News: Announcements

Read the latest news from the College of Natural Sciences at The University of Texas at Austin

Announcements

Texas Science Festival-Goers to Enjoy Fusion of Curiosity and Discovery

The University of Texas at Austin will host the science-themed, STEAM-inspired festival from Feb. 21-March 6.

Playful graphics evoke multiple themes in science from astronomy to cellular life in a graphic with the words Texas Science Festival 2025

Announcements

UT Vaccine Scientist Will Be Inducted Into National Inventors Hall of Fame

McLellan, who will be inducted in Washington, D.C. on May 8, is among the youngest new inductees in hall of fame history.

A man with glasses and a beard stands in front of a window on a sunny day

McDonald Observatory

New Energy Industry Guidelines Help Protect Night Sky

The Dark for the Park Alliance released lighting guidelines for New Mexico’s oil and gas industry, which will benefit McDonald Observatory.

An oil and gas operation at night, bathed in amber light

UT News

UT Saw Huge Research Gains, Launched Education Initiatives During Its ‘Year of AI’

2024 was a record-breaking year in UT Austin research, education and service involving artificial intelligence.

A person films with their phone as a person in a robotics shirt wearing a cap pertaining to brain-machine interface sits before a screen and manipulates a ouse.

McDonald Observatory

Northwestern University Joins Giant Magellan Telescope International Consortium

Northwestern researchers will develop and apply cutting-edge artificial intelligence (AI) tools to enhance the Giant Magellan Telescope’s capabilities.

A map of the world indicating where different partner institutions are located

UT News

UT Ranks 14th Globally for Interdisciplinary Science

UT Austin was ranked among the top universities globally by Times Higher Education for interdisciplinary science.

Student and research scientist in lab

McDonald Observatory

Pioneering Instrument Returns to McDonald Observatory

The Immersion Grating Infrared Spectrograph (IGRINS) splits infrared light into more individual wavelengths than a traditional spectrograph.

Illustration of the IGRINS instrument

Announcements

Frontier Fellows Tackle Humanity’s Biggest Question: Where Do We Come From?

The inaugural class of Cosmic Frontier Center postdoctoral fellows will study black holes in early galaxies and the formation of the first stars.

A spiral galaxy

Announcements

Remembering Turing Award Winner E. Allen Emerson

Emerson was a pioneer of a computer science technique called Model Checking that has become a standard approach in hardware and software development.

Portrait of a bearded man in a sports coat

Announcements

Giant Magellan Telescope Begins Primary Mirror Support System Testing

The milestone marks the start of a six-month optical testing phase at the University of Arizona.

A large telescope mirror hovers over a support system prototype for lab tests