Newsletter Issue 28, October 2022 |
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From the Founding Director |
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If you watched our announcement of the 2022-2023 Fellows on September 19, you likely observed that I was contending with an injury, in this instance a left femur fracture near the ball joint. After a sustained seven-week physical therapy effort, I am doing much better. I am now walking with a cane and keeping regular hours at work, except for hours for continued “rehab.” I am blessed with a strong recovery. I look forward to giving my cane a respectful burial at sea, with full Naval honors, in a few more weeks.
I am happy to report that the Hagler Institute is not in rehab. It continues to surge forward on its mission of excellence for Texas A&M University.
The Institute brought back Dr. Robert Levine as a Distinguished Lecturer, an American literature scholar, and a member of our 2013-2014 class of Fellows. We sponsored a recent symposium organized by the 2022 SEC professor of the year, Texas A&M University Distinguished Professor, Karen Wooley, that featured science and engineering presentations by Hagler Fellows. On September 28, President M. Katherine Banks addressed the University and highlighted the continuing importance of the Hagler Institute to enhancing excellence at Texas A&M.
The Hagler Institute adopted new nomination policies to adapt to the new organization of colleges and schools within Texas A&M University. We also established a new schedule for receiving and accelerating the evaluation of nominations in order to recruit potential Fellows starting in late fall rather than early spring. I am happy to present this newsletter, where you can read about all these events and more in detail.
If you break your femur, give me a call. I might have a few suggestions for you. My most important suggestion is to be careful exiting the shower because one clumsy second can be followed by two months of penance!
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William M. Sage Joins A&M’s Faculty |
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How many people do you know who have both Doctor of Medicine and Doctor of Jurisprudence degrees? We know one, and he just joined Texas A&M’s faculty as a Professor at the School of Law in Fort Worth.
William M. Sage, MD, JD came to Texas A&M University as a 2016-2017 Fellow of the Hagler Institute. At that time, he occupied the James R. Dougherty Chair for Faculty Excellence at the University of Texas at Austin. A member of the National Academy of Medicine, Dr. Sage is an expert in national health care policy.
Dr. Sage has had a fascinating career of moving back and forth between medicine and law, combining these fields to become an expert on health law and policy. Dr. Sage has a bachelor’s degree in biochemical sciences from Harvard University. He earned his two doctorate degrees at Stanford University, where he served as the note editor for the Stanford Law Review. He did a residency in medicine at the Johns Hopkins University from 1989-1990, and he joined the Los Angeles law firm O’Melveny & Myers in the Corporations department in 1990. During this period, he was an adjunct faculty member at the University of California, Los Angeles School of Medicine. From there he moved to the law school faculty at Columbia University, and in 2006 he moved to the University of Texas.
Dr. Sage has been in demand across the county. He served as a visiting professor at Duke University’s School of Law (2001), the University of Minnesota Law School and School of Public Health (2003), Harvard Law School (2007), and Yale Law School (2013). He has co-authored four books on healthcare law and economics, and he has contributed to other books on healthcare.
At Texas A&M University’s School of Law, Dr. Sage will be the founding director of a university-wide institute for healthcare access. He will help expand A&M’s healthcare law program and assist in the development of delivery models that promote affordability and justice in the healthcare system.
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Jean-Paul Rodrigue Brings His
Expertise to Galveston
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Dr. Jean-Paul Rodrigue, 2022-2023 Fellow of the Hagler Institute, will work with faculty and students in the Department of Maritime Administration at Texas A&M’s Galveston campus over a three-year period. Citing his affiliation with the Hagler Institute for Advanced Study and Texas A&M University at Galveston, Dr. Rodrigue co-authored an article in the 2022 Journal of International Business Policy titled “Maritime container terminal infrastructure, network corporatization, and global terminal operators: Implications for international business policy.” In May 2022, he also delivered his first presentation as a Hagler Fellow in Washington D.C. at the conference of the National Association of Waterfront Employees, titled “Global Economic Outlook & Impact on Marine Terminal Investments: Entanglement or Decoupling?”
