2023 ANNUAL R EPORT
2023 ANNUAL R EPORT
CORNERSTONE
Texas A&M University / 8th Floor, Rudder Tower / 3572 TAMU / College Station, Texas, 77843-3572 hias.tamu.edu P R O D U C E D BY R E S E A R C H C O M M U N I C AT I O N S
FOR INQUIRIES, CONTACT: Clifford L. Fry Hagler Institute for Advanced Study Associate Director cfry@tamu.edu / 979.458.5723 or John L. Junkins Founding Director Hagler Institute for Advanced Study junkins@tamu.edu / 979.458.4992
CONTENTS 2
Message from the Director
THE HAGLER INSTITUTE 6 About the Institute 8 About Jon L. Hagler 9 Faculty Advisory Board Hagler Institute Staff 10 External Advisory Board 12 Advocates 13 Administrative Council 14 National Academy Scholars 15 Legacy Society 16 Malina Renaissance Medallion Award
ABOUT THE HAGLER FELLOWS 18 The Impact 21 Recruitment 24 How Fellows Are Selected 25 Bradley L. Worsham ’88 Fellowship Recipient 26 Mary and Charles Gregory ’64 Fellowship Recipient
FEATURED ARTICLES 28 Designer Plants for a Cleaner Planet: Overcoming Nature’s Built-in Recalcitrance 34 A Short History of Tuberculosis . and a Brief Outlook Into the Future 44 The Many Worlds Interpretation.
THE HAGLER FELLOWS 49 2023-24 Fellow Inductees 65 2023-12 Fellows 70 Financial Overview 73 Charting the Way Forward
EXCELLENT DISTINGUISHED ELEVATING COLLABORATING EXTRAORDINARY OUTSTANDING INSPIRING PRESTIGIOUS ACCOMPLISHED IMPACTFUL INFLUENTIAL WORLD-CLASS TRAILBLAZING
FROM THE DIRECTOR
VISIONARY
T
he Hagler Institute for Advanced Study provides the organizational and financial means for faculty to bring world-renowned scholars to Texas A&M University for up to a year. The institute sets high standards to become a fellow of the Hagler Institute. At a minimum, fellows must have been inducted into esteemed U.S. or foreign national academies or have achieved comparable leadership status in their fields. All are recipients of prestigious awards. During its 12 years in operation, the Hagler Institute
has attracted six recipients of the Nobel Prize, two Wolf Prize winners, lifetime awardees in architecture and literary studies, a National Medal of Technology winner, a two-time awardee of the State Prize of Russia, a recipient of the National Humanities Medal, and many other honorees.
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H AG L E R I N S T I T U T E F O R A D VA N C E D S T U DY AT T E X A S A & M U N I V E R S I T Y
For the academic year 2023-24,
organized by fellows and former
14 new fellows joined the Hagler
fellows that are frequently broadcast by
Institute, along with two Distinguished
Zoom across the nation and, indeed,
Lecturers. I invite you to read in this
the world.
report about their accomplishments and more detail about how they were chosen. Two Nobel Laureates were in
The most important impact of bringing Hagler Fellows to campus is
this 12th class.
more difficult to quantify. I refer to
Hagler Fellows collaborate on research with our
Fellows for our junior faculty and our
faculty and students, resulting in peer-reviewed publications, conference presentations, enhanced external research funding and interdisciplinary breakthroughs in knowledge across many fields.
the inspiration provided by Hagler student body. It is fair to say that each person I know who devoted his or her life to the discovery of knowledge was at one time inspired by some in-person example of excellence that they adopted as a personal goal. Such
The Hagler Institute facilitates
inspiration occurs in special instants
the collaboration of students with
that to others may not be perceived as
fellows by awarding two student
unusual, but to the newly inspired the
fellowships per Hagler Fellow,
instant represents is a life-changing
augmenting the research team
moment. In time, through inspiring
and providing more opportunities
individuals having the highest levels
for students to learn from Hagler
of excellence in each department,
Fellows. The Hagler Institute has
college and school, we can lift Texas
funded or committed to fund 232
A&M to the top of public universities
such student fellowships. Many
in this nation.
graduate and undergraduate students are treated to lectures by Hagler Fellows, adding to the intellectual stimulation and guidance they
The Hagler Institute will help accomplish widespread recognition of Texas A&M as one of the nation’s
already receive from A&M’s faculty.
outstanding universities by periodic
Each semester, the Hagler Institute
to A&M’s tenured faculty. The
hosts one Eminent Scholar Lecture.
combination of the Hagler Institute,
These are university-level lectures,
the Chancellor’s Research Initiative
including presentations made by
and the Governor’s University
Lena Orlin, a renowned Shakespear
Research Initiative has resulted in
scholar, and Huda Zoghbi, a medical
a dramatic increase in the number
researcher who discovered the genetic
of National Academy-level scholars
bases for several important disorders.
on Texas A&M’s faculty. When this
In addition, the Hagler Institute
institute began in 2012, there were
sponsors specialized symposiums
11 members of the National Academies
additions of former Hagler Fellows
CORNERSTONE | 2023 ANNUAL REPORT
3
of Medicine, Sciences and Engineering on the
We presently have resources to sustain an
A&M faculty. At the beginning of the
average level of 10 new fellows and 20 new
2023-2024 academic year, the Texas A&M
graduate student fellowships each year.
faculty website listed 57 such academy
Our goal is for the fellows and graduate
members on A&M’s permanent faculty. The
students to be 100% independently endowed
Hagler Institute has proven to be a key catalyst
with sufficient funds to attract an average
for this increase, by bringing top scholars to
of 20 new fellows per year and support 40
Texas A&M for extended periods. These visits
new students with fellowships. With this
inherently provide occasions for fellows to
volume of annual Hagler Fellows, we can
experience the opportunities that Texas A&M
enable every department with a graduate
has to offer for their own careers, and for
program to attract, on average, a Hagler
faculty to assess the advantages of having the
Fellow every four years. The positive
fellow as a colleague. More than 25% of those
impact on the quality of our programs will
who have completed their time in the Hagler
be dramatically elevated, in perpetuity.
Institute have joined A&M’s faculty. These faculty additions continue to attract other
I invite you to join us to enhance the
academy-level scholars. This is an area in
scope of operation of this institute.
which excellence truly breeds more excellence.
Your generosity will live on forever,
For me personally, the institute was once just a dream, and I am happy to say it is a dream that has come true. The Hagler
enhancing Texas A&M University and its role in changing many lives and improving our nation’s future.
Institute is now a proven agent for enhancing quality across all colleges and schools. Thanks to Chancellor John Sharp, Jon L. Hagler ’58, and other generous donors of endowments and planned estate giving, and continuing support from General (Ret.) President Mark A. Welsh lll, we have secured the Hagler Institute as a permanent part of Texas A&M University. However, there is more we can do.
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JOHN L. JUNKINS Founding Director Hagler Institute for Advanced Study
H AG L E R I N S T I T U T E F O R A D VA N C E D S T U DY AT T E X A S A & M U N I V E R S I T Y
THE HAGLER INSTITUTE
EXCELLENT
ABOUT THE HAGLER INSTITUTE
DISTINGUISHED
T
he Hagler Institute for Advanced Study
A minimum criterion for selection as a
is devoted to the highest measure of
Hagler Fellow is election into one of the
academic excellence. It is the only
national academies or having equivalent
institute of its kind in the United States.
stature in other fields. In its first 12 years,
Located in Rudder Tower in the heart
the institute has appointed 116 Hagler
of the Texas A&M campus, the Hagler
Fellows and 10 Distinguished Lecturers,
Institute serves all colleges, select institutes,
including seven Nobel Prize recipients and
Texas A&M at Galveston and the School of Law
winners of many other prestigious honors.
in Fort Worth.
Now a permanent feature on campus, the Hagler
The Hagler Institute brings the world’s most notable scholars—known as Hagler Fellows—to campus for up to one year to inspire and collaborate with Texas A&M’s outstanding faculty and students.
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Institute was the idea of its founding director, John L. Junkins, a University Distinguished Professor in the Department of Aerospace Engineering and former Texas A&M interim president. The concept was proven over a five-year period with startup funds provided
H AG L E R I N S T I T U T E F O R A D VA N C E D S T U DY AT T E X A S A & M U N I V E R S I T Y
by Chancellor John Sharp and Texas A&M’s
The implications for the academic environment at
Academic Master Plan. A commitment of continuing
Texas A&M are astounding. In essence, each year the
funding by then-Texas A&M President Michael K.
Hagler Institute injects new academic excellence into a
Young and supported by General (Ret.) President
variety of fields of study at the university.
Mark A. Welsh lll, along with the resulting significant endowment provided by Distinguished Alumnus
The typical fellow now spends more than six months
Jon L. Hagler ’58, ensures the institute’s stability.
in residence, spread over three years. Within any one year, 30 or more visiting world-class scholars are commonly on the campus. The impact of the Hagler Institute on academic excellence will advance at a pace determined by donor support and by each college or school’s participation as reflected in fellow nominations.
The Hagler Institute broadly elevates the reputation of Texas A&M by: •
Connecting faculty and students with recognized scholars from across the United States and from other countries.
•
Fostering advanced problem solving, research and publications.
•
Increasing external research funding through efforts of current and former Hagler Fellows.
•
Attracting additional world-class scholars to Texas A&M’s faculty as a by-product of their in-residence visits, some using funds from the Governor’s University Research Initiative and the Chancellor’s Research Initiative.
•
Attracting new outstanding faculty and students by providing a unique intellectual atmosphere.
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JON L. HAGLER
ELEVATING Jon L. Hagler ’58 funded a significant
and is a past member of the board of directors
endowment for the Institute for Advanced
of the Association of Former Students.
Study to ensure its permanence as an epitome of excellence on the A&M campus.
Hagler chaired the executive committee of the One Spirit, One Vision campaign from 2000 to 2006; co-chaired the university’s 1999 strategic
His devotion to Texas A&M has been evident
planning initiative, Vision 2020: Creating a
throughout his adult life. Jon L. Hagler is
Culture of Excellence; served as past chairman
recognized nationally as a leader in investment
and trustee emeritus of the Texas A&M
management as well as philanthropy. In 1984,
Foundation Board of Trustees; and was the
he and wife Jo Ann founded the Jon L. Hagler
leading donor of the Texas A&M Foundation’s
Foundation, a private, independent foundation
campus headquarters named in his honor.
that has financially supported Texas A&M as well
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as multiple philanthropic efforts across the nation.
