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World-renowned researchers explain why they became TIAS Fellows

Video: Division of Research

Why are so many Nobel laureates, members of the National Academies and world-class scholars becoming Faculty Fellows at the Texas A&M University Institute for Advanced Study? In a new video released today on the TIAS website, four of the Institute’s 22 Faculty Fellows explain why they took the opportunity to collaborate with Texas A&M faculty-researchers through the Institute.

The four TIAS Faculty Fellows praise the Institute for its high standards in selecting new Fellows and for serving as a powerful advocate for interdisciplinary academic research. They also laud TIAS for encouraging Texas A&M researchers and graduate students to collaborate with the Fellows on projects that seek advanced solutions to complex challenges in engineering, science, agriculture, business, policymaking and other disciplines.

Chancellor John Sharp of The Texas A&M University System said, “Listening to our Faculty Fellows speak so highly of their experiences reaffirms my strong belief that the Texas A&M University Institute for Advanced Study remains one of the best investments we have ever made.” Chancellor Sharp is a long-time champion of the Institute and provided the funds to launch TIAS in 2010.

Vice President for Research Glen A. Laine of Texas A&M University said, “TIAS continues to provide extraordinary returns on Chancellor Sharp’s initial investment as well as on the generosity of the Institute’s many contributors. As promised, TIAS is enhancing the A&M research enterprise by bringing these renowned scholars into direct collaboration with our own outstanding faculty-researchers and graduate students.”

The two-and-a-half minute video features interviews with Claude Bouchard, professor of genetics and nutrition at Louisiana State University; Wolfgang Schleich, professor of theoretical physics at Ulm University in Germany; Robert E. Skelton, professor emeritus of mechanical and aerospace engineering at the University of California, San Diego; and Peter J. Stang, professor of chemistry at the University of Utah. The video also includes comments by TIAS Founding Director John L. Junkins.

Titled “The Cornerstone of Academic Excellence at Texas A&M,” the new video also is available on the TIAS home page: tias.tamu.edu. It may also be found at the Research@Texas A&M website: research.tamu.edu.

Each year, TIAS selects its Faculty Fellows from among top scholars who have distinguished themselves through outstanding professional accomplishments or significant recognition. Current members include Nobel laureates, a Wolf Prize-winner, a recipient of the Hubble Medal in Literature for Lifetime Achievement, a winner of the National Medal of Science, an awardee of the National Medal of Technology and Innovation, and several members of major scientific or professional academies. Each Faculty Fellow affiliates with one or more of the doctoral degree granting academic departments housed in Texas A&M’s 11 colleges and Health Science Center. Additional resources provide Texas A&M fellowships for graduate students, as well as funding to support visiting graduate students and post-doctoral researchers affiliated with the Faculty Fellows.