Dr. Rodrigue comes to us from Hofstra University in New York, where he is a professor in the Department of Global Studies and Geography. His research focuses on transportation logistics and the economics of global freight distribution. A heavily cited author, he is the leading transportation geographer covering mobility, freight distribution, containerization, and logistics of transport terminals, particularly ports. Dr. Rodrigue is on the board of the University Transportation Centers Program, which is a federal program to improve transportation research and education throughout the United States in order to strengthen the country’s competitiveness in the global industry. In 2021, he published his fourth book, Port Economics, Management and Policy, which is expected to become a leading reference book. His work at Texas A&M University at Galveston should be of interest to operators of the nearby Port of Houston, one of the world’s largest ports.
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Lawrence Que Jr. and the
National Academy of Sciences
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Dr. Lawrence Que Jr. from the University of Minnesota was approved as a Hagler Fellow for the class of 2022-2023. At the time he was nominated to be a Fellow of the Hagler Institute, Dr. Que had many outstanding achievements. However, at the time of his nomination, he was not a member of one of the congressionally authorized national academies, and, in particular, was not a member of the National Academy of Sciences, the traditional honorific for outstanding chemists. Typically, science, engineering, and medicine nominees are expected to be in the appropriate national academy to be considered for appointment as a Fellow of the Hagler Institute, or if they are in a field without a national academy, to have equivalent achievements in their profession. We make occasional exceptions, however.
The Hagler Institute’s panel of nine University Distinguished Professors, its Faculty Advisory Board (FAB) that evaluates nominees, closely examined Dr. Que’s accomplishments in the field of chemistry and determined them to be of national academy quality. Shortly after the Hagler Institute recruited Dr. Que as a Fellow, the National Academy of Sciences elected him as a member.
In the history of the Hagler Institute, this has occurred only once before. Dr. Christopher C. Cummins, Hagler Fellow class of 2016-2017 and MIT chemistry professor was nominated to be a Fellow even though he lacked national academy credentials. Since the FAB is a revolving panel, its composition was obviously different during the nomination of Dr. Cummins. After reviewing his achievements, the FAB at that time found them to be of the caliber of a Hagler Fellow, and they voted to approve Dr. Cummins. A few months into his time of service in the Hagler Institute, Dr. Cummins was also inducted into the National Academy of Sciences.
Congratulations are in order for Dr. Lawrence Que for his induction into the National Academy of Sciences, and kudos to the Institute’s FAB for appropriately recognizing the excellence in Dr. Que’s work, as a previous FAB had done with Dr. Cummins’ research accomplishments. The National Academy of Sciences has twice confirmed the rigor and judgment of our Hagler Institute Faculty Advisory Board!
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Bas Jonkman Joins Sam Brody
in Houston Flood Control
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What do Houston and Galveston have in common with the Netherlands? Hint: the Johnny Cash song, “Five Feet High and Rising”. You got it. The answer is water, water, and more water, better known as “flooding.” Do you remember Hurricane Harvey in 2017? After bringing havoc to the Galveston area, it dumped more than 50 inches of rain on parts of Houston.
In early September, Sam Brody, George P. Mitchell ’40 Endowed Chair in Sustainable Coasts, Department of Marine Science at the Galveston campus of Texas A&M University, and Sebastian (Bas) Jonkman, 2022-2023 Fellow of the Hagler Institute moderated a discussion on coastal flood control. A better team is hard to find. Dr. Brody, an accomplished researcher, is the Director of the Center for Texas Beaches and Shores, and Dr. Jonkman is a leading expert in the realm of flood risk and hydraulic structures.
Dr. Jonkman, a professor of Hydraulic Engineering at Delft University, came to the Hagler Institute to work with Dr. Brody’s team in Galveston on the development of what could be the largest storm surge barrier in the world. Dr. Jonkman is extremely well qualified to help on this important project.
His expertise has placed him as a member of the Dutch Royal Society of Engineers, a nominee for the Top 10 Engineers of the Year in the Royal Dutch Society of Engineers, and he has received the Best Paper Award in both the Journal of Flood Risk Management and the Society of Risk Analysis. He has been involved in post-disaster and design studies in the Netherlands, New Orleans, Houston, Mozambique, and various countries in South East Asia. He is no stranger to Dr. Brody and the other scientists in Galveston, for Dr. Jonkman’s team has worked closely with Texas A&M on “research by design” for coastal flood risk reduction for Texas over the past ten years.
Queen Maxima (born Maxima Zorreguita), the wife of King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands, visited Houston and attended the Brody/Jonkman discussion. The Houston Chronicle reports her saying that she was impressed that the two countries’ strategies for flood mitigation could preserve the economy and the environment, but also produce knowledge that could help the rest of the world. Regarding this Texas/Netherlands joint effort, she expressed,
“We need you, so thank you very much and I hope you continue this fantastic cooperation.”