He has offered valuable guidance as a member
Hagler has shown an interest in supporting
of the institute’s external advisory board since
overarching initiatives that elevate Texas
its formation and through his generosity
A&M’s academic stature and contribute
has helped make the institute a permanent
to A&M’s long-term success. He is highly
part of Texas A&M. To ensure prestigious
regarded and respected at the university
leadership in years ahead, Hagler endowed
for his leadership and contributions, both
the director’s chair to provide research
of which have spanned decades.
support for future directors of the institute.
Texas A&M recognized Hagler with an
Hagler received his bachelor’s degree from
honorary doctorate in 2015 and the 2005
Texas A&M in 1958, was a Corps of Cadets
Sterling C. Evans Medal for his dedication
commander during his senior year, and
in supporting Texas A&M. He was named a
served as a Ross Volunteer. He earned an
Texas A&M Distinguished Alumnus in 1999
MBA from Harvard University in 1963.
H AG L E R I N S T I T U T E F O R A D VA N C E D S T U DY AT T E X A S A & M U N I V E R S I T Y
FACULTY ADVISORY BOARD The Hagler Institute Faculty Advisory Board is charged with the responsibility of studying and analyzing the records of nominees for the Hagler Institute Fellows, assessing their qualifications, and selecting the scholars to be recruited. Term Expires May 31, 2024
Term Expires May 31, 2026
M. Cynthia Hipwell College of Engineering
Valerie Hudson The Bush School of Government and Public Service
Stephen H. Safe School of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences
Stratos Pistikopoulos College of Engineering
Dorothy Shippen College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
Farida Sohrabji School of Medicine
Term Expires May 31, 2025 Robert Kennicutt College of Arts and Sciences Glynn S. Lunney Jr. School of Law
Three of the nine seats
on the Advisory Board are chosen by the university’s provost and the vice president for research.
The remaining six seats
are chosen by the electorate from among its members.
Jörg M. Steiner School of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences
HAGLER INSTITUTE STAFF First row, left to right:
John L. Junkins Founding Director University Distinguished Professor Department of Aerospace Engineering College of Engineering Clifford L. Fry Associate Director Amanda Scott Assistant Director Second row, left to right:
Kay Choate Event Assistant
Regan Bailey Faculty Liaison Professor and Associate Director for Precision Nutrition Institute for Advancing Health through Agriculture
CORNERSTONE | 2023 ANNUAL REPORT
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EXTERNAL ADVISORY BOARD The Hagler Institute External Advisory Board annually reviews the activities of the Hagler Institute for Advanced Study at Texas A&M to provide guidance, advice and recommendations. C H AI R
Norman R. Augustine Former Under Secretary, U.S. Army Former Chair and CEO, Lockheed Martin Corporation Former President, National Academy of Engineering Committee Chair, Rising Above the Gathering Storm: Energizing and Employing America for a Brighter Economic Future National Medal of Technology University of Warwick Distinguished Lecture
VI C E C H AI R
Ray M. Bowen Distinguished Visiting Professor, Rice University Former President, Texas A&M University Former Chair, National Science Board Former Division Director and Deputy Director, National Science Foundation
Jon L. Hagler Former Director, GMO Former Chairman, Texas A&M Foundation Board of Trustees Former Co-Chair, Texas A&M’s Vision 2020 Planning Initiative Sterling C. Evans Medal, The Texas A&M Foundation Distinguished Alumnus, The Association of Former Students, Texas A&M University Honorary Doctor of Letters, Texas A&M University The Honorable Kay Bailey Hutchison Former U.S. Senator Former NATO Ambassador National Advisory Council, NASA Global Advisory Board, Bank of America Board of Directors, Atlantic Council Senior Advisor, Center for Strategic and International Studies Former Chairman, Board of Visitors, United States Military Academy West Point Fellow, American Academy of Arts and Sciences Ray Rothrock Chairman, RedSeal, Inc. Venrock, Partner Emeritus Forbes Midas List Former Chair, National Venture Capital Association MIT Corporation, Member UTIMCO, Vice Chairman Distinguished Alumnus, The Association of Former Students, Texas A&M University Director, Check Point Software Technology, Ltd. Director, Roku Inc. Trustee, Carnegie Institute of Science Director, Nuclear Threat Initiative Ronald L. Skaggs Chairman Emeritus and CEO, HKS Inc., Architects/Engineers/Planners President, American Institute of Architects (AIA) Chancellor, AIA College of Fellows Board Chairman and Vice Chair, National Institute of Building Sciences National Academy of Construction Distinguished Alumnus, The Association of Former Students, Texas A&M University
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H AG L E R I N S T I T U T E F O R A D VA N C E D S T U DY AT T E X A S A & M U N I V E R S I T Y
Michael L. Slack Founding and Managing Partner, Slack Davis Sanger L.L.P. Formerly, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Johnson Space Center Associate Fellow, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Distinguished Aerospace Engineering Alumni 2018, Texas A&M University Distinguished Aggie Lawyer 2023, Texas Aggie Bar Association Past President Texas Trial Lawyers Association Board of Governors, American Association of Justice American Board of Trial Advocates John White Chairman Emeritus, The Texas A&M University System Board of Regents Trustee, George and Barbara Bush Foundation Former Chairman, Ed Rachal Foundation Former Director, UTIMCO Fellow, American Bar Foundation Inductee, Texas A&M University Corps of Cadets Hall of Honor Fifth Generation Texas Rancher Sheila E. Widnall Institute Professor and Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Former Secretary of the Air Force National Academy of Engineering American Academy of Arts and Sciences American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Former President, AAAS Member, Columbia Accident Investigation Board Anthony Wood Founder, Chairman and CEO, Roku Founder with Susan Wood, Wood Next Foundation Technical Emmy in 2000 for creating the first Digital Video Recorder (DVR) Technical Emmy in 2013 for creating the first Streaming Video Player Distinguished Alumnus, The Association of Former Students, Texas A&M University Outstanding Alumni Award, College of Engineering, Texas A&M University
E M E RI T U S M E M BE R S
Susan R. Bailey Partner, Fort Worth Allergy and Asthma Associates President-elect, American Medical Association Regent Emerita, The Texas A&M University System Distinguished Fellow, American College of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology Distinguished Alumna, The Association of Former Students, Texas A&M University Former President, Texas Medical Association Anita K. Jones Professor Emerita, University of Virginia Former Director, Defense Research and Engineering, U.S. Department of Defense National Academy of Engineering Committee Member, Rising Above the Gathering Storm: Energizing and Employing America for a Brighter Economic Future Former Vice Chair, National Science Board
Linda P. B. Katehi Professor, Electrical and Computer Engineering, College of Engineering, Texas A&M University Former Chancellor, Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of California, Davis National Academy of Engineering American Academy of Arts and Sciences Alexander von Humboldt Research Award V. Lane Rawlins President Emeritus, University of North Texas Former President, Washington State University Former President, University of Memphis NCAA Board of Directors
IN M EMO R IAM
H. Norman Abramson Former Executive Vice President, Southwest Research Institute National Academy of Engineering American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) ASME Medal Recipient AIAA Structures, Structural Dynamics, and Materials Award
Herbert H. Richardson Chancellor Emeritus, The Texas A&M University System Director Emeritus, Texas A&M Transportation Institute University Distinguished Professor Emeritus, Mechanical Engineering, Texas A&M University National Academy of Engineering ASME Rufus Oldenburger Medal
COLLABORATING
CORNERSTONE | 2023 ANNUAL REPORT
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ADVOCATES Advocates for the Hagler Institute for Advanced Study at Texas A&M champion the institute to anyone who shares an interest in the advancement of Texas A&M. In addition, Advocates identify like-minded prospective donors who may want to help establish a strong financial foundation for the institute’s mission.
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Janice Adams
Antony Jameson
Herbert H. Richardson
Norman R. Augustine
Linda P. B. Katehi
Jess C. "Rick" Rickman III ’70
Miroslav Begovic
Christopher Layne
Mercedes Rodriguez
Jason A. Blackstone ’99
Frank Little
B. Don Russell ’70
Ray M. Bowen ’58
Karin C. Loftin
Stephanie W. Sale
Jean-Louis and Janet Briaud
R. Bowen Loftin
Bill E. Carter ’69
Carolyn S. Lohman
William S. Saric and Helen L. Reed
Jerry S. Cox ’72
George J. Mann
John L. Crompton ’77
William J. Merrell Jr. ’71
Ronald A. DeVore
Richard and Susan Miles
Edward S. Fry
Charles R. Munnerlyn ’62
Ram and Angela Galindo
Alan and Wanda Needleman
J. Rick Giardino
H. Joseph Newton
Melbern G. Glasscock ’59
Gerald R. North
Janet A. Handley ’76
Erle A. Nye ’59
William C. Hearn ’63
Elaine S. and Daniel Oran
Rodney C. Hill
Marcia Ory
M. Cynthia Hipwell
George and Marilyn Pharr
Michael A. Hitt
Thomas W. Powell ’62
Carl F. Jaedicke ’73
J.N. and Aruna Reddy
H AG L E R I N S T I T U T E F O R A D VA N C E D S T U DY AT T E X A S A & M U N I V E R S I T Y
Thomas R. Saving Marlan O. Scully Les E. Shephard ’77 James M. Singleton IV ’66 Ronald L. Skaggs ’65 Michael L. Slack ’73 Christine A. Stanley ’90 Jörg Steiner David G. and Valerie Woodcock Karen and Mark Wooley Stratos and Maria Zarai-Pistikopoulos
ADMINISTRATIVE COUNCIL The Hagler Institute Administrative Council oversees the operation of the institute and reviews its progress. The university’s provost selects the institute’s director.
