Category: Faculty

Texas A&M Disability Resources teamed up with Texas A&M mathematician Vanessa Coffelt and the Department of Mathematics to create a Braille translation for fundamental mathematics coursework in order to ensure that the university's classes are accessible to all Aggie students.

A team of researchers including Texas A&M astronomer Casey Papovich has identified a galaxy in recent images from the James Webb Space Telescope that they estimate is being observed as it was just 290 million years after the Big Bang, making it one of the earliest galaxies ever observed and a strong indication that galaxies started forming much earlier than many astronomers previously thought.

Emily Pentzer, an associate professor in Texas A&M Materials Science and Engineering and Texas A&M Chemistry, has been named a finalist for the 2022 Blavatnik National Award for Young Scientists in Physical Sciences & Engineering, one of three such annual awards that honor the achievements and potential of rising researchers.

Texas A&M chemist Wenshe Ray Liu has been appointed as the inaugural holder of the Harry E. Bovay, Jr. Endowed Chair in Chemistry, recently created by combining gifts from two Texas-based philanthropic organizations and 2022 Texas A&M Distinguished Alumnus Thomas W. Powell '62 to establish a $1 million endowment dedicated to advancing chemistry research at Texas A&M.

Congratulations to Texas A&M mathematician Jennifer Whitfield, one of five faculty members who have been appointed to 2022 University Professorships in Undergraduate Teaching Excellence (UPUTE) at Texas A&M University.

Congratulations to Texas A&M University's latest National Academy of Sciences member, Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Chemistry Donald Darensbourg — the third Texas A&M chemist to earn the prestigious accolade since 2017.

The Texas A&M Institute for Neuroscience has received a five-year, $1.25 million National Institutes of Health grant to build a comprehensive student training and research program aimed at promoting diversity efforts across the neuroscience community and broader campus by expanding on its recent success in replacing the traditional one-on-one research mentoring model with a team-based approach centered on assets and leadership.

Congratulations to Texas A&M astronomer Robert C. Kennicutt Jr., one of six faculty campus-wide appointed as 2022 University Distinguished Professors, a perpetual title representing the highest level of faculty achievement at Texas A&M.

Two Texas A&M Science graduate programs along with four specialty programs are listed among the nation's top 10 for public institutions in the U.S. News & World Report's "2023 Best Graduate Schools" report, the publication's first national survey of graduate programs in the sciences since 2019.

Three College of Science faculty are among the university's 24 recipients of the 2022 Distinguished Achievement Award recognizing exemplary efforts in teaching, research, student relations, graduate mentoring, administration, staff, and extension/outreach/continuing education/professional development.

Congratulations to 2001 Texas A&M chemistry Ph.D. graduate and new faculty member Lane Baker, who has been appointed as the inaugural holder of the Dr. Carl D. McAfee '90 Endowed Chair in Analytical Chemistry at Texas A&M.

Chemist James Pennington and mathematician Oksana Shatalov are among 10 campus faculty unveiled February 28 as Texas A&M University's third cohort of Provost Academic Professional Track Faculty Teaching Excellence Award recipients honored for exceptional classroom teaching that fosters meaningful learning experiences.

Texas A&M statistician Branislav Vidakovic has been elected as a member of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine Committee on Applied and Theoretical Statistics, where he will help advise stakeholders in government, academia, industry and nonprofit organizations on statistics and data science.

Texas A&M chemist Andy Thomas has been appointed as an inaugural member of Thieme Chemistry's Science of Synthesis Early Career Advisory Board intended to help promote young talented chemists and provide opportunities to network with internationally renowned chemists.

Biologist Deborah Bell-Pedersen and statistician Valen Johnson are among seven Texas A&M University faculty members recognized as 2021 Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science for their efforts to advance science or its applications.