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Robert Levine and Douglass Day |
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It is not often that professors are featured in parades for their scholarly endeavors, but Dr. Robert Levine was so honored in his home state of Maryland. The people on the Eastern Shore of Maryland revere Frederick Douglass, who escaped slavery in that state to become a social reformer, orator, writer, and statesman.
Dr. Levine presented the keynote address for Douglass Day. Of course, he is a good choice for the keynote, for Dr. Levine may be the world’s finest scholar of Mr. Douglas, having written two books about him, The Lives of Frederick Douglass, published by Harvard University Press, and The Failed Promise: Reconstruction, Frederick Douglass, and the Impeachment of Andrew Johnson, published by W.W. Norton & Company. Dr. Levine is a guest commentator in the Public Broadcasting Station documentary titled Becoming Frederick Douglas, which aired at 9:00 pm CST on October 11 in the College Station area.
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Robert Levine pictured at the Douglass Day event. |
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In September 2022, the Hagler Institute was pleased to host Robert Levine, 2013-2014 Hagler Fellow, as a new Distinguished Lecturer for the Hagler Institute. Dr. Levine gave a lecture on campus on Tuesday, September 20, which was well attended and also available by Zoom. He discussed his book The Failed Promise, which recently appeared in paperback. Professor Levine brought to dramatic life Frederick Douglass's conflicts and interactions with President Andrew Johnson during the 1865-1868 period—the years immediately following the Civil War and the years of Johnson’s troubled presidency. This focus offered a new African American perspective on the events leading up to Johnson's impeachment, and on the impeachment itself.
Dr. Levine is a Distinguished University Professor of English and Affiliate Professor of American Studies at the University of Maryland. He is the author of other books and articles, serves on the board of key literature journals, and is the editor of the five-volume Norton Anthology of American Literature. Dr. Levine is the recipient of the Hubbell Medal for Lifetime Achievement in American Literary Studies.
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Nikolay Zheludev Receives
the Michael Faraday Medal
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On October 24, the Institute of Physics announced that it has chosen Nikolay Zheludev to receive the 2022 Michael Faraday Medal and Prize. Dr. Zheludev, 2021-2022 Fellow of the Hagler Institute, is a
“… pioneer and founding member of the discipline of nanophotonics. His experimental observations and in-depth studies of new phenomena and functionalities in nanostructured matter are characterized by an exceptional degree of novelty, breadth and impact; some of them have already become classic results laying the foundations for nanotechnology enabled photonic functionalities.”
Dr. Zheludev comes to the Hagler Institute from the Zepler Institute, University of Southampton, United Kingdom, where is Professor and Deputy Director. He is also Co-Director of the Photonics Institute at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. Dr. Zheludev is a member of the Royal Society, UK, and a foreign member of the U.S. National Academy of Engineering. When at Texas A&M University, Dr. Zheludev collaborates with faculty and students in the College of Science (see article in this newsletter about Dominik Doctor), the College of Engineering, Texas A&M AgriLife Research, and the Institute for Quantum Science and Engineering.
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Dr. Julia King, the Baroness Brown of Cambridge and a crossbench member of the British House of Lords, UK, gave a lecture to Texas A&M University’s Energy Institute on October 24, titled “Climate Change, Net Zero, and Air Quality”, where she discussed the evidence for, and the costs of, global warming and its implications. A 2020-2021 Hagler Fellow, Dr. King is on her first visit to the Hagler Institute for Advanced Study. Her initiation of on-campus activity was delayed due to trip postponements caused by the COVID -19 pandemic.
Dr. King is a graduate of the University of Cambridge and is a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering. While her graduate specialization was in engineering mechanics, Dr. King has developed a broad set of competencies and is best known for her work in science, technology, and policy to support low-carbon and new negative-emissions science. She advocates for low-carbon science and evidence-based methods to achieve significant emissions reductions. She authored The King Review of Low-Carbon Cars, a report initiated by the British government to evaluate vehicular and fuel-related technology to reduce carbon emissions. She serves as deputy chair of the UK Climate Change Committee and is Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire, a recognition for her services to materials engineering.