CH AI R Alan Sams
Provost and Executive Vice President
VI CE CH A I R Jack G. Baldauf
Vice President for Research
Robert B. Ahdieh
Dean, School of Law Dean and Anthony G. Buzbee Endowed Dean’s Chair Professor, School of Law
John R. August
Dean, School of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences Professor, School of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences
Kenneth S. Ramos
Associate Vice President for Research, Texas A&M Health Executive Director, Texas A&M Institute of Biosciences and Technology Director, Center for Genomic and Precision Medicine, Alkek Chair of Medical Genetics Professor, School of Medicine
Jeffrey W. Savell
Vice President for Finance and Chief Financial Officer Division of Finance and Business Services
Vice Chancellor and Dean, Agriculture and Life Sciences University Distinguished Professor, Regents Professor, and E.M. “Manny” Rosenthal Chairholder
Shawn G. Gibbs
Jerry R. Strawser
Dimitris Lagoudas
Patrick Suermann
John Crawford
Dean, School of Public Health Professor, School of Public Health
Robert C. “Bud” Hagner Chair of Engineering University Distinguished Professor, College of Engineering
Michael A. de Miranda
Dean, School of Education and Human Development Professor, School of Education and Human Development
Associate Dean for Graduate Programs Professor, Mays Business School
Interim Dean, School of Architecture Associate Professor, School of Architecture
Tyson Voelkel
President and CEO Texas A&M Foundation
Amy Waer
Dean, School of Medicine Jean and Tom McMullin Endowed Dean
Stratos Pistikopoulos
Director, Texas A&M Energy Institute Professor, College of Engineering
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NATIONAL ACADEMY SCHOLARS ON THE TEXAS A&M FACULTY Approximately 25% of the Fellows who have completed their time in the Hagler Institute have joined Texas A&M’s permanent faculty. These scholars are Permanent Members of the Hagler Institute, and they have been catalysts for attracting other academy-level scholars to Texas A&M’s faculty. Other National Academy scholars on the Texas A&M faculty, as well as members of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, are Affiliates of the Hagler Institute for Advanced Study. This list refers only to those members of the congressionally mandated National Academies: the National Academy of Engineering, the National Academy of Medicine, or the National Academy of Sciences. The list does not include A&M faculty who are members of other prestigious U.S. or international academies. (As of January 2024: source Faculty Affairs)
Girish S. Agarwal
Institute for Quantum Science and Engineering
Kyle T. Alfriend
College of Engineering
Robert Ambrose
College of Engineering
Leif Andersson*
School of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences
Regan Bailey
College of Engineering
Gilbert Froment
Frances Ligler
College of Engineering
George Ligler
College of Engineering
College of Engineering
Yassin A. Hassan
Nathan Meehan
College of Engineering
College of Engineering
Dudley R. Herschbach
Richard Bryant Miles
M. Cynthia Hipwell
Warren “Pete” Miller
College of Arts and Sciences
College of Engineering
College of Engineering
College of Engineering
Herbert Richardson
Emeritus College of Engineering
B. Don Russell
College of Engineering
William Sage*
School of Law
William S. Saric
Emeritus College of Engineering
Marlan O. Scully
College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
James Hubbard Jr.*
College of Engineering
Alan Needleman*
College of Engineering
Institute for Quantum Science and Engineering
Mark A. Barteau
Antony Jameson
Elaine S. Oran
Chanan Singh
College of Engineering
College of Engineering
John L. Junkins
Thomas J. Overbye
Vijay Singh
College of Engineering
College of Engineering
Linda P.B. Katehi
Roderic I. Pettigrew
Patrick J. Stover
School of Engineering Medicine
College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
George M. Pharr
Edwin “Ned” Thomas
College of Engineering
Donald J. Darensbourg
College of Arts and Sciences
Marcetta Darensbourg
College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
Akhil Datta-Gupta
College of Engineering
Luiz Davidovich*
Institute for Quantum Science and Engineering
College of Engineering
College of Engineering College of Engineering
Robert Kennicutt Jr.*
College of Arts and Science
Mladen Kezunovic
College of Engineering
Panganamala Ramana Kumar
Ronald A. DeVore
College of Engineering
Nancy W. Dickey
College of Arts and Sciences
College of Arts and Sciences School of Medicine
Bonnie J. Dunbar
College of Engineering
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Ali Erdemir
David Lee
W. John Lee
College of Engineering
College of Engineering
Darwin J. Prockop
College of Engineering
Karen L. Wooley
School of Medicine
College of Arts and Sciences
Kenneth S. Ramos
*Hagler Institute Permanent Member
Institute of Biosciences and Technology
Junuthula N. Reddy
College of Engineering
Peter Rentzepis
College of Engineering
H AG L E R I N S T I T U T E F O R A D VA N C E D S T U DY AT T E X A S A & M U N I V E R S I T Y
LEGACY SOCIETY ENDOWMENTS AND CASH GIFTS SIGNATURE DONORS $10,000,000 OR MORE Jon L. Hagler ’58 $1,000,000–$9,999,999 Trisha and L.C. “Chaz” Neely ’62 Thomas W. Powell ’62 Anthony J. Wood ’90 and Susan D. Wood ’89 Eric Yong Xu ’93 $100,000–$999,999 Jerry (’72) and Kay Cox (’02) Foundation Susanne M. and Melbern G. Glasscock ’59 Mary and Charles H. Gregory ’64 Karin C. and R. Bowen Loftin ’71 Judy and Robert Skelton Bradley L. Worsham ’88 $99,999 OR LESS H. Norman Abramson Jean-Louis and Janet Briaud Willard and Anne Levin Foundation Alan Needleman Katepalli R. Sreenivasan LEGACY PLANNED ESTATE GIFTS Anonymous Janet Bluemel Walter and Charlotte Buchanan Judy and Clifford Fry ’67 John Gladysz Jon L. Hagler (’58) Foundation Elouise and John L. Junkins Ozden Ochoa ’77 Roderick D. Stepp ’59 Christi L. ’98 and Tyson T. Voelkel ’96 GRANTS $100,000 The Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation, Inc. $50,000 Ed Rachal Foundation CORNERSTONE | 2023 ANNUAL REPORT
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MALINA RENAISSANCE MEDALLION AWARD
EXTRAORDINARY
E
stablished in 2022 by John L. Junkins, the Frank J. Malina ’34 Renaissance Medallion Award honors the legacy of the Texas A&M University former student who co-founded the Jet Propulsion Lab as well as the first rocket and jet engine company, Aerojet Corp. In this way, Malina helped lay the foundations for the nation’s rocket and missile programs. Later in Paris, Malina made indelible contributions as a kinetic artist.
At the 2023 Hagler Institute gala, Junkins presented the Frank J. Malina ’34 award to its second recipient, Ray Rothrock ’77, a nuclear engineering graduate of Texas A&M and a successful venture capitalist investor, primarily in the fields of cybersecurity and energy. He is a lifelong musician and supporter of the arts.
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H AG L E R I N S T I T U T E F O R A D VA N C E D S T U DY AT T E X A S A & M U N I V E R S I T Y
Frank J. Malina ’34
ABOUT THE HAGLER FELLOWS
OUTSTANDING
2023 CORNERSTONE | ANNUAL REPORT
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THE IMPACT
T
he Hagler Institute for Advanced Study is a
Although the institute is not designed to recruit
beacon of excellence at Texas A&M University.
permanent faculty, the time in residence gives Hagler
Each year, the Hagler Institute attracts a new
Fellows a valuable look at the opportunities and research
group of world-class scholars, called Hagler
facilities of this great institution. As of the end of fiscal
Fellows, who stay from three to twelve months
year 2023, 25% of the Hagler Fellows who completed
on the Texas A&M campus, and Distinguished
their time in the Hagler Institute joined Texas A&M’s
Lecturers, who come for shorter visits.
permanent faculty. Each of these fellows represent the cream of the crop of potential faculty additions. Such
That annual influx of talent enriches Texas A&M’s
distinguished faculty in turn attract other outstanding
intellectual atmosphere, enhances the quality of academic
scholars. Since the Hagler Institute’s first class arrived
programs, accelerates solutions to complex research
in fiscal year 2013, the number of members of the
problems and heightens Texas A&M’s reputation as a
congressionally mandated National Academies of
top-tier research university.
Engineering, Medicine and Sciences on Texas A&M’s
Another hallmark of a great university is that
influx of talent has helped make Texas A&M the first
renowned scholars at other universities want to
academic institution in Texas to exceed $1 billion in
interact with its faculty and students. The Hagler
external research funding.
Institute has proven an important magnet for such engagements at Texas A&M. During their time on campus, Hagler Fellows collaborate in intense research with Texas A&M’s internationally known senior faculty and rising-star junior faculty. Furthermore, the Hagler Institute provides two graduate student fellowships per fellow to ensure that A&M’s top students have the opportunity to team with Hagler Fellows and their A&M hosts in meaningful research. These associations can fundamentally enhance students’ career options. In their host colleges or schools, Hagler Fellows often present lectures that reach a broad audience. In addition, the Hagler Institute for Advanced Study chooses one fellow each semester to present its public Eminent Scholar Lecture.
18
faculty has increased from 11 to 57. This remarkable
Within the addition of fellows to engineering faculty lies a unique success story. Alan Needleman, a 2012–13 fellow and one of the world’s most cited scholars, joined Texas A&M’s faculty upon completing his work in the Hagler Institute. The College of Arts and Sciences and the College of Engineering joined forces to form a new Department of Materials Science and Engineering with Needleman as its most distinguished faculty member. He was soon joined by new hires of top professors, including George Pharr, another noted researcher and member of the National Academy of Engineering. Renowned scientist and engineer Edwin “Ned” Thomas later joined the faculty of that department after initially being attracted to the Hagler Institute for Advanced Study while at Rice University. These three highly accomplished individuals were hired into either a Chancellor’s Research Initiative (CRI) position or a Governor’s University Research Initiative (GURI) position. Each CRI and GURI
H AG L E R I N S T I T U T E F O R A D VA N C E D S T U DY AT T E X A S A & M U N I V E R S I T Y
INSPIRING
position came with two additional faculty positions and
Christodoulos Floudas, a former fellow of the Hagler
startup funds of about $5 million. These three National
Institute and a renowned chemical engineer from
Academy of Engineering hires were instrumental in
Princeton University, joined Texas A&M’s faculty, and
advancing the new department from startup to national
in February 2015 became the director of Texas A&M’s
and international prominence.
Energy Institute. Floudas recruited Stratos Pistikopoulos, a member of the Royal Society in the United Kingdom,
The Hagler Institute has paid for itself many times over.
and together they rebuilt Texas A&M’s Energy Institute
Its excellence mission has attracted significant donor
into a vibrant asset. Before Floudas’ sudden death in
contributions. In addition, funds have come to Texas
August 2018 at 56, the two attracted more than $20
A&M due to former fellows who joined Texas A&M’s
million in new research funds. Since then, under
faculty and other new professors attracted to Texas
Pistikopoulos’ leadership, the Energy Institute has
A&M because of these additions. These funds have come
been awarded more than $45 million through projects
from the Chancellor’s Competitive Research Initiative,
sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy, the
the Governor’s University Research Initiative, and
National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of
increases in outside research funding.
Health, the U.S. Department of State and other sources.
