It is with some sadness but also pride that I bid farewell to the leadership team of Planet Texas 2050, a UT initiative that I helped found three and a half years ago with the aim of making Texas more resilient in the face of unprecedented demographic and climate change. As I say goodbye, I reflect…

The Planet Texas 2050 theme organizing committee shows its support for the City of Austin's Climate Equity Plan. We also request that the UT Austin President’s Sustainability Steering Committee integrate climate equity-related goals and strategies into the university Sustainability Master Plan. To…

Our dirty, smelly wastewater could hold something very valuable: the key to tracking COVID-19 hot spots in Austin before diagnostic testing is able to identify outbreaks.

Frances Acuña has lived in the Dove Springs neighborhood in Southeast Austin for 23 years. She knows every place it floods when it rains — such as the intersection at Brassiewood Drive and Pleasant Valley Road, in the street along Turnstone Drive, and near the Nuckols Crossing Bridge that spans…

In January 2020, I began my year as chair of Whole Communities–Whole Health. The world was a very different place. We were in the midst of preparing for a very ambitious faculty hiring plan. Our community engagement efforts were maturing and helping support a shared understanding of the health…

To protect ourselves and others during the COVID-19 pandemic, most of us have had to shift our everyday lives to our homes. This has led to a steep drop in the amount of physical activity our kids are getting. Prior to the pandemic, few U.S. children were meeting physical activity guidelines, which…

When I was in graduate school, I remember standing in the checkout line at the grocery store, watching a toddler get her mom’s phone from her purse, type in her password and start playing games. Her mom was in a business suit, and two minutes earlier, I’d heard her discussing a business deal on…

When we think of the robots in practical use today, the most common are stationary robots that help assemble parts in automotive factories or can assist in performing delicate medical surgeries.

As digital assistants like Siri and Alexa become more common in our lives, people increasingly see them as companions that accompany them throughout their day. Young children, especially, are more apt to see these devices as real people or friends.

Interdisciplinarity runs in my blood. I have degrees in computer science, anthropology, and science and technology studies along with a faculty appointment as a professor in the School of Information. However, I never imagined having the opportunity to be involved in interdisciplinary research at…