The British have continued to honor her for her work throughout her career, and in 2017 Dr. King was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society, making her one of the few members of the Royal Society and the Royal Academy of Engineering. While at Texas A&M, Dr. King will collaborate with faculty and students in the College of Arts and Sciences, the College of Engineering, and the School of Architecture.
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Julia King presenting a lecture at Texas A&M. |
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Robert Kennicutt and the World’s
Most Powerful Telescope
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The Hagler Institute was not established as a recruiting arm for colleges. However, when Hagler Fellows collaborate with our faculty and students and get a first-hand look at Texas A&M’s outstanding research facilities, many start to assess the opportunities for their career advancement at Texas A&M. More than 20% of Fellows who complete their time in the Hagler Institute join Texas A&M’s faculty.
Dr. Robert C. Kennicutt, Jr. came to Texas A&M from Cambridge University in the U.K as a member of the 2016-2017 class of Hagler Fellows. His addition placed Texas A&M at the forefront of the investigation of our universe. Dr. Kennicutt is now a distinguished professor in Texas A&M’s Department of Physics and Astronomy and Executive Director of the George P. and Cynthia Woods Mitchell Institute for Fundamental Physics and Astronomy.
Dr. Kennicutt recently co-chaired the Astro2020 Decadal Survey, an influential study that provides guidance for further transformative science at the frontiers of astronomy and astrophysics, using input from the scientific community. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the National Science Foundation, and the Department of Energy sponsored the survey to focus research investments over the decade ending in 2030.
One of the survey’s top recommendations was the continued development of the Giant Magellan Telescope, which is based on a mountaintop in Chile. The latest edition of Research@Texas A&M reports that Texas A&M University and its partners in this endeavor recently secured $205 million from a consortium consisting of the Carnegie Institution for Science, Harvard University, The Sao Paulo Research Foundation, The University of Texas at Austin, the University of Arizona, and the University of Chicago. The funds will accelerate the completion of the telescope.
When completed, the Giant Magellan Telescope will allow astronomers to see further into space and with more detail than ever before. It will be much larger than the James Webb Space Telescope and 200 times more powerful than existing research telescopes.
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James E. Hubbard, Jr. Recognized |
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Dr. James E. Hubbard Jr., 2017-2018 Fellow of the Hagler Institute, is the 2022 recipient of the Adaptive Structures and Material Systems Award, which is presented to one senior researcher each year by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. The award is given for significant contributions to the field of adaptive structures and/or material systems, and it is widely viewed as the highest award in that field.
Dr. Hubbard received a medal and certificate at the Smart Materials Adaptive Structures and Intelligent Systems conference, “Pushing Engineering Beyond the Typical Design Principles,” on September 12-14, 2022 in Dearborn, Michigan. He was honored for his lifetime of contributions to the sciences and technologies pertaining to adaptive structures and materials systems. Dr. Hubbard, whose lifetime contributions are far from over, demonstrated that his range of interests and expertise are broad, giving his keynote lecture on “The Smart Structures of the Mind.” The lecture summarized his research, which uses dynamic tools of canonical engineering to understand brain waves. He writes, “The space-time modal patterns of the brain have the potential for widespread application in the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease, dementia, seizures, human emotions and the like.”
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James Hubbard speaks at the Smart Materials Adaptive Structures and Intelligent Systems conference. |
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Dr. Hubbard joined the faculty of Texas A&M University in 2018 as the Oscar S. Wyatt, Jr. ’45 Chair and Texas Engineering Extension Service (TEES) Eminent Professor in the J. Mike Walker ’66 Department of Mechanical Engineering. Since joining Texas A&M’s faculty in 2018, he developed the Morpheus Laboratory at Texas A&M’s RELLIS campus, of which he is the Director. Dr. Hubbard is a member of the National Academy of Engineering and the National Academy of Inventors, and he has won many prominent awards since receiving his PhD from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1982.
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Vanderlei S. Bagnato and Vladislav V. Yakovlev Develop a Novel Bacterial Infection Treatment |
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Bacterial infections are usually treated with antibiotics. The problem is that an increasing number of bacteria have become resistant to antibiotics. |
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A research collaboration between Dr. Vladislav V. Yakovlev, University Distinguished Professor of Biomedical Engineering, and 2018-2019 Fellow of the Hagler Institute, Vanderlei S. Bagnato, Professor, Department of Physics and Materials Science at the University of São Paulo and the Institute of Physics of São Carlos, Brazil, has yielded some important results in the fight against infectious bacteria. The two researchers, with seven other collaborators, took the insights by Dr. Niels Finsen, who won the Nobel Prize in Physiology in 1903, into a new direction and discovered that by using light to trigger a chemical reaction, called antimicrobial photodynamic therapy (aPDT), they can eliminate bacteria with low doses of antibiotics. These important findings were published in a paper titled, “Breaking down antibiotic resistance in methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus: Combining antimicrobial photodynamic and antibiotic treatments” in the August 29, 2022, peer-reviewed Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The potential implications are impressive.