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19
16 OF 116
HAGLER FELLOWS’ MEMBERSHIP AND ACCOLADES
Scholars in the first 12 classes have chosen to join Texas A&Ms permanent faculty. HAROLD ADAMS RKTL International School of Architecture LEIF ANDERSSON Uppsala University, Sweden School of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences VANDERLEI BAGNATO University of São Paulo, Brazil College of Engineering LUIZ DAVIDOVICH Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Institute for Quantum Science and Engineering CHRISTODOULOS FLOUDAS Princeton University College of Engineering, Energy Institute KARL HEDRICK University of California, Berkeley College of Engineering ROGER HOWE Yale University School of Education and Human Development JAMES E. HUBBARD JR. University of Maryland College of Engineering ROBERT KENNICUTT JR. University of Cambridge, England College of Arts and Sciences RACHAEL MORAN University of California, Los Angeles School of Law ALAN NEEDLEMAN University of North Texas College of Engineering JEAN-PAUL RODRIGUE Hofstra University Texas A&M University at Galveston ROBERT SKELTON University of California, San Diego College of Engineering EDWIN “NED” L. THOMAS Rice University College of Engineering WILLIAM G. UNRUH University of British Columbia, Canada Institute for Quantum Science and Engineering WILLIAM M. SAGE University of Texas at Austin School of Law
20
6
1
12
NOBEL PRIZE
NATIONAL MEDAL OF SCIENCE
NATIONAL ACADEMY OF MEDICINE
2
40
1
NATIONAL ACADEMY OF EDUCATION
INTERNATIONAL ACADEMIES
ACADEMY AWARD
1
2
41
AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF ARCHITECTURE
WOLF PRIZE
NATIONAL ACADEMY OF ENGINEERING
1
34
2
NATIONAL HUMANITIES MEDAL
NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES
STATE PRIZE OF RUSSIA
1
31
1
NATIONAL MEDAL OF TECHNOLOGY
AMERICAN ACADEMY OF ARTS AND SCIENCES
HUBBELL MEDAL IN LITERARY SCHOLARSHIP
H AG L E R I N S T I T U T E F O R A D VA N C E D S T U DY AT T E X A S A & M U N I V E R S I T Y
RECRUITMENT
PRESTIGIOUS
D
uring the first 12 years, the Hagler Institute
In response to the reorganization, the Hagler Institute
brought 116 Hagler Fellows and 10
revised its procedures. All colleges and schools can
Distinguished Lecturers to Texas A&M
now submit to the Hagler Institute five and one-half
University. Since the 2022 reorganization of
nominations, plus one additional nomination for every
the academic units, the term “college” has been
college chair solely devoted to supporting Hagler Fellows.
reserved for the College of Engineering, the
The partial nominations are for colleges or schools
College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and the new
that divide their costs of a fellow, who receives a joint
College of Arts and Sciences, which encompasses the
appointment in two academic units.
former colleges of liberal arts, geosciences, and science. These colleges are the three largest academic units. The other fields are encompassed in “schools,” which applies to architecture, government and public service, business, education, medicine, law, public health, veterinary medicine, dentistry, nursing, pharmacy and the new School of Performance, Visualization and Fine Arts.
The Hagler Institute has also changed the nomination and recruiting schedules to enable earlier contact with prospective Hagler Fellows. Our nomination period will now open in April and conclude in August, allowing the deans and faculty more time to assess nominees. The Hagler Institute’s Faculty Advisory Board will now complete its evaluations of nominees by early December. This new schedule allows the Hagler Institute to make
CORNERSTONE | 2023 ANNUAL REPORT
21
its first recruiting calls in December and January, three months earlier than before. This earlier contact period could improve
Nomination and Recruiting History Year
Nominated
Approved
Recruited
2013
17
15
6
2014
17
15
9
2015
16
14
7
2016
25
19
13
2017
16
13
10
2018
17
15
7
2019
17
17
9
2020
25
21
9
2021
19
17
10
2022
16
12
8
2023
26
23
14
2024
24
23
14
TOTALS
235
204
116
the acceptance rate of those top scholars who are prospective fellows. An important measure of participation in the Hagler Institute’s excellence mission is the number of nominations. Because Hagler Fellows are in residence from prior year classes, nominations submitted in any particular year underestimate involvement. For the fiscal year 2024 fellows inducted in the March 1, 2024 gala, the Hagler Institute received 24 nominations by Aug. 31, 2022. Its Faculty Advisory Board of nine Texas A&M University Distinguished Professors carefully evaluated the nominees during fall 2022.
TABLE 1: Fellows thus far recruited.
Some were approved for recruiting as meeting the high standards of the Hagler Institute and some were not. The Hagler Institute assisted
Recruited as % of Approved
in recruiting approved nominees during the spring and summer of 2023.
90% 80%
Each of the nominees is of the highest
70%
caliber in his or her profession. Due to
60%
various family and professional obligations, not all can commit to be a Hagler Fellow.
50%
The Hagler Institute provides fellows the
40%
flexibility to spread their time at Texas A&M
30%
for up to five years. The average fellow now
20%
comes for about six months spread over
10%
approximately a three-year period. Despite
0%
this flexibility and best efforts on the part of 2012
2014
2016
2018
2020
2022
2024
2026
FIGURE 1: How the recruited fellows as a percentage of approved nominees has varied over time. The experience of the last four years has been more stable and suggests that we have moved to around a 60% recruitment rate.
those recruiting, typically not all approved nominees can be recruited as fellows. The results of the nomination, approval and recruitment process for the 12 groups of Hagler Fellows thus far recruited are shown in Table 1. For the entire period, an average
22
H AG L E R I N S T I T U T E F O R A D VA N C E D S T U DY AT T E X A S A & M U N I V E R S I T Y
of 87% of the nominees were approved for recruiting,
Business School have taken most advantage of
and of those approved 57% were recruited as fellows.
their nomination capabilities for fiscal year 2025.
Figure 1 shows how the recruited Hagler Fellows as a percentage of approved nominees has varied over time. The experience of the last four years has been more stable and suggests that we have moved to around a 60% recruitment rate. The Hagler Institute now has the nominations for the fiscal year 2025 group of fellows, which are shown in Table 2. The College of Arts and Sciences, the College of Engineering and Mays
Of these three, only the College of Engineering does not have an endowment for a chair for Hagler Fellows, but it is the largest college and likely the most well-funded given its success in attracting outside research funds. Resources always play a role in nomination numbers, but since the Hagler Institute pays much of the cost of a Hagler Fellow, some issues have to do with the emphasis within the college of attracting additional stellar scholars within a particular year.
Nominations of Fellows for 2024-25 Academic Year College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
2
School of Architecture
1.5
College of Arts and Sciences
5.5
School of Engineering Medicine
0
Bush School of Government and Public Service
1
Mays Business School
4
School of Education and Human Development
0
Energy Institute
1
College of Engineering
5
Texas A&M University at Galveston
0
School of Medicine
2
Institute for Quantum Science and Engineering
1
School of Law
1
School of Performance, Visualization and Fine Arts
1
School of Public Health
0
School of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences
1
TOTAL
26
TABLE 2: Hagler Institute nominations for the Fiscal year 2025 group of fellows.
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23
HOW FELLOWS ARE SELECTED
T
exas A&M faculty members
The institute chooses fellows through a rigorous evaluation process, by:
nominate candidates to be
•
Providing five nomination slots per college and school and one nomination slot shared by colleges and schools
professors to ask, "Who is the
•
Providing one nomination slot for each Hagler Institute College Chair
most important scholar in my
•
Providing one nomination slot per select institute
•
Inviting all faculty members to confidentially nominate scholars they would like to work with, who meet the institute’s standards and who are approved for recruiting by the college or school’s dean
•
Considering for Hagler Fellow appointments only scholars or leaders who have made outstanding achievements in their field, have earned top professional awards, are active and have a record as an excellent mentor
•
Relying on a revolving elected panel of multidisciplinary university distinguished professors to evaluate and decide which confidential nominees will be recruited as fellows
•
Once a fellow is recruited, the Hagler Institute pays 70% of that fellow’s salary and provides two one-year fellowships
named as Hagler Fellows. The institute often motivates
field I might nominate as a fellow?" The fields, specialties and all other aspects of the resulting annual cohort of fellows ultimately depend on faculty members’ desires and each college or school’s emphasis on enhancing its excellence through the Hagler Institute. To promote collaboration, the institute requests that each Hagler Fellow be in residence from three months up to one year, and it offers flexibility in scheduling those visits. Over the last three years, the average fellow has chosen to be in residence for more than six months over approximately a three-year period.
for graduate students to work with each fellow
ACCOMPLISHED
24
H AG L E R I N S T I T U T E F O R A D VA N C E D S T U DY AT T E X A S A & M U N I V E R S I T Y
Bradley L. Worsham ’88 Fellowship Recipient
IMPACTFUL
IAN DOWN
Ian Down is a Ph.D. student in aerospace engineering who plans on graduating in spring 2025. From September 2022 through August 2023, Ian was supported by a fellowship made possible by an endowment for the Hagler Institute. The endowment was provided by a graduate in aerospace engineering and successful entrepreneur, Bradley L. Worsham ’88, who served as a professor of the practice in Aerospace Engineering when he endowed this graduate fellowship. According to Director Junkins, “You know you are doing things right when the faculty are voting with some of their own life savings.” This support allowed Down the time to collaborate with Kathleen C. Howell, a 2019-20 Hagler Fellow from Purdue University, and her Texas A&M faculty host, Terry Alfriend, College of Engineering. Down is applying center manifold theory, a subset of dynamical systems theory, to investigate the limits of linear approximations of relative motion between different families of quasi-periodic invariant tori and their associated periodic orbits. His work aims to illuminate fundamental relative motions in the circular restricted three body problem, which is important for the design of spacecraft formation flying missions about libration points. Down has benefited greatly from Howell and her students’ expertise in numerical computation in the field of astrodynamics. His work was presented at the American Astronautical Society’s Astrodynamics Specialist Conference in Big Sky, Mont. in August 2023.
This connection of Texas A&M graduate students to professors and students from other universities expands public awareness of Texas A&M research and accelerates development of students and faculty through valuable interaction with other top researchers in their field. The impact of Worsham’s endowment will live on throughout the professional life of Down as he strives to impact space exploration through his contributions to the field of astrodynamics. Of course, Down is just one of many excellent students who will benefit from their generosity.
