contributing $75,000 toward the Texas A&M College of Science during the past academic year -- whoop! Read about the people, programs and progress that generous support helps make possible in the cover story from the November-December 2019 issue of "Texas Aggie" magazine.