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“Imagine the real-life applications,” said Yakovlev, “You visit a doctor, who uses an ointment and shines a light in the infected area, and then you’re done. It would be a quick and harmless treatment as needed.” |
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Peter W. Shor Receives the Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics |
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If quantum computers typify the future, then society will owe plenty of thanks to Peter W. Shor, the Morss Professor of Applied Mathematics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and 2019-2020 Fellow of the Hagler Institute. Recently, Dr. Shor was awarded the 2022 Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics, which includes a shared $3 million prize with three others for their work in the field of quantum information. The prize is given to individuals who have made profound contributions to human knowledge. Peter Shor’s contributions to quantum computing, including what is called “Shor’s algorithm,” have helped pave the way for quantum computing.
Quantum computing consists of computer-based technologies based on the nature and behavior of energy and matter at the atomic and subatomic levels. Quantum computers promise to exponentially boost computer speed.
Dr. Shor has received many honors for his contributions to quantum computing, including induction into the prestigious National Academy of Sciences and the James R. Killian Jr. Faculty Achievement Award from MIT. As a young mathematician working at AT&T labs, in 1998 he also received the Rolf Nevanlinna Prize from the International Congress of Mathematics, given once every four years for outstanding contributions in mathematical aspects of information sciences.
Professor Shor remains an active member of the Hagler Institute, as some of his visits to Texas A&M University were delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. At Texas A&M he works primarily with the physicists in the Institute for Quantum Science and Engineering.
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Stefan H.E. Kaufmann is Honored Again |
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The scientific board of the Universitätsgesellschaft Münster recently announced that the prestigious Ernst Hellmut Vits Award will be presented to Dr. Stefan H. E. Kaufmann, a 2018-2019 Hagler Fellow and the founding director of the Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology in Berlin, Germany. The prize recognizes outstanding scientific contributions to the intellectual and material improvement of life. The award is given every two years to a scientist from the fields of natural sciences, including medicine and humanities. The judges for the award are from the German Science Foundation, the Max Planck Society, and the Donors' Association for German Science. The award is endowed with 20,000 euros, and the award ceremony will take place on November 8, 2022, in Münster.
In recent years, Dr. Kaufmann’s research focus has been on tuberculosis and the development of a vaccine candidate for this disease. It is for this work that he received the Ernst Hellmut Vits Award. Dr. Kaufmann is working to stop the spread of tuberculosis in many counties, including India, where the disease is prominent.
Dr. Kaufmann has made many scientific contributions in his life, as he is one of the most cited scientists in the world. He and his wife, Elke, will be returning to Texas A&M University shortly after he receives the award, and they will be in residence in College Station for four months. He will be working with faculty and students in the School of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences and in the School of Public Health.
Dr. Kaufmann continues to be a prolific author with a team of investigators. His two recent articles are “Vaccine-Induced Subcutaneous Granulomas in Goats Reflect Differences in Host-Mycobacterium Interactions between BCG- and Recombinant BCG-Derivative Vaccines” published in the 2022, Vol 23, International Journal of Molecular Sciences, and “Association Between Human Immunodeficiency Virus Viremia and Compromised Neutralization of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 Beta Variant” that appeared in the April 2022 Journal of Infectious Diseases advertised by the journal as a “MAJOR ARTICLE."
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“Power Lunch”
If you walked by a certain table full of people at the University Club on October 19, you might have experienced a shock from brain waves emanating from that gathering. Seriously, the accomplishments represented at gatherings of Fellows and former Fellows of the Hagler Institute are impressive. Fellows meet every other week at the University Club to share ideas and information about their current work.