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25
Mary and Charles Gregory ’64 Fellowship Recipient
SAREA RECALDE PHILLIPS
INFLUENTIAL
Mary and Charles Gregory ’64 have been generous to Texas A&M with their time and resources. Charles Gregory earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from Texas A&M and a law degree from the University of Texas. He served as an intelligence officer in Vietnam and Thailand. He is currently president and director of Rupley Holdings, Inc. in Houston. For seven years he was a trustee of the Texas A&M Foundation, and he served on Texas A&M’s “One Spirit, One Vision” capital campaign executive committee. In 2020, Mary and Charles Gregory ’64, established an endowment for the Hagler Institute to award fellowships so students can work with the world-class scholars the institute brings to Texas A&M. Sarea Recalde Phillips is an advanced Ph.D. student in Texas A&M’s Department of Biomedical Engineering. In January 2023, the Hagler Institute awarded her a Mary and Charles Gregory ’64 fellowship to work with 2021-22 Hagler Fellow, Jennifer Elisseeff. Recalde Phillips is the first of many outstanding students to benefit from this endowment. Each summer, the recipients of a fellowship from the Hagler Institute provide a report about their activities. Recalde Phillips’ fellowship ended in December 2023, so her report reflects work during one semester. Phillips says that her research focus is on “…click chemistry, a class of chemistry defined by rapid kinetics and high specificity, and its use in hydrogel formation and therapeutics delivery.” Recalde Phillips is in good hands because Elisseeff has made outstanding contributions in multiple fields related to Phillip’s interests. She has appointments in chemical engineering, biomedical engineering, materials science and orthopedic surgery at The Johns Hopkins University. Elisseeff is the Morton Goldberg Professor and Director of the Translational Tissue Engineering Center at Johns Hopkins' Department of Biomedical Engineering and the Wilmer Eye Institute. Elisseeff is an elected member of the National Academy of Engineering and the National Academy of Medicine.
Recalde Phillips writes that the collaboration with Elisseeff has allowed her to expand her knowledge in biomaterials. Furthermore, she has been chosen for a program that will connect her to a mentor in industry who will help her translate research findings into improved health care products for the public.
26
H AG L E R I N S T I T U T E F O R A D VA N C E D S T U DY AT T E X A S A & M U N I V E R S I T Y
FEATURED ARTICLES
EXPERTISE RICHARD DIXON
Designer Plants for a Cleaner Planet: Overcoming Nature’s Built-in Recalcitrance
STEFAN H.E. KAUFMANN
A Short History of Tuberculosis and a Brief Outlook Into the Future
MICHAEL J. DUFF
The Many Worlds Interpretation
RICHARD DIXON BioDiscovery Institute and Department of Biological Sciences University of North Texas Hagler Distinguished Lecturer College of Arts and Sciences Texas A&M University Adjunct Professor Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Oklahoma State University Adjunct Professor Division of Plant Science and Technology University of Missouri at Columbia
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H AG L E R I N S T I T U T E F O R A D VA N C E D S T U DY AT T E X A S A & M U N I V E R S I T Y
DESIGNER PLANTS FOR A CLEANER PLANET: OVERCOMING NATURE’S BUILT-IN RECALCITRANCE
A
s an undergraduate in the early 1970s, I sat in a lecture theatre in the botany school at Oxford listening to biochemist Vernon Butt describe how we thought plants might make lignin, the highly recalcitrant phenolic polymer that impregnates plant cell walls,
giving them strength to support the plant during its growth against gravity and protection from degradation by microorganisms. Organic chemistry was then my passion, and the lignin molecule seemed like a beautiful sculpture of interconnected aromatic rings (Fig. 1A). How on earth do plants make this stuff when and where it is needed? Much of my career has been spent pursuing answers to these questions for lignin and other complex plant molecules, and we now have a fairly detailed understanding of the biochemical pathways that lead to the building blocks of the lignin molecule (the monolignols, Fig. 1B), how the blocks are assembled within the plant cell wall, and the genes that make all this happen (I wrote a review on this topic at Texas A&M University while serving part of my Hagler Fellowship in 20191). I never realized, when I first saw lignin as a question of how do plants do neat chemistry, that lignin was to become relevant to future attempts, perhaps better late than never, to combat climate change after the past two centuries’ over-reliance on fossil fuels.
A
B p-Coumaryl alcohol (H-unit)
Caffeyl alcohol (C-unit)
Coniferyl alcohol (G-unit)
Sinapyl alcohol (S-unit)
Fig. 1 A. Chemical structure of a generic lignin molecule. B. The individual monolignol building blocks that are linked together to form lignin. Caffeyl alcohol is only found naturally in C-lignin, limited to seed coats of certain non-crop plants.
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29
Unlike animal cells, plant cells are surrounded by a cell wall composed
Bioenergy crop Plant cells
of cellulose, other sugar polymers called hemicelluloses and pectins, and, in so-called secondary cell walls, lignin (Fig. 2). This wall is strong and protects the cell contents within the plasma membrane, but at the same time allows for cell growth and expansion. But it is the strength and recalcitrance of the wall to degradation that has important implications for our climate. Fossil fuel reserves are largely derived from plant
Plant cell wall
materials that were not degraded back to carbon dioxide at the time they were deposited, as would have happened if they had not possessed recalcitrant cell walls; only in the last hundred years or so have we been releasing that carbon dioxide back to the atmosphere through consuming
Cellulose microfibril
Lignin Hemicellulose Cellulose
petroleum. The idea behind the concept of so-called second-generation biofuels (with ethanol from corn starch being the first generation) is that trees and grasses will fix carbon dioxide during their growth, so that its release during combustion of fuels derived from these materials will be carbon neutral, apart from impacts associated with the actual growth and processing of the materials. Lignocellulosic biofuels are derived by microbial degradation of cell wall-derived cellulose and hemicellulose polymers (Fig. 2) to sugars that can be converted to fuels such as ethanol and isobutanol by fermentation. But the recalcitrance of "dead" plant material to degradation eons ago is reflected in the recalcitrance of newly harvested
Sugar molecules
material to processing, in large part because of the presence of lignin. Glucose
Removing or reducing lignin to improve biomass processing has been Fig. 2 Diagram showing the structure of plant cell walls. The secondary cell wall (as found in the vessels and fibers of the stem) consists of cellulose microfibrils (made of repeating glucose units) that are closely associated with hemicelluloses (polymers of xylose and other sugars), the whole being infiltrated with lignin. The glucose in the cellulose chains must be exposed and released for fermentation to ethanol or other liquid biofuels.
a major direction and purpose of lignin research over the past 20 years. Prior to the focus on bioenergy, and with our growing understanding of how lignin was made, I was approached in 2002 by Forage Genetics International (FGI), a member of the Land O’Lakes cooperative, to help them develop a low-lignin alfalfa variety. The idea was that less lignin would increase forage digestibility. My team generated low-lignin plants by genetic engineering, and FGI performed the considerable field and animal feeding trials required for de-regulation for commercialization. The work resulted in 2015 with the commercial release of HarvExtra alfalfa, the first genetically engineered plant output trait (a trait associated with the properties of the plant itself rather than with its ease of growing) (Fig. 3). HarvExtra performed similarly to conventional elite alfalfa lines as regard to yield, but, because its stems and leaves were more digestible, farmers had more flexibility as to when to harvest before lignin reduced the forage quality2. Because of the similarities between the fate of biomass in the rumen of a cow and during the early stage of lignocellulosic biofuel generation (breakdown of cellulose to sugars), our knowledge of how to modify lignin content made us well placed to pivot our research from cows to fuels. Therefore, for 2007-17, as part of a distributed bioenergy research center managed through
30
H AG L E R I N S T I T U T E F O R A D VA N C E D S T U DY AT T E X A S A & M U N I V E R S I T Y
Fig. 3. Development of low-lignin forage and biofule crops. A. Postdoc Srinu Reddy at the Noble Foundation in Ardmore, OK, test genetically-engineered alfalfa for forage digestibility in fistulated steers. B. Early field trial of low-lignin alfalfa, Nampa ID (Forage Genetics International); C. Field trial of commercial HarvExtra alfalfa, Madison GA, 2016 (Forage Genetics International); D. Field trial of genetically engineered low-lignin switchgrass, College Station, TX (Ceres Inc, picture from Neal).
the Oak Ridge National Laboratory,
low-lignin plants because, during my
Interest in the topic waned. Having
we turned our attention to reducing
early career as a faculty member at
plants that expressed the defense
the lignin content in switchgrass and
Royal Holloway College, University
genes in the absence of a pathogen
poplar, likely biofuel feedstocks. This
of London, in the 1980s, I had been
but in response to a change in their
worked well in theory, but, unlike
working on how plant defenses
cell walls (i.e. less lignin) gave us a
our experiences in alfalfa, we found
were activated by so-called "elicitor"
new tool with which to re-investigate
that reducing lignin often resulted in
molecules. These were carbohydrate
the oligosaccharin hypothesis.
negative growth impacts. The reasons
fragments derived from fungal-cell
for which have puzzled us and others
walls. It makes sense that plants
We were able to show that plants
working in the field. Sometimes these
would recognize the outermost parts
with reduced lignin levels contained
negative growth effects would not
of pathogens that were attempting
solubilized elicitors of defense genes
be seen in greenhouse-grown plants
to invade them. However, work
in their cell walls, and that this
but became clearly manifested once
from Peter Albersheim’s group,
solubilization was brought about by
the plants were growing in the field.
then at the University of Colorado,
the induction of a gene encoding
Often, the reductions in growth
had suggested that fragments of
an enzyme that cleaves pectin into
seen in plants with modified lignin
polysaccharides from plant-cell walls
smaller fragments⁴. This enzyme,
were accompanied by expression
could also possess elicitor activity.
called ADPG1, is normally only
of sets of genes (encoding so-called
During the 1980s and ’90s, this so-
expressed in anthers (the structures
"pathogenesis response proteins")
called "oligosaccharin hypothesis"
that contain pollen) prior to their
usually activated only in response
gained traction3, and the elicitors
dehiscence (breaking to release the
to microbial attack—our plants
were suggested to likely be derived
pollen), but somehow the change
thought they were being attacked
from pectin. However, the work
in the lignin in the cell walls of the
even though they were not.
remained largely pharmacological; it
stems of our genetically engineered
was hard to provide genetic evidence
plants brought about remodeling
I was particularly fascinated by the
to support a role for these elicitors
of the walls, including partial
expression of defense responses in the
in real plant-microbe interactions.
pectin degradation through ectopic
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31
Fig. 4. Pathways for the valorization of lignin to chemicals, fuels and biomaterials.
expression of ADPG1. We found that this remodeling
produced by fermentation, or from lignin by reductive
is dependent on a cell-wall receptor called FERONIA,
fractionation and upgrading6. As already seen, lignin
and that the resulting expression of the defense genes is
comprises interlinked aromatic rings (Fig. 1) which,
triggered by binding of a fraction of the released pectin to
after deconstruction, can be chemically modified not
another receptor called WAK (wall-associated kinase)5.
only to cyclic alkanes as major components of aviation
There is much more to learn about this process, but
fuel, but also to a range of other chemicals that are
cell-wall signaling has become a very hot topic in plant
currently made from petroleum (Fig. 4). Furthermore,
biology, and several excellent groups are now working in
lignin breakdown products can be metabolized by
this field. The take-home message is: The plant cell wall
certain bacteria to yield starting molecules for the
is not simply a structural barrier, but rather possesses
manufacture of plastics and other polymers. Intact
active surveillance systems that recognize and attempt to
lignin can serve as a source of biomaterials including
correct for alterations, whether brought about by invading
carbon fibers, fire-retardant foams and nanomaterials.
pathogens or humans (through genetic modification
Thus, the paradigm has shifted during the past 10
of the wall). This implies an additional layer of cell-
years from getting rid of the lignin as a nuisance that
wall recalcitrance—the wall is already tough, but as
causes biomass recalcitrance to using the lignin as a
we try to change it, either to reduce lignin or perhaps
co-product of bioprocessing (lignin valorization)7.
to introduce new types of lignin or other polymers with biotechnological value, the plant fights back.
