Join fellow engineering and science alumni and friends to hear from UT Austin researchers who are changing the world.  

Thursday, September 15, 2016

Menlo Circus Club
190 Park Lane
Atherton, CA 94027
Business casual attire. Complimentary valet parking.
 
Hosted by the Cockrell School of Engineering and the College of Natural Sciences, Texas in the Bay kicks off with a casual networking reception followed by presentations from leading UT Faculty, including Clay Johnston, dean of the Dell Medical School.

Schedule

5:00 P.M. Cocktails and Hors d'oeuvres
6:00 P.M. Updates from Deans Sharon Wood and Linda Hicke; and Presentations from neuroscientist Jon Pierce and energy expert Michael Webber
7:00 P.M. Reception resumes

Speakers

Energy Expert Michael Webber
Thirst for Power: Energy, Water and Human Survival

As Deputy Director of the Energy Institute, Co-Director of the Clean Energy Incubator, Josey Centennial Fellow in Energy Resources, and Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering, Dr. Michael E. Webber trains the next generation of energy leaders at the University of Texas at Austin through research and education at the convergence of engineering, policy, and commercialization.  He has authored more than 200 publications, holds 4 patents, and serves on the advisory board for Scientific American.  His television special Energy at the Movies is currently in national syndication on PBS stations, and his massive open online course (MOOC) “Energy 101” closed with record results in December.  Webber holds a B.S. and B.A. from UT Austin and M.S. and Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from Stanford.  He was honored as an American Fellow of the German Marshall Fund, an AT&T Industrial Ecology Fellow, and on three separate occasions by the University of Texas for exceptional teaching.

Neuroscientist Jon Pierce
Empowering Alzheimer’s Patients to Discover Treatments

Jon is an Associate Professor in the Department of Neuroscience at the University of Texas at Austin. He's published more than 25 research articles and won numerous awards, including the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Director’s Transformative Research Project Award, the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of the America (PNAS) Faculty of 1000 recommendation for a humidity sensation paper, and the National Down Syndrome Society ($10k) award for initiatives in adult education. During his graduate career at the University of Oregon, Eugene, he studied the mechanisms for chemotaxis and taste discrimination in the nematode C. elegans with Dr. Shawn Lockery. He went on to study the molecular basis for intoxication by alcohol at University of California at San Francisco medical school. During this time, Jon's elder son was born with Down syndrome and after learning how little research was being conducted on Down syndrome, he took inspiration from his son, and began to study the genetic basis for Down syndrome in his own lab at UT in 2008. His research looks at the underlying causes and potential cures not only for Down syndrome, but also for Alzheimer's disease. He also explores the effects of different drugs on the nervous system and researchers with the Waggoner Center for Alcohol & Addiction Research.

RSVP by September 2nd. Space is Limited.

For more information, please contact:

Susie Winfield, Cockrell School of Engineering
susie.winfield@utexas.edu
(512) 471-2784

Marsha Reardon, College of Natural Sciences
mreardon@austin.utexas.edu
(512) 232-4470