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Seated in the middle on each side of the table are Fellows of the Hagler Institute that have joined A&M’s Faculty. On the left is Dr. Edwin L. “Ned” Thomas who holds the Erle Nye ’59 Chair II in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering. A member of the National Academy of Engineering, Ned came to Texas A&M from Rice University, and prior to that he was at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he was Dean of Engineering. He is pursuing materials research on many fronts, including polymer material physics and engineering, photonic crystals, phononic crystals, metamaterials, microtrusses, and 3D interference lithography, to name only a few.
On the right is one of the foremost astrophysicists in the world, Dr. Robert “Rob” Kennicutt, who is in A&M’s Department of Physics and Astronomy. A few years ago he was chosen by the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine to co-led the Astro 2020 Decadal Survey — a comprehensive study performed by the Academies every 10 years to help determine and prioritize the most important scientific and technological activities in astronomy and astrophysics for the next decade.
Nearest in the picture on the left is 2022-2023 Fellow of the Hagler Institute, Dr. Guy Bertrand, who comes to Texas A&M from the University of California, San Diego, where he is a Distinguished Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry. Dr. Bertrand discovered the stable carbenes-divalent carbon species. He is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and a member of the French Academy of Sciences, the European Academy of Sciences, the Academia Europea, and the French Academy of Technology. Dr. Bertrand is working with faculty and students in A&M’s Department of Chemistry.
Nearest on the right is Dr. H. Vincent “Vince” Poor, the Michael Henry Strater University Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Princeton University, who has been an active Fellow in the Hagler Institute since 2018. Vince is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering, as well as being a foreign member of many other country’s academies. His current research is in wireless networks and energy systems, and the fundamentals underlying them, including information theory, machine learning and network science.
Near the window on the left is 2020-2021 Fellow, Dr. Julia King, also known as Professor Baroness Brown of Cambridge. Coming to College Station from the U.K., where she is deputy chair of the UK Climate Change Committee and is Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire. She is among the few scholars who are fellows of both the Royal Academy of Engineering and the Royal Society, Dr. King is best known for her work in science, technology, and policy to support low-carbon and new negative-emissions science.
Near the window on the right is 2022-2023 Fellow Dr. Donald L. Sparks, who comes to us from the University of Delaware. He holds the S. Hallock du Pont Chair in Soil and Environmental Chemistry at the University of Delaware and is a Francis Alison Professor. His research has been cross-disciplinary, contributing not only to the field of soil science but also to geochemistry, environmental chemistry, and environmental engineering. Dr. Sparks is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He has received the Geochemistry Medal from the American Chemical Society, and the Liebig Medal award from the International Union of Soil Sciences, among other honors.
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Karen Wooley’s High-Tech Sustainability Symposium |
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The Hagler Institute recently sponsored a symposium organized by Dr. Karen Wooley, who holds the W.T. Doherty-Welch Chair in Chemistry. When Dr. Wooley decides to present a forum for forefront work, the heavyweights respond. After all, she is a University Distinguished Professor of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, and Materials Science and Engineering, Director of the TAMU Laboratory for Synthetic-Biologic Interactions, and, to top it off, she was named or first Hagler Faculty Liaison and the SEC Professor of the Year for 2021.
The Symposium is titled “Aspirations & Opportunities for a Sustainable High-Tech Future,” and was held at the George Hotel near the campus of Texas A&M on October 12th and 13th. The Hagler Institute’s Founding Director, Dr. John L. Junkins, a member of the National Academy of Engineering, and Dr. Wooley, a member of the National Academy of Sciences, provided the welcome and opening remarks.
Along with six other outstanding scholars, the symposium featured current and former Hagler Fellows:
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Guy Bertrand, Distinguished Professor of Chemistry at the University of California San Diego and 2022-2023 Fellow of the Hagler Institute, discussing “Carbenes as Precious Metal Surrogates;”
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Kevin G. Bowcutt, 2021-2022 Fellow from Boeing Research & Technology, where he is Chief Scientist of Hypersonics. He presented a paper, “Flying at the Edge of Space: The Challenges and Opportunities of Hypersonic Flight;”
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Julia King, 2020-2021 Fellow, Baroness Brown of Cambridge and member of the House of Lords, presented “Carbon Capture and Storage: A Good Business or a Get out of Jail Free Card;"
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Alan Needleman, 2012-2013 Fellow and now Texas A&M University Distinguished Professor, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, presented “Roughness, Toughness and the Possibility of Crack Path Engineering.”
