The University of Texas at Austin faculty is distinguished nationally and internationally and includes winners of the Nobel Prize, Pulitzer Prize, National Medal of Science and the Wolf Prize. In addition, numerous faculty members have been selected to membership in prestigious scholarly organizations.
Recent Awards and Honors
Two Professors to Receive National Medal of Science
Two professors from The University of Texas at Austin will be honored by President Barack Obama with the National Medal of Science. Allen Bard, in the College of Natural Sciences, and John Goodenough, in the Cockrell School of Engineering, are two of 12 eminent researchers who will receive the medal this year, bringing the university’s overall total to five since 1962.
Engineering and Natural Science Faculty Members Receive Early Career Awards
Two University of Texas at Austin faculty members were honored at the White House this week with the Presidential Early Career Awards for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE), the highest honor bestowed by the United States government for science and engineering professionals in the early stages of their independent research careers.
Professor Credited for Development of the Lithium-Ion Battery Elected to National Academy of Sciences
John Goodenough, a mechanical engineering professor at The University of Texas at Austin who is widely credited for the scientific discovery and development of the lithium-ion rechargeable battery, has been elected to the National Academy of Sciences.
Young Mathematician Receives One of Europe’s Highest Honors
Alessio Figalli, assistant professor in the Department of Mathematics, was named one of the winners of the prestigious European Mathematical Society (EMS) prize, which is awarded every four years to 10 young European mathematicians who’ve made outstanding contributions to their field.
Notable Prize Winners
Nobel Prize
Steven Weinberg, Jack S. Josey - Welch Foundation Chair in Science Regental Professor, won the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1979 for his work on what is called the weak force in particle physics.
Pulitzer Prize
David Oshinsky, the George Littlefield Professor of American History, won the 2006 Pulitzer Prize for history for his book “Polio: An American Story.”
Dirac Medal
George Sudarshan, professor in the Department of Physics, received the 2010 Dirac Medal and Prize with Italian physicist Nicola Cabibbo for the two scientists’ work on the fundamental forces of nature.
National Medal of Science
Karen Uhlenbeck, Sid W. Richardson Foundation Regents Chair in Mathematics #3, is one of three faculty members who have received the National Medal of Science. She received it in 2000 for pioneering contributions to global analysis and gauge theory that resulted in advances in mathematical physics and the theory of partial differential equations.
Wolf Prize
Luis Caffarelli, Sid W. Richardason Foundation Regents Chair in Mathematics #1, receive the Wolf Prize in mathematics in 2012. His research is in nonlinear analysis, partial differential equations and their applications, calculus of variations and optimization.
Fermi Prize
John Goodenough, Virginia H. Cockrell Centennial Chair in Engineering, received the Enrico Fermi Award, Award, one of the most distinguished science and technology honors given by the White House.