News

​When they joined the Luminators stream of the Freshman Research Initiative, alumni Tyler King, Alex Bard, Joe Espinoza, Desmond Schipper and Ohri Esarte Palomero all expected to have experiences in chemistry research that would serve them well in their future. What they may not have predicted was that they all would contribute to a paper that the Journal of Coordination Chemistry singled out for special recognition for being among its highest quality articles of the year.

Each year, the College of Natural Sciences bestows its highest honors for graduating seniors on a select group of students during graduation week. Students across the college are singled out for College of Natural Sciences Distinctions and celebrated at a special Graduates of Distinction event. Among the distinction winners is an even smaller group of students, known as Dean's Honored Graduates. 

Since her time as a freshman, biochemistry graduating senior Tanvi Ingle was focused on two activities that, at first, seemed unrelated: doing research and helping community members who were experiencing homelessness. When the pandemic caused the clinic where she was volunteering to close temporarily in 2020, she soon found a chance to do both at once.

Biology honors senior Brian Chavez is one of a select few in the graduating Class of 2022 that The University of Texas at Austin chosen to highlight this year on UT News and this month's Texas Newsletter. The news team picked students who have made the most of their opportunities at UT and stand ready to create a brighter tomorrow.

Marissa Marquez and Samantha Jackson met in a neuroscience lab during their junior year, where they studied the neurophysiology of epilepsy and autism. Along the way, they also discovered friendship and passion for getting more students from underrepresented groups involved in STEM research.

A first-generation undergraduate student from Mexia, Texas, David Sarabia is among the seniors graduating this month. On his way to receiving his bachelor of science degree in chemistry, Sarabia participated in the Supra Sensors Research stream of the Freshman Research Initiative (FRI) and as an undergraduate researcher in Eric Anslyn's laboratory in the Department of Chemistry.

When she first arrived at The University of Texas at Austin, biology senior Tien Nguyen found herself taken aback by the size of the school. As a first-generation college student, she was uncertain about how best to navigate college life and find an outlet for her passions and energy.

​The National Science Foundation (NSF) awards a Graduate Research Fellowship to students who plan on pursuing a research-based master's or Ph.D. program in a STEM-related field. The fellowship is awarded to exceptional individuals and will support them in elevating their research with the goal of furthering advancements that will transform the future.

Three undergraduate students from the College of Natural Sciences have been awarded the 2022 Barry Goldwater Scholarship, a prestigious national scholarship given to students pursuing careers in the natural sciences, mathematics and engineering fields. Olivia Conway, Aniket Sanghi, and Kevin Zhou are among 475 college students from across the country to receive the scholarship for the 2022 competition.

Guillermo Lezama is a physics major at UT Austin. For First-Generation College Celebration Week this week at UT Austin, Amanda Figueroa-Nieves spoke with the senior about his experiences in UTeach, the university's STEM teacher training program.