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From the College of Natural Sciences
New Partnership Will Scale Up Investment in Ethical AI Research and Innovation

New Partnership Will Scale Up Investment in Ethical AI Research and Innovation

Kenneth R. Fleischmann, Will Griffin, Mikel Rodriguez and Alice Xiang at the 2022 Good Systems Symposium. Credit: Stacey Ingram Kaleh.

The University of Texas at Austin and the MITRE Corporation, a nonprofit dedicated to solving problems for a safer world, have formed a partnership that includes accelerating innovative ethical artificial intelligence (AI) research currently underway by interdisciplinary teams of researchers who are part of UT Austin's Good Systems research grand challenge.

Wide View of Early Universe Hints at Galaxy Among the Earliest Ever Detected

Wide View of Early Universe Hints at Galaxy Among the Earliest Ever Detected

Members of the CEERS collaboration explore the first wide, deep field image from the James Webb Space Telescope at the Texas Advanced Computing Center’s Visualization Lab on the UT Austin campus on July 21, 2022. Credit: Nolan Zunk/University of Texas at Austin.

Two new images from NASA's James Webb Space Telescope show what may be among the earliest galaxies ever observed. Both images include objects from more than 13 billion years ago, and one offers a much wider field of view than Webb's First Deep Field image, which was released amid great fanfare July 12. The images represent some of the first out of a major collaboration of astronomers and other academic researchers teaming with NASA and global partners to uncover new insights about the universe.

Researchers Aim to Make Computer Networks Easier to Change on the Fly

Researchers Aim to Make Computer Networks Easier to Change on the Fly

It's hard to make changes to the software running on a computer network while it's in use—and that can make it harder to respond quickly to a cyberattack. The National Science Foundation has awarded a grant to computer scientists from Rice University, The University of Texas at Austin and the University of Washington to develop runtime programmable networks that can respond to real-time changes rapidly and without interruption of service.

Investment from UT Austin, Other Partners Accelerates Construction of Giant Magellan Telescope

Investment from UT Austin, Other Partners Accelerates Construction of Giant Magellan Telescope

The Giant Magellan Telescope (GMT) is a next-generation optical/infrared telescope being developed in northern Chile that will yield important discoveries on topics such as galaxies in the early universe and Earth-sized planets orbiting nearby stars.

Artists' concept of the Giant Magellan Telescope. Image credit: Giant Magellan Telescope - GMTO Corporation.
Scientists Capture First-ever View of a Hidden Quantum Phase in a 2D Crystal

Scientists Capture First-ever View of a Hidden Quantum Phase in a 2D Crystal

This illustration represents the light-induced collapse of the nanoscale charge order in a 2D crystal of tantalum disulfide (star-shapes) and the generation of a hidden metastable metallic state (spheres). Image credit: Frank Yi Gao

The development of high-speed strobe-flash photography in the 1960s by the late MIT professor Harold "Doc" Edgerton allowed us to visualize events too fast for the eye — a bullet piercing an apple, or a droplet hitting a pool of milk.

Scientists Encode “Wizard of Oz” in a Vanishingly Small Plastic

Scientists Encode “Wizard of Oz” in a Vanishingly Small Plastic

​Imagine being able to hide an extremely complex encryption password or detailed financial information for an organization inside the chemical structure of ink. It might sound like something out of a spy movie, but scientists at The University of Texas at Austin and the University of Massachusetts Lowell recently proved it possible.

Alumni and Friends to be Inducted into Hall of Honor

Alumni and Friends to be Inducted into Hall of Honor

Three College of Natural Sciences alumni and friends were selected for induction into the college's 2022 Hall of Honor. David Booth, Richard Hinojosa and James Truchard received the distinction for their outstanding career accomplishments and lasting commitment to the college. They join four additional inductees from previous years who were unable to receive their honors in person due to the pandemic.

Adolescent Stress Can Be Reduced by 30-Minute Online ‘Mindset’ Training

Adolescent Stress Can Be Reduced by 30-Minute Online ‘Mindset’ Training

Many young people today suffer from stress-related anxiety and depressive symptoms. A new study by researchers at The University of Texas at Austin finds that a 30-minute online training on how to think about stress and adversity can reduce both short- and long-term mental health symptoms, offering a potential low-cost treatment to combat a growing adolescent mental health crisis.

Scientists Hijack Bacteria To Ease Drug Manufacturing

Scientists Hijack Bacteria To Ease Drug Manufacturing

For more affordable, sustainable drug options than we have today, the medication we take to treat high blood pressure, pain or memory loss may one day come from engineered bacteria, cultured in a vat like yogurt. And thanks to a new bacterial tool developed by scientists at The University of Texas at Austin, the process of improving drug manufacturing in bacterial cells may be coming sooner than we thought.

Worlds of Possibility: Gift Helps Unlock Secrets of the Universe

Worlds of Possibility: Gift Helps Unlock Secrets of the Universe

What starts here reveals the universe. A world-changing gift of $10 million from visionary philanthropist David Booth increases UT's access to the Giant Magellan Telescope, which will help students in the College of Natural Sciences peer far into the universe.