Alan Needleman was a Fellow in the Institute’s first class, who joined Texas A&M’s faculty shortly after completing his work in the institute. When Dr. Needleman became a member of A&M’s faculty, the College of Science (now the College of Arts and Sciences) and the College of Engineering formed a new department of Materials Science and Engineering, to which Dr. Needleman attracted additional outstanding talent. Three members of the National Academy of Engineering are now in that department, along with other brilliant scholars.
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Kevin Bowcutt pictured speaking at the event. |
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Thomas W. Powell ‘62
Distinguished Alumnus
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When the Institute for Advanced Study was established, the Texas A&M Foundation provided a list of prominent alumni as advocates. Associate Director Clifford Fry ’67 visited with many of the advocates to make sure they had the latest information and that they understood and appreciated the potential of the Institute.
In April 2015, Clifford met with Thomas W. Powell ‘62 at his ranch, and they talked about the Institute, but also their careers and families. Tom understood the mission of the Institute and subsequently became a supporter during a later meeting with an A&M Foundation representative.
Clifford again met with Tom at his awesome ranch several years later. Clifford and Tom formed a special friendship during those visits and their email and phone communications in between.
When the Association of Former Students announced that they had chosen Tom for the very elite group of Distinguished Alumni of Texas A&M University, Clifford was so happy. The awards have been given since 1962, but only 318 Aggies have received it out of the more than 550,000 former students. Clifford called Tom to congratulate him, and Tom shared the story of his big “surprise” visit in a Houston restaurant from the bearers (including Reveille) of the good news. Here is a picture of Tom and Clifford at the Distinguished Alumni Gala.
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Rothrock and Wood Establish A Cybersecurity Institute |
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The advent of internet technology has put the “information highway” at our fingertips. Unfortunately, it might also put your confidential information, and that of our government, businesses, infrastructure, and defense industries at the fingertips of those who mean us harm. It has also exposed the computer-controlled infrastructure of our nation, from the electric grid to our oil and gas pipelines, to our transportation systems, to bank transactions, and our supply chains. Accidental or deliberate cyber events can literally paralyze large sectors of our society. Protecting ourselves involves the difficult area of cybersecurity. |
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Ray Rothrock ’77
Photo Credit: Texas A&M Foundation
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Anthony Wood ’90
Photo Credit: Texas A&M Foundation
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When Aggies team together, much can be accomplished. Recognizing the importance of cybersecurity, Texas A&M Distinguished Alumnus and venture capitalist Ray Rothrock ’77, and Anthony Wood ’90, founder, chairman, and CEO of Roku Inc. raised $10 million for the establishment of a new Global Cyber Research Institute at Texas A&M. The Institute will provide students a place to research and analyze cyber threats to our country’s economy and its security. Mr. Rothrock points out that the cybersecurity field has transitioned from being very technical to more interdisciplinary, and the new institute will have this broader focus.
Among his many other activities, Ray Rothrock ’77 serves on the External Advisory Board of the Hagler Institute for Advanced Study. The Board meets once a year and examines the work of the Hagler Institute in order to provide constructive feedback. The Board recommended several years ago, for example, that the Hagler Institute prepare and disseminate this newsletter.
Ray Rothrock and Anthony Wood are visionaries. They are also “doers”. That combination puts them at the forefront of whatever concerns them. Through their guidance and support, these Texas A&M graduates continue to bring honor to Texas A&M while making a positive impact on the university and on our nation.
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Dominik Doktor
Dominik Doktor, a Ph.D. student in Applied Physics, received a HEEP Fellowship from the Hagler Institute to pursue studies with 2021-2022 Fellow, Dr. Nikolay Zheludev. Dominik is interested in several areas, including nonlinear optics and spectroscopy, which have applications in biomedical engineering and potentially in early diagnoses of disease. Dominik’s one-year fellowship ended in August 2022, and he provided the following information to the Hagler Institute as part of a larger report.
“Additionally, I have gained interest in metamaterials; materials that are comprised of small building blocks and can be custom-tailored to achieve specific functions. Their applications for increasing solar cell efficiencies due to their near-perfect absorption properties are of very high interest to me and I foresee myself heading further in that direction with Dr. Nikolay I. Zheludev. In light of this, I have done research on wireless power beaming using a laser power converter and have published a conference proceeding at the Wireless in Space and Extreme Environments 2021 conference on the topic. A laser power converter comprises of a radiation source (the laser) and a photovoltaic cell (the receiver) to transmit power over up to kilometer distances to the receiver, where the incident light is converted into electricity. In this proceeding, laser power converters comprised of single-junction and multi-junction Gallium Arsenide photovoltaic cells were characterized when monochromatic laser light was incident on them.
