News

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

McDonald Observatory

Giant Magellan Telescope Advances to National Science Foundation Final Design Phase

UT Austin is on track for huge leaps forward in astronomy research capabilities as GMT progresses.

A telescope dome under a starry sky at night with an open door and telescope visible inside

Department of Computer Science

University of Texas Theoretical Computer Scientist Wins Gödel Prize

Professor David Zuckerman and his former student Eshan Chattopadhyay won the theoretical computer science prize.

A scientist sits at a desk writing

Department of Marine Science

Deep Microbial Life Beneath Lavey-les-Bains Reveals Surprising Resilience

Microbes beneath Switzerland’s Lavey-les-Bains Thermal Spa stay stable year-round, revealing the resilience of subsurface life and its role in Earth’s carbon cycle.

Steam rises from man-made pools in front of snow-capped mountains at a thermal spa in Switzerland

McDonald Observatory

COSMOS-Web Releases Deepest Yet View Into the Universe

Over 250 hours of observations from the world’s most powerful telescope, the James Webb Space Telescope, are freely available to the public.

A deep view of space is dotted with stars and galaxies

Research

Idea of Coral Reefs as Oases in Marine Deserts May Be Mistaken

New research from Simon Brandl at UT’s Marine Science Institute challenges a long-held belief about coral reefs.

Dozens of fish swim near a coral reef in the Maldives.

Cockrell School of Engineering

Can AI Make Critical Communications Chips Easier to Design?

UT Austin engineers and computer scientist Adam Klivans aim to design radio frequency integrated circuits with AI.

A professor in a UT electrical and computer engineering shirt points at a screen with scientific imagery, as two seated students and another researcher smile and look on.

Accolades

2025 Breakthrough Prize Recognizes Collaboration Involving UT Physicists

The researchers have been working at the Large Hadron Collider in Switzerland on the ATLAS project.

A proton proton collision in the ATLAS detector

Podcast

Can Tiny Bubbles Help Save the Planet?

Seagrasses store a lot of carbon in their tissues, making them a potential counterweight to rising levels of atmospheric CO2.

An illustration of a seagrass meadow, with the sediment cross-sectioned to reveal roots. There are two small black microhpones resting on the top of the sediment, connected by a cable running back to a metal box.

Accolades

NSF Graduate Research Fellowships and Honorable Mentions Awarded to 38 from Natural Sciences

Dozens of Texas Science students received recognition from the National Science Foundation.

Image of the UT Tower

McDonald Observatory

UT’s Cosmic Frontier Center Welcomes New Class of Fellows

Their work will support the CFC's mission to uncover the origin of galaxies, black holes and stars in the early universe.

Photos of three students