The exact structure of lignin can be quite variable; the three common building blocks (H, G and S units; Fig.
32
The realization that in the future liquid biofuels will
1B) are linked together in different proportions in the
probably not find a market in road transportation because
lignin from most flowering plants. So, what might the
of the development of electric and possibly hydrogen-
optimal lignin for bioprocessing look like? Serendipitously,
driven vehicles has now re-focused the biofuels industry
in 2012 we discovered a new type of lignin in the seed
on the production of sustainable aviation fuels. These
coats of vanilla orchids and called it C-lignin8. This is
can be generated by chemical upgrading of ethanol
made from a single building block that had not been
H AG L E R I N S T I T U T E F O R A D VA N C E D S T U DY AT T E X A S A & M U N I V E R S I T Y
previously reported in natural
in plants with reduced lignin
lignin structures. This molecule,
content; this encodes a protein
caffeyl alcohol, is simply an
that transports an intermediate
“incomplete” form of the more
of sugar metabolism to the
common lignin building blocks
chloroplast where photosynthesis
(Fig. 1B). However, when it
takes place. Why this induction
couples together to make lignin,
of GPT2 occurs seemed to make
it can link only in one way,
no sense, as this gene is normally
resulting in linear molecules that
expressed only when plants are
are extremely stable in themselves
suddenly exposed to high light.
and cannot cross-link with other
As part of my Hagler Fellowship,
cell-wall components, allowing
I worked with Wayne Versaw
their isolation in a relatively pure
and his student (now postdoc)
form. C-lignin turns out to be
Aditi Subramanian Rao in the
an excellent material to degrade
College of Arts and Sciences.
and then upgrade into fuels, or
We tried to work out why GPT2
to use intact for construction of
is so strongly activated when
carbon fibers and nanomaterials9.
lignin levels are reduced. We still
REFERENCES
Although more natural sources
do not have a definitive answer,
of C-lignin have now been
but when we asked the reverse
1 Dixon RA, Barros J. 2019. “Lignin biosynthesis- old roads revisited and new roads explored.” Open Biology 9: 190215.
found, most are the seed coats
question, namely what happens
of rare or non-crop plants, and
to lignin when the expression
genetic engineering will likely
of GPT2 is altered by genetic
be necessary to obtain sources of
engineering, we were surprised
C-lignin with sufficient volume
to observe that lignin levels
for industrial exploitation. For
were strongly affected (Fig. 5).
the past five years, we have been exploring this possibility with
Clearly, there is much more
collaborators in the Department
we need to know about how
of Energy’s Center for Bioenergy
lignin synthesis plugs into the
Innovation at the Oak Ridge
complex metabolism of plant
National Laboratory. To date,
cells, and how we can alter these
this work has yet to overcome the
processes to generate the plants
negative growth observed when
of the future. Lignin (as wood)
the changes are made to introduce
has been a major source of fuel
C-lignin into plant-cell walls
and building materials since
where it does not naturally occur.
the early days of civilization. Unlocking its secrets will allow us
Returning to the wider effects of
to exploit its beautiful chemistry
genetically modifying lignin, we
for a more sustainable future.
discovered that, in addition to the defense-response genes, a gene called GPT2 is massively activated
Fig. 5. Lignin modification in the model plant Arabidopsis. Lower panel shows groups of three plants that are unmodified (left), have down-regulated lignin (center), or have lost the function of the GPT2 gene (right). Reducing lignin results in plants with impaired growth. The upper panels are cross sections of the stems stained for lignin (purple). Note the loss of lignin in the center panel, but the increase in lignin in the GPT2 mutant.
2. Barros J, Temple S, Dixon RA. 2018. “Development and commercialization of reduced lignin alfalfa.” Current Opinion in Biotechnology 56: 48-54. 3. Côté F, Hahn MG. 1994. “Oligosaccharins: structures and signal transduction.” Plant Molecular Biology 26: 1379-1411. 4. Gallego-Giraldo L, Liu C, Pose-Albacete S, Pattathil S, Peralta AG, et al. 2020. “ARABIDOPSIS DEHISCENCE ZONE POLYGALACTURONASE 1 (ADPG1) releases latent defense signals in stems with reduced lignin content.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA. 117: 3281-3290. 5. Liu C, Yu H, Voxeur A, Rao X, Dixon RA. 2023. “FERONIA and Wall-Associated Kinases coordinate the defense response induced by cell wall engineering in Arabidopsis.” Science Advances 9: eadf7714. 6. Stone ML, Webber MS, Mounfield WP, Bell DC, Christensen E, et al. 2022. “Continuous hydrodeoxygenation of lignin to jet-range aromatic hydrocarbons.” Joule 6: 2324-2337. 7. Ragauskas AJ, Beckham GT, Biddy MJ, Chandra R, Chen F, et al. 2014. “Lignin valorization: improving lignin processing in the biorefinery.” Science 344: 1246843. 8. Chen F, Tobimatsu Y, Havkin-Frenkel D, Dixon RA, Ralph J. 2012. “A polymer of caffeyl alcohol in plant seeds.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA 109: 1772-1777. 9. Li Y, Shuai L, Kim H, Motagamwala AH, Mobley JK, et al. 2018. “An ‘idea lignin’ facilitates full biomass utilization.” Science Advances 4: eaau2968.
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STEFAN H.E. KAUFMANN Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology Berlin, Germany Max Planck Institute for Multidisciplinary Sciences Germany Hagler Institute for Advanced Study Texas A&M University College Station, Texas
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H AG L E R I N S T I T U T E F O R A D VA N C E D S T U DY AT T E X A S A & M U N I V E R S I T Y
A SHORT HISTORY OF TUBERCULOSIS AND A BRIEF OUTLOOK INTO THE FUTURE
INTRODUCTION
T
TB cases and deaths had been reduced by a meager 10% or 6%, respectively. If
he COVID-19 pandemic has
this trend is not changed profoundly, it
reminded all of us that the book
will translate into an enormous economic
of infectious diseases cannot be
loss of $13 billion through 2050.
closed and that the war against
pestilence cannot be declared won as had
In this treatise I want to embark with you
been claimed in the 1960s. Indeed, we
on a journey of this ancient disease by
need sustained vigilance and alertness
describing major highlights during the
not only about newly emerging infectious
last 2,500 years that ultimately led to our
diseases such as COVID-19, Zika and
understanding of TB. Subsequently, I will
chikungunya, just to name a few, but also
briefly describe how my own research
of more established infectious diseases
aims at contributing to the overall strategy
such as AIDS, malaria, dengue and last not
to end TB by creating a novel vaccine
least, tuberculosis (TB). In fact, TB remains
for more efficacious TB control.
the major killer among infectious agents with an estimated 1 billion deaths over
BRIEF HISTORY OF TB
the last 200 years. This threatening figure translates into 5 million deaths annually
Phthisis and scrofulosis:
over the last 200 years, which is similar
Distinct or similar diseases?
to the estimated 5 million annual deaths caused by COVID-19—yet, only over the
During Hellenic times, two types of TB had
last three years. Despite numerous claims
already been recognized: phthisis, which
by the World Health Organization (WHO),
describes wasting accompanied by fever
the disease has still not been brought
and coughing of a diseased patient suffering
under control. Despairingly, the WHO’s
from pulmonary TB, and scrofulosis,
goal of reducing new TB cases by 50% and
referring to the swelling of lymph nodes in
numbers of TB deaths by 75% between 2015
the neck, often leading to ulceration. Today
and 2025 will be missed badly. By 2021,
phthisis is by far the most prevalent form
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of TB. It is generally acquired by aerosol infection with the causative agent Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Thus, TB is a lower respiratory tract infection and the lung serves both as the main port of entry and as the prime site of disease manifestation. The school of Hippocrates (ca. 460–370 B.C.) already described an illness that was accompanied by consistent fever, lung destruction and continuous perspiration, hence resembling TB. Although they were undecided whether this was of hereditary or contagious nature, the school of Hippocrates favored its hereditary character because children of parents with phthisis would frequently suffer from the same disease. Scrofulosis is likely caused by oral infection and Aristotle (384–322 B.C.) described both disease forms – scrofulosis and phthisis – without considering a
Fig. 1. Portrait of Girolamo Fracastoro (1478–1553), and his book titled “Opera Omnia, De contagione et contagiosis morbis” (1546), in which he postulates small particles as causative agents of certain diseases.