Being a part of the HEEP Fellowship has opened many doors for my career. I have been privileged to work closely with the Department of Defense through the National Security Innovation Network, whereby my participation in a hackathon led to a winning prize of $15,000 for my efforts in wireless power beaming. Additionally, I was able to secure the Department of Defense’s prestigious SMART Scholarship and have been accepted as a SMART fellow at the Naval Surface Warfare Center, at Crane, Indiana. Thanks to the HEEP Fellowship I have now a clear path in my career as a scientist at one of our Naval laboratories supporting National Defense efforts and seeing how technology can improve the everyday life of our society.
The HEEP Fellowship award has allowed me to work freely on research and concentrate my efforts on becoming a better physicist. The ability to connect with Dr. Nikolay I. Zheludev has been an absolute privilege and one that I will cherish for years to come. Looking forward to all the great work and research that will come out of this collaboration!”
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Tasmiah Nuzhath
It is always a pleasure when the major newspapers feature work by one of Texas A&M’s graduate students. Tasmiah Nuzhath, who served as a student host in the 2022 Hagler Institute gala, enjoyed that coverage in a September 8, 2022 article in the Houston Chronicle, titled “As Texas kids return to school, routine vaccination rates still haven’t recovered from the pandemic.” Written by Evan MacDonald, Staff Writer, the article points out that, due to the decline in vaccine rates during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns, health providers are now concerned about a higher risk for outbreaks of diseases like measles.
The article utilized a research report for which Tasmiah was the lead author: “Childhood immunization during the COVID- 19 pandemic in Texas” published in the June 2021 edition of the journal Vaccine. Tasmiah is a Ph.D. Student in the School of Public Health at Texas A&M. She received a HEEP graduate student fellowship from the Hagler Institute for Advanced Study to work with 2019-2020 Fellow, Peter Hotez MD, PhD, with whom she conducted this research. Other co-authors on the paper were four Texas A&M professors in the School of Public Health, Qiping Fan, Brian Colwell, Timothy Callaghan and Annette Regan, as well as Kobi Ajayi from A&M’s Laboratory for Community Health Evaluation and Systems Science and Department of Health and Kinesiology.
Dr. Hotez is collaborating over a five-year period with faculty and students in A&M’s School of Public Health and School of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences. Dr. Hotez, holds the Endowed Chair of Tropical Pediatrics at Texas Children’s Hospital, where he Co-Director of the Center for Vaccine Development. He is also a University Professor in the Departments of Pediatrics, Molecular Virology & Microbiology at Baylor College of Medicine. Dr. Hotez is an internationally recognized physician-scientist working on vaccine development and on curing neglected tropical diseases. He is a member of the National Academy of Medicine, a foreign member of the Belgian Royal Academy of Medicine, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He has received many honors and awards, and in 2017 FORTUNE magazine named him as one of thirty-four leaders who care about changing health care.
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In Memoriam: Professor Ignacio Rodriguez-Iturbe |
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On September 28, we lost a great scholar, wonderful professor, a husband, father and grandfather, and a dear friend to many in the Texas A&M network. Dr. Rodriguez-Iturbe was also an impactful and enthusiastic supporter of the Hagler Institute for Advanced Study. His main research focus was hydrology and his prolific scholarship was appreciated both locally and internationally. He won many accolades including election to the National Academy of Engineering and he held the rank of University Distinguished Professor of Ocean Engineering. He served one term on the Hagler Institute Faculty Advisory Board. His service was consistently characterized by penetrating attention to detail and insightful, constructive evaluations of the nominees’ credentials and accomplishments. In addition to his remarkable scholarship, mentorship of young faculty and graduate students, and collegial interactions with everyone he met, his charismatic personality and infectious sense of humor contributed greatly to advancing the community of scholars at Texas A&M. For those not familiar with Dr. Rodriguez-Iturbe, please see this link.
Ignacio, your half-century legacy of impactful scholarship, your contributions as a stellar mentor and your wonderful and engaging personality will never be forgotten. Rest in Peace.
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If you have news to share, please send articles, suggestions, or other information to:
Dr. Clifford L. Fry, Associate Director
Hagler Institute for Advanced Study at Texas A&M University
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