Monthly Archives: May 2001

An engineering professor at The University of Texas at Austin is helping the U.S. Air Force learn techniques to build better missile detectors by studying poisonous snakes. Dr. John Pearce, the Temple Foundation Endowed Professor in Electrical and Computer Engineering, studies Crotalines — better known as pit vipers. This family of reptiles includes rattlesnakes, copperheads and cottonmouths.

The American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP) has presented an award to pharmacy student Rene Garza of The University of Texas at Austin for a community diabetes care research project that will take place in Austin during the next year.

Thomas Dison, associate vice president and director of recreational sports at The University of Texas at Austin, will serve as interim dean of students at the University during the search and selection process for a permanent dean of students. Dison's interim duties begin on Aug. 4.

The Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) has given a prestigious 2001 Circle of Excellence in Educational Fund-Raising Award to The University of Texas at Austin.

Professional development to help Hispanic employees obtain better and higher-paying jobs at The University of Texas at Austin will be the focus of the UT Austin Hispanic Faculty/Staff Association's Third Annual Conference on June 8 in Austin.

When Dr. Paul Resta of The University of Texas at Austin’s College of Education created an online version of his course, Instructional Technology Planning and Management, he wanted to engage his distance learning students in an exciting way.

Dr. Frederick Steiner, professor and director of the School of Planning and Landscape Architecture at Arizona State University and an internationally renowned expert on environmental planning, has been named dean of School of Architecture at The University of Texas at Austin. The appointment is effective Aug. 1.

The Sidney Kimmel Foundation for Cancer Research has named Dr. Tanya Paull a 2001 Kimmel Scholar. Paull is an assistant professor in the department of molecular genetics and microbiology in The University of Texas at Austin College of Natural Sciences.

The winners of the Dobie Paisano writing fellowships for 2001-2002 are Patricia Page, a novelist who is a former Texas resident now living in Pescadero, Calif., and Mylene Dressler, a novelist from Houston.

Ten new faculty members have been elected to the Academy of Distinguished Teachers at The University of Texas at Austin. The academy, which now totals 70 members, is intended to recognize and enhance teaching, particularly at the undergraduate level.