relationship between the two types. Arnald von Villanova (1238–1311) was likely one of the first to speculate about a relationship between scrofulosis and pththisis when he stated: “a huge number of visible scrofulas indicates
I have seen him do. How he solicits heaven, Himself best knows: but strangely-visited people, All swoln and ulcerous, pitiful to the eye …”
a large number of endogenous swellings of this type.” TB was highly prevalent in Europe during medieval times and the disease was often termed "King’s Evil" or "Les Écrouelle" in English or French, respectively, considering the repulsive looking scrofula and ulcerating nodes at the neck. To counter the broad fear of these diseases, French and English kings claimed their ability to treat scrofulosis with the ‘Royal Touch.’ The tradition probably started in France when Clovis I, king of the Franks (466-511) declared: “The King touches you, God heals you.” At his coronation in 1610, Louis XIII, only 10 years old, touched 800 victims and over the years treated more than 5,000 patients this way until he suffered from phthisis himself. In England, the cult began with Edward the Confessor in the 11th century and King Charles II probably holds the record with a total of more than 90,000 blessings. No wonder that Shakespeare (Macbeth, Act 4, Scene 3) described scrofulosis and the "Royal Touch" when he stated: “… A most miraculous work in this good king; Which often, since my here-remain in England,
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TB: A contagious disease? During the transition from medieval times to modern times, the Renaissance witnessed an impressive revival in philosophy, science, arts and literature. This time, however, was also confronted with one of the most contagious threats ever: the Black Plague, which reached Europe in the late 15th century and lasted until the 16th century. Ultimately, about one-quarter of all inhabitants of Western Europe had succumbed to the Black Plague. During this time, the visionary Girolamo Fracastoro (1478–1553), a real polymath, became interested in infectious diseases. In his three books about the Contagions, the Contagious Diseases and their Treatment (Fig. 1), Fracastoro considered small particles as contagions responsible for plagues and even foresaw the possibility of airborne transmission. TB was of particular interest to Fracastoro, who stated: “It is possible that someone is completely healthy but still can become infected by his contact and close quarters with someone suffering from phthisis, even
H AG L E R I N S T I T U T E F O R A D VA N C E D S T U DY AT T E X A S A & M U N I V E R S I T Y
through contact with the clothes.” It took more than 300 years until the contagion theory stating that small particles transmitted certain diseases had been fully established for infectious diseases including TB. Phthisis and scrofulosis: Two sides of the same coin termed tuberculosis During the Renaissance, medical scholars got increasingly interested in the mechanisms underlying human disease and this led to the birth of anatomy and pathology as
Fig. 2: Portrait of Franciscus de le Boë Sylvius (1614– 1672) and his book “Opera Medica” (1679), in which he terms lung lesions as tubercles and proposes similarities between phthisis and scrofulosis.
medical disciplines. Much of this science was based on autopsies of deceased patients, a highly controversial issue in those times. Franciscus de le Boë Sylvius (1614–1672) in his work "Opera Medica", described the two forms of TB – phthisis and scrofulosis – with high precision (Fig. 2). Importantly, he was convinced that both forms shared the same origin. In studying the lesions of the affected lung of TB patients, he came to the conclusion that: “From these tubercles, I hold that not infrequently, phthisis has its origin.” By coining the term tubercle for the
Fig. 3. Portrait of Richard Morton (1637–1698) and his book “Phthisiologia” (1694), which discusses the possibility that phthisis and scrofulosis are closely related.
typical lesions of TB and claiming a relationship between scrofulosis and phthisis, his studies formed the basis of later work by Richard Morton (1637–1698) and John Baptist Morgagni (1682–1771), who more precisely described the characteristic features of TB and favored the identity of phthisis and scrofulosis as two forms of TB (Fig. 3, Fig. 4). Some 100 years later, Lukas Schönlein (1793 – 1864) coined the term “tuberculosis” to describe the disease based on his assumption that tubercles were the characteristic pathologic correlates of TB, both phthisis and in scrofulosis (Fig. 5).
Fig. 4. Portrait of John Baptist Morgagni (1682–1771) and his book “De sedibus, et causis morborum per anatomen indagatis libri quinque” (1765), in which he favors the etiologic identity of phthisis and scrofulosis.
Leopold von Auenbrugger (1722–1809) developed percussion (respiratory assessment by means of an amplifier, nowadays usually a stethoscope) as a general tool for diagnosing pulmonary diseases. His work was almost lost until it was rediscovered and refined by René Theophile Hyacinthe Laënnec (1781–1826). Ironically, even though Laënnec favored the hereditary genesis of TB over contagiousness, he died of this very disease, likely through infection acquired during the diagnosis of TB patients.
Fig. 5. Portrait of Lukas Schönlein (1793–1864) and his book “Allgemeine und specielle Pathologie und Therapie” (1841), where he coined the term “tuberculosis“ for the disease.
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From contagion to living organism: The birth of microbiology Antony van Leeuwenhoek (1632–1723) (Fig. 6) was neither a professional scientist nor a medical doctor. He made a fortune by selling textiles and hence had the luxury of devoting himself to an unusual hobby. He was so interested in viewing objects too small to be seen by the naked eye Fig. 6. Portrait of Antony van Leeuwenhoek (1632–1723), who was the first human to view microbes, and drawings of bacteria from his book titled “Ontledingen en Ontdekkingen van levende Dierkens in de Teel-deelen van verscheyde Dieren, Vogelen en Visschen” (1686).
that he by himself produced single-lens microscopes of high quality. When Leeuwenhoek put plaques that he had scraped from his teeth under his microscope, he became the first person ever to see bacteria. He found such a high abundance of different microorganisms that he concluded that in the mouth of each person more ‘animalcules’, as he called them, exist than people live in the whole Netherlands. Although microbes had become visible to the human eye through the microscope, their function and origin remained mysterious. It was totally unclear whether they developed spontaneously, or whether they were the progeny of living organisms. The first who tackled this question was Lazzaro Spallanzani (1729–1799), a polymath particularly interested in digestion of food. He filled glass bottles with broth that he
Fig. 7. Portrait of Lazzaro Spallanzani (1729–1799) and his book “Opuscoli di fisica animale, e vegetabile” (1776). Spallanzani, for the first time, provided compelling evidence that life can only arise from life and hence discarded the prevalent notion of spontaneous generation of life.
had boiled for some time to kill all living organisms and then closed the bottles carefully either with corks or by melting the opening. Bottles closed by corks allowed outgrowth of living microbes since they were not completely closed, whereas those closed by melting remained free of living organisms. Hence, Spallanzani provided compelling evidence that life could only arise from life (Fig. 7). Yet, the question remained to be solved whether the microorganisms needed air for living as do humankind and hence failed to grow due to lack of oxygen. Based on the findings of Spallanzani, Louis Pasteur (1822– 1994), the father of microbiology as he is often called, went one step further. He used long-necked flasks with the opening facing downward and making several curves so that air could still enter the flasks. Microorganisms, however,
Fig. 8. Portrait of Louis Pasteur (1822–1994), father of microbiology and drawing of bacteria by Pasteur, as well as illustrations of long-necked flasks. Using these flasks, Pasteur could further refine Spallanzani’s notion that living cells can arise only from living cells. By using flasks that were open, but prevented entry of microbes, he could prove that even under aerobic conditions, life does not occur spontaneously. (Figure from Vallery Radot, Oeuvres de Pasteur, 1922).
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were prevented from entering since they adhered to the curves and could not reach the broth. Indeed, the flasks remained sterile as long as they stood still and they became contaminated when they were shaken. This clearly proved that contagions, i.e., minute living particles, could not evolve spontaneously even in the presence of air (Fig. 8).
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The etiology of tuberculosis and the birth of medical microbiology Many others in the field of TB research were able to build on the shoulders of all the heroes mentioned above. Yet Robert Koch (1843-1910) was a true genius who solved the issue within a few years. He is called the father of medical microbiology because, aside from his work on TB, he also provided the strategic basis for the clarification of other infectious disease etiologies, such as anthrax, cholera and wound infections (Fig. 9). Koch established numerous ingenious methodologies and technologies that are instrumental for microbiology and still in use today. For example, he developed microphotography, which allowed verification of his findings. He improved staining methods, which allowed him to distinguish microorganisms from host-tissue structures. He developed incubators that allowed him to grow microorganisms at body temperature and developed the methodologies for single-cell cultures on solid media.
Fig. 9. Portrait of Robert Koch (1843–1910), father of medical microbiology and discoverer of the etiology of tuberculosis, and copy of a leaflet of the Physiologische Gesellschaft zu Berlin (Physiological Society of Berlin), announcing Koch’s presentation on March 24, 1882 titled “Ueber Tuberculose (About Tuberculosis)” (1882).
His findings on the etiology of TB can be summarized in three sentences, which were later termed the Koch–Henle postulates. They are of enormous relevance for medical microbiology and used until today for identification of pathogenic microbes and the characterization of infectious diseases. These are the three sentences: 1.
Causative agents need to be demonstrated repeatedly in the affected tissue in typical arrangement.
2.
Microorganisms that are considered as causative for a given disease need to be isolated and cultured in
Fig. 10. Reported TB death rates in New York City of different age groups between 1900 and 1950 from New York Tuberculosis and Health Association (1952).
pure form. 3.
Pure cultures of these microbes must cause a similar disease in experimental animals.
Koch’s discovery of the etiology of TB immediately made him a global hero. Afterall, in the late 19th century, TB was the number one killer in the industrialized world as nearly half of the working-class people in cities such as New York succumbed to TB (Fig. 10). When the International Medical
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Fig. 11. A popular image illustrating the tuberculin treatment of a tuberculosis patient. Figure from a contemporary magazine of the time.
Congress took place in Berlin in 1890, more than 5,000
After more than 230 continuous passages, the microbe
participants from 40 countries attended. The second
was attenuated, as indicated by several experimental
largest delegation, after the one from the host country
animal studies, which revealed its safety and its ability
Germany with approximately 3,000 participants, came
to induce protection. Hence, they performed the
from the United States with more than 600 delegates.
first preclinical test on humans in 1921. A newborn
Koch was asked to deliver the keynote lecture on state-
from a family with a tuberculous household contact
of-the art bacteriological research. At the end of his
and deemed to face a high risk of developing TB,
talk, Koch made a sensational statement and claimed he
received “bacille Calmette Guérin” (BCG). Indeed,
had discovered a remedy against TB, which he termed
the infant never developed TB. By 1927, some 25,000
tuberculin. Not only in the scientific, but also in the
infants had been vaccinated and BCG was found to
public arena, the expectation was in the air that a vaccine
protect the majority of these children (Fig. 12).
had been created for prevention and cure of TB.
We now know that BCG protects neonates from
TB patients from all over the world came to Berlin to
severe extrapulmonary TB and hence accomplishes
be treated with Koch’s remedy. But soon it turned out
what Calmette and Guérin expected it to do, at least
that the remedy was a miserable failure (Fig. 11).
partially. However, it more or less fails to protect against
BCG: The first and only vaccine against tuberculosis The first—and to this day only—licensed vaccine against TB was developed by Albert Calmette (1863−1933) and Camille Guérin (1872−1961) (Fig. 12). They attenuated Mycobacterium bovis, the etiologic agent of TB in cattle, which was known to cause human
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Fig. 12. Portraits of Albert Calmette (1863−1933) and Camille Guérin (1872–1961), and Calmette’s book titled “La vaccination prèventive contre la tuberculose par le ‘BCG’” (1927), describing the development and clinical assessment of BCG.
the most prevalent form of the disease, pulmonary TB in all age groups. General agreement, therefore, exists that better vaccines are urgently needed if we want to overcome the global threat of TB.
