Congratulations

u Dr. Wei Wang (Computer Science) helped develop an algorithm that keeps up with the demand of cloud computing.

u Dr. John Quarles (Computer Science) and doctoral student

Samuel Ang developed an open-source software kit designed to reduce cybersickness in virtual reality use.

u Trustees of the Max and Minnie Tomerlin Voelcker Fund awarded Dr. Doug Frantz (Chemistry) $883,000 to establish the Max and Minnie Tomerlin Voelcker Center for Innovative

Drug Discovery (CIDD) Preclinical Pharmacology Core for Accelerated Drug Discovery. The core will be part of

UTSA’s CIDD.

u Dr. Doug Frantz (Chemistry) and Dr. Shawn Blumberg, from

Southwest Research Institute, received a grant from the

Connecting through Research Partnerships program to support their goal of creating a powerful, cost-effective malarial treatment.

u In recognition of her research contributions and service to the ornithological community, Dr. Jennifer Smith (Environmental Science and Ecology) was elected as an Elective

Member of the American Ornithological Society.

u Dr. Nicole Wicha received a fellowship from the Aspire

Alliance and UTSA to participate in the IAspire Leadership

Academy. IAspire helps STEM faculty from underrepresented backgrounds ascend to leadership roles at institutions of higher learning.

u Dr. Jenny Hsieh (Biology) was inducted into the Academy of Distinguished Researchers.

u Dr. Alexis Godet (Geological Sciences) was awarded a prestigious Lutcher Brown Professorship.

u Dr. Ravi Sandhu (Computer Science) was inducted into the

National Academy of Inventors (NAI) as an NAI Fellow. u Under the direction of Dr. Aimin Liu (Chemistry), a team of researchers discovered how a key enzyme in amino acid metabolism works. This important discovery will enable scientists to target the tryptophan-kynurenine pathway, or KP, as a therapeutic for neurodegenerative diseases and cancer.

u UTSA’s NASA Center for Advanced Measurements in Extreme

Environments hosted its inaugural conference. UTSA researchers, external partners and students presented their research in a virtual format.

u Dr. Edwin Barea-Rodriguez (Biology) was featured in Cell Mentor’s list of 100 inspiring Hispanic/Latinx scientists in America.

u The Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas awarded

Dr. Hyoung-gon Lee (Biology) $250,000. The two-year grant will fund Lee’s research, which seeks to understand the pathogenic mechanism of peripheral neuropathy and to develop a novel therapeutic approach.

u A team of UTSA students was selected by NASA to compete in NASA Student Launch, a prestigious rocket-building competition.

u Dr. Doug Frantz (Chemistry) received an award from the San

Antonio Medical Foundation to support his collaborative work with UT Health San Antonio and SwRI on a novel approach for

COVID-19 drug discovery.

u A team of researchers from UTSA’s Neurosciences Institute made a breakthrough discovery on brain cortex functionality.

Dr. Alice Bertero, Hector Zurita, Dr. Marc Normandin, and Dr.

Alfonso Junior Apicella, researchers from the Department of

Biology, collaborated on the research project.

u Marcelo Marucho (Physics & Astronomy) published an open-access software designed to further characterize cytoskeleton filaments.