Faculty

Nicholas Peppas, professor of biomedical engineering, chemical engineering, pediatrics, surgery and pharmacy at The University of Texas at Austin and an expert in biomaterials and drug delivery systems, has been awarded the Sigma Xi Monie A. Ferst Award sponsored by the Georgia Institute of Technology Sigma Xi Chapter.

John B. Goodenough, professor in the Cockrell School of Engineering at The University of Texas at Austin, has been awarded the 2019 Nobel Prize in chemistry — jointly with Stanley Whittingham of the State University of New York at Binghamton and Akira Yoshino of Meijo University — “for the development of lithium-ion batteries.”

On the wall of Janet Zoldan’s lab, which is teeming with enthusiastic students, is a poster with ZOLDAN LAB in capital letters printed across the top. Underneath it lies a short, curious statement: Stem Cells Are Like Pokèmon. Through a novel biomedical engineering process, Zoldan is looking at how iPSCs “evolve” into the cells needed to form new blood vessels and how near-infrared light can be utilized to precisely control this process.

From developing bio-inspired membranes for more effective wastewater treatment to creating electromagnetic-based solutions for medical technologies, the Cockrell School’s new faculty members span a wide range of engineering expertise. Learn more about how our newest Texas Engineers are pushing technological boundaries and changing the world.

Cockrell School of Engineering Dean Sharon L. Wood has named Christine Julien, a professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and the Anna and Jack Bowen Professor of Engineering, as the Cockrell School’s assistant dean for diversity, equity, and inclusion — a new position established this year.

The Cockrell School of Engineering at The University of Texas at Austin has named renowned Carnegie Mellon University researcher and professor Diana Marculescu as the next chair of UT’s Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. She will assume her position on Dec. 1, 2019, succeeding the department’s current chair, Ahmed Tewfik.

Fernanda Leite, associate professor in the Department of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering, was named a fellow of the IAspire Leadership Academy, a leadership program aimed at helping STEM faculty from underrepresented backgrounds ascend to leadership roles at colleges and universities. The program, which is part of the Aspire Alliance’s Institutional Change Initiative, helps address the national need to broaden diversity and increase inclusion in STEM fields and higher education leadership.

Todd Humphreys, an associate professor in the Department of Aerospace Engineering and Engineering Mechanics, has received a Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) for 2019. Humphreys is one of five faculty members from The University of Texas at Austin selected to receive the PECASE award this year, which is the highest honor given by the White House to scientists and engineers who are beginning their research careers. He is the Cockrell School of Engineering’s sole recipient for 2019 and is the first aerospace engineering professor to be awarded a PECASE since the U.S. government first initiated the program back in 1996.

Nicholas Peppas, professor of biomedical engineering, chemical engineering, pediatrics, surgery and pharmacy at The University of Texas at Austin and an expert in biomaterials and drug delivery systems, has been elected as a foreign member of the Canadian Academy of Engineering.

Jenny Jiang, an associate professor in the Cockrell School of Engineering’s Department of Biomedical Engineering and the Dell Medical School’s Department of Oncology, has been named a National Academy of Medicine (NAM) Emerging Leader in Health and Medicine. The NAM today announced the 2019 scholars, a group of 10 individuals who are early- to mid-career professionals from a wide range of health-related fields, from microbiology and surgery to sociology and biomedical engineering.

John Goodenough, a University of Texas at Austin professor in the J. Mike Walker Department of Mechanical Engineering in the Cockrell School of Engineering, has won U.K. Royal Society's Copley Medal, thought to be the world’s oldest scientific prize. Already a fellow of the Royal Society, Goodenough has been honored for his exceptional contributions to materials science, including his discoveries that led to the invention of the rechargeable lithium battery used in devices such as laptops and smartphones worldwide.

Cockrell School of Engineering professor and Chair of the Department of Biomedical Engineering Shelly Sakiyama-Elbert was elected president of the Society for Biomaterials for the 2020-2021 term. The Society for Biomaterials is a multidisciplinary organization comprised of academic, health care, governmental and business professionals dedicated to promoting advancements in all aspects of biomaterial science, education and professional standards to enhance human health and quality of life. Established in 1974, it is the oldest scientific organization in the field of biomaterials.

The American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE) has elected two Cockrell School of Engineering faculty members to its prestigious College of Fellows in 2019. Adela Ben-Yakar, professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering and the Walker Department of Mechanical Engineering, and Lydia Contreras, associate professor in the McKetta Department of Chemical Engineering, were inducted at a ceremony in Washington, D.C., on March 25.

The Cockrell School of Engineering celebrated the lives and legacies of three of its former deans — Herbert Woodson, Earnest Gloyna and John McKetta Jr. — extraordinary leaders who passed away this winter. The three succeeded each other in the role of dean between 1963 and 1996, serving as the college’s fourth, fifth and sixth deans — John McKetta Jr., 1963-1970; Earnest Gloyna, 1970-1986; Herbert Woodson, 1986-1996.

Moriba Jah, an associate professor in the Cockrell School of Engineering’s Department of Aerospace Engineering and Engineering Mechanics at UT Austin, made history this year as the first aerospace engineer ever to be selected as a TED Fellow. As a TED Fellow, Jah joins a class of 20 carefully selected visionary speakers from across the globe who will deliver talks on the TED stage this April in Vancouver.

John J. McKetta Jr., professor emeritus and dean emeritus at The University of Texas at Austin and namesake to the chemical engineering department in the Cockrell School of Engineering, died Tuesday, Jan. 15 at age 103. Calling UT Austin home for more than 70 years, McKetta is known throughout the university community as one of the warmest, friendliest and most inspiring people on the Forty Acres.

Earnest F. Gloyna, former dean of The University of Texas at Austin’s College of Engineering (now the Cockrell School of Engineering), died on Jan. 9 at the age of 97, leaving behind a legacy marked by exceptional leadership and vision.

Hal Alper, professor in the McKetta Department of Chemical Engineering, and Alex Huang, professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, have been selected as fellows in the prestigious National Academy of Inventors (NAI) for 2018. They are the latest faculty members from The University of Texas at Austin to receive this honor, joining 11 previous inductees from the university.

Ning “Jenny” Jiang, an associate professor in the Cockrell School of Engineering’s Department of Biomedical Engineering and the Dell Medical School’s Department of Oncology, has been awarded a $2.5 million grant from the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI) to participate in the philanthropic organization’s inaugural Neurodegeneration Challenge Network.

J. Mike Walker, the co-founder of Dril-Quip and namesake of the Cockrell School of Engineering’s J. Mike Walker Department of Mechanical Engineering, died on Dec. 27 at the age of 75, leaving a legacy of extraordinary generosity and support at The University of Texas at Austin.