News

Tuesday, 10 November 2009

Study: ‘Dead Zone’ Effects on Fish

Whether a large area of low oxygen water called the “dead zone” in the northern Gulf of Mexico could cause declines in environmentally and economically important fish populations is the subject of a new study by University of Texas at Austin marine scientist Peter Thomas.

Wednesday, 16 September 2009

Professors Receive $2.5 Million to Better Convert Water Into Clean Hydrogen Fuel Using Sunlight

Researchers at The University of Texas at Austin have received about $2.5 million to identify new materials that will efficiently absorb sunlight and split water into clean hydrogen fuel, which could power cars and be used to generate electricity.

Tuesday, 05 May 2009

Biologists in $25 Million Project to Develop Fuel from Algae

 AUSTIN, Texas — Biologists and engineers at The University of Texas at Austin have been selected to be a part of a $25 million project that would transform algal oil to jet fuel. Algal feedstock is considered one of the best sources for biofuel. It is renewable, does not compete with food crops and grows in wet or dry environments using brac...

Wednesday, 29 April 2009

Solar Cells, Batteries Research Receives $15 Million

AUSTIN, Texas--With a $15 million grant, scientists and engineers aim to revolutionize solar cells and energy storage technologies as one of two Energy Frontier Research Centers (EFRCs) established at The University of Texas at Austin by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). The White House announced the creation of 46 new EFRCs nationally in conju...

Tuesday, 17 February 2009

Marine Scientists to Assess Arctic Ocean Environment

AUSTIN, Texas — Through a $2.9 million, three-year grant from the Minerals Management Service (MMS), a team led by University of Texas at Austin marine scientists will assess the biological and chemical conditions on the seabed of the Chukchi Sea before the area opens for offshore oil drilling. The contract from the MMS (U.S. Department of the Int...

Tuesday, 27 January 2009

Nuclear Fusion-Fission Hybrid Could Destroy Nuclear Waste And Contribute to Carbon-Free Energy Future

AUSTIN, Texas — Physicists at The University of Texas at Austin have designed a new system that, when fully developed, would use fusion to eliminate most of the transuranic waste produced by nuclear power plants. The invention could help combat global warming by making nuclear power cleaner and thus a more viable replacement of carbon-heavy energy...

Thursday, 17 July 2008

Global Warming Experts Recommend Drastic Measures to Save Species

AUSTIN, Texas—An international team of conservation scientists from Australia, the United Kingdom and United States, including University of Texas at Austin Professor Camille Parmesan, calls for new conservation tactics, such as assisted migration, in the face of the growing threat of climate change. They report their policy ideas in a paper publi...

Monday, 14 July 2008

Giant Cane and the Little Wasp That Could

AUSTIN, Texas—Researchers at The University of Texas at Austin will work with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service (USDA-ARS) to investigate biological control for an invasive cane grass that is choking waterways across North America. The introduced European cane, Arundo donax, grows in dense stands in wetlands and rip...

Thursday, 24 April 2008

New Source for Biofuels Discovered

AUSTIN, Texas--A newly created microbe produces cellulose that can be turned into ethanol and other biofuels, report scientists from The University of Texas at Austin who say the microbe could provide a significant portion of the nation’s transportation fuel if production can be scaled up. Along with cellulose, the cyanobacteria developed by Profe...

Tuesday, 04 March 2008

Coral Health And Bacterial Communities

PORT ARANSAS, Texas—Bacterial communities endemic to healthy corals could change depending on the amount and type of natural and man-made dissolved organic matter in seawater, report researchers from The University of Texas at Austin Marine Science Institute and Mote Marine Laboratory in Sarasota, Florida. Healthy corals naturally exude a surround...