THE COMPLEX IMMUNE RESPONSE TO TUBERCULOSIS
disease as well. This occurred notably in infants
TB is a unique infectious disease with a number
through consumption of milk and milk products from
of specific characteristics that make it difficult to
infected cows. Calmette and Guérin set out to culture
control. The pathogen, an acid-fast bacillus called
the bacteria on media containing ox gall with the hope
Mycobacterium tuberculosis, has the capacity to
that the organisms would lose their pathogenicity.
hide inside host cells. More precisely, the tubercle
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Fig. 13. Macrophage harboring Mtb organisms. Electron microscopy by V. Brinkmann, Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology.
bacillus resides in effector cells
macrophages. In fact, antibodies
It is generally assumed that this
of the immune response with
that are critical for protection and
persistence lasts lifelong. However,
high phagocytic activity, called
afforded by the most successful
if this fine-tuned immune balance
macrophages, as long as they
vaccines of today are insufficient.
is disturbed, disease can develop
remain in a resting stage (Fig. 13).
Rather, a complex interplay
later. This disturbance can be
Thereby, the pathogen is rapidly
between different white blood cells
caused by other communicable
engulfed and in turn shielded from
orchestrated by T-cell lymphocytes
agents, such as coinfection with the
humoral immune mechanisms
is required. Any dysbalance of this
Human Immunodeficiency Virus
mediated by antibodies. Rather,
interplay will favor the pathogen.
(HIV), which increases the risk of
T-cell lymphocytes that recognize
Either the pathogen can multiply
developing active TB enormously.
infected host cells are essential. Once
and overwhelm the host if the
The disturbance can also be due
these T-cell lymphocytes have been
immune system is too weak, or
to non-communicable factors,
primed, they activate macrophages
exuberant inflammation can cause
e.g., weakening or exhaustion
harboring tubercle bacilli, which
tissue damage if the immune
of the immune response during
then gain the capacity to control
response is too strong. Accordingly,
stress or aging. Understandably,
their inner predators. This process,
protection can be compared with
these complexities cause major
however, is rarely complete and
a kind of peaceful coexistence
hurdles for the creation of a
the pathogen persists over long
that allows some tubercle bacilli
highly efficacious vaccine against
periods of time even in activated
to persist without causing disease.
TB and is a major reason that
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TB could not be controlled until today even though
COVID-19, however, interrupted this mission. Even
effective treatment has been available since the 1950s.
worse: TB rates increased for the first time in this century.
As a result, in 2023, an estimated 30,000 people developed
A SHORT OUTLOOK INTO THE FUTURE: A NOVEL VACCINE AGAINST TUBERCULOSIS
active TB every day and more than 4,000 people die of this disease globally. At long last, more recently the threat of the silent TB epidemic has attracted greater
Vaccination remains a major strategy for the control of
attention in the political arena. Slightly more than one
TB and there are numerous candidate vaccines at various
year before the COVID-19 crisis emerged, a high-
stages of development. My group started to develop
level meeting of the United Nations (U.N.) General
a new vaccine against TB in the 1990s. In principle,
Assembly had made a strong commitment to end
our strategy was to harness the available attenuated
TB by 2030. Thus, the U.N. committed “to create an
live vaccine BCG as a backbone for a new TB vaccine
environment conducive to research and development
candidate. We reasoned that, since BCG protects against
for new tools for TB,” and “to mobilize sufficient and
some forms of TB, we should build on it and further
sustainable financing with the aim of increasing overall
improve it. To this end, we constructed a recombinant
global investments to $2 billion in funding annually
BCG that is now termed VPM1002. This vaccine proved
for tuberculosis research.” The rapid emergence of
safer and more protective than BCG in experimental
Fig. 14: Course of infection and disease and intervention points for the TB vaccine VPM1002.
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H AG L E R I N S T I T U T E F O R A D VA N C E D S T U DY AT T E X A S A & M U N I V E R S I T Y
animal models. The vaccine VPM1002 had been licensed to the Vakzine Projekt Management GmbH in Hanover, Germany and later licensed to the Serum Institute of India PVT. Ltd. in Pune, India, which is the largest producer of vaccine doses globally. The Serum Institute of India has already established a high-throughput production line in bioreactors and hence is able to roll out hundreds of millions of doses in a short period of time. The vaccine has successfully completed several phase I and II trials, proving its safety and immunogenicity in neonates and adults. Currently, it is undergoing three phase III clinical trials to assesses its protective activity against
DECLARATION OF INTEREST SHEK is a co-inventor of the TB vaccine, VPM1002, and co-holder of a patent licensed to Vakzine Projekt Management GmbH in Hannover, Germany and sublicensed to Serum Institute of India PVT. Ltd. in Pune, India. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The author thanks Diane Schad for the excellent help preparing graphics, Mary Louise Grossman and Souraya Sibaei for the excellent help preparing the manuscript, and Volker Brinkmann for providing electron microscopy images. I am very grateful to Jörg Steiner, Texas A&M, and Alan Sher, NIH, for critically reading the manuscript.
TB in different scenarios. The first trial assesses safety and protection against infection and disease in neonates with or without exposure to HIV in comparison to BCG (NCT04351685). This trial–termed priMe–takes place at 11 clinical trial centers in sub-Saharan Africa. The study comprises some 7,000 participants. Recruitment was completed in 2020 and the first data are expected by 2025. The second trial is led by the Indian Council of Medical Research (CTRI/2019/01/017026). VPM1002 is tested head-to-head with another TB vaccine candidate in more than 12,000 household contacts of recently diagnosed TB patients in India for the potential of preventing disease. Recruitment has been completed and results are expected for 2024. The third trial assesses the efficacy of VPM1002 to prevent recurrence in drug-treated TB patients (NCT03152903). Of these patients, generally 10% will develop TB a second time either due to relapse or reinfection. More precisely, the trial determines whether vaccination after drug treatment will prevent TB recurrence. The study will be completed in 2024. Fig. 14 summarizes the course of TB from infection to disease and intervention points for the TB vaccine VPM1002. It has been estimated that a better vaccine can reduce TB incidences by 40-50% in the years after its introduction. Hence, efficacious vaccination can become a game changer
FURTHER READING Kaufmann, S.H.E., and Winau, F., “From bacteriology to immunology: the dualism of specificity.” Nat. Immunol. (2005) 11: 10631066. https://doi.org/10.1038/ni1105-1063 Paulson, T., “Epidemiology: A mortal foe.” Nature (2013) 502: S2-S3. https://doi.org/10.1038/502S2a World Health Organization. U.N. General Assembly high-level meeting on tuberculosis (2018). https://www.who.int/teams/ global-tuberculosis-programme/ungahigh-level-meeting-on-the-fight-against-tb/ unga-high-level-meeting-on-ending-tb Kaufmann, S.H.E., immunology’s coming of age. Front. Immunol. (2019) 10: 684. https://doi.org10.3389/fimmu.2019.00684 World Health Organization. COVID-19 Dashboard (2020). https://covid19.who.int/ Kaufmann, S.H.E., “Vaccine development against tuberculosis over the last 140 years: failure as part of success.” front. Microbiol. (2021) 12: 750124. https:// doi.org10.3389/fmicb.2021.750124 World Health Organization. “Global Tuberculosis Report” (2022). https://www.who.int/teams/globaltuberculosis-programme/tb-reports/ global-tuberculosis-report-2022 “Stop TB Partnership the global plan to end TB 2023-2030” (2022). https:// www.stoptb.org/file/15583/download “Stop TB Partnership. United Nations HighLevel Meeting on TB 2023” (September 2023). https://www.stoptb.org/advocate-toendtb/united-nations-high-level-meeting-tb
in TB control. The next two or three years will be decisive since they will tell us whether our vaccine will fulfill our hopes and contribute to ending TB as a major global health threat.
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MICHAEL J. DUFF Emeritus Professor of Theoretical Physics Senior Research Investigator Imperial College London Hagler Institute for Advanced Study Texas A&M University College Station, Texas
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THE MANY WORLDS INTERPRETATION “Ts’ui Pen did not believe in a uniform, absolute time. He believed in an infinite series of times, in a growing dizzying net of divergent, convergent and parallel times. This network of times which approached on another, forked, broke off, or were unaware of one another for centuries, embraces all possibilities of time. We do not exist in the majority of these times; in some you exist, and not I; in others I, and not you; in others, both of us.” -Jorge Luis Borges, "Garden of the Forking Paths"
T
his picture of time as a forking path envisaged by Borges in 1941 reappeared in 1957 as a serious scientific theory proposed in a doctoral dissertation by physicist Hugh Everett, although there is no evidence that he was influenced by Borges. The paper was called “The Many Worlds Interpretation of
Quantum Mechanics” and it forms the basis of Nick Payne’s play “Constellations.” To understand what quantum mechanics is and why is lends itself to such a weird view of reality, we need to talk a bit about theoretical physics. How did the universe begin? What are its fundamental constituents? What are the laws of nature that govern these constituents? As we look back over the last century we can identify two pillars on which our theories rest: quantum mechanics and Einstein’s general theory of relativity. Quantum theory deals with the very small: atoms, subatomic particles and the forces between them. General relativity deals with the very large: stars, galaxies and gravity, the driving force of the cosmos as a whole. Quantum mechanics was a radical departure from the deterministic clockwork universe of Isaac Newton. In the classical Newtonian view, if we knew the position and speed of every particle in the universe we could predict with certainty its future evolution, at least in principle. In any event, fate was predetermined. However, traditional interpretation of quantum theory, developed in Copenhagen by Niels Bohr in the 1920s, asserts that we cannot predict with certainty the outcome of any experiment; the best we can do is to assign it a probability. For example, suppose an experiment has two possible outcomes, A and B. We are able
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but there is another universe
genuine difference will emerge
where the outcome is B. The two
when we apply quantum
universes continue to coexist but
theory to the origin of the
go their separate ways and never
universe itself, the big bang.
communicate with one another.
to tell the likelihood of each, say 70% A and 30% B. If we repeat the experiment 100 times then A will happen roughly 70 times and B roughly 30 times, but we cannot predict an individual outcome. This does not reflect any inadequacy on our part or any defect in our experimental apparatus; it is a fact of nature. Moreover, until we perform a measurement on the quantum system both outcomes A and B coexist; it is the very act of measuring that brings about one reality rather than another. This was encapsulated by the paradox of Erwin Schrodinger’s
As the cat might have said to
However, this would require
Elvis Presley: “We do not exist
incorporating Einstein’s general
in the majority of these times;
relativity, and the dilemma
in some you exist, and not I; in
theoretical physics faces at the
others I, and not you; in others,
beginning of the 21st century is
both of us.” Repeat this with
that its two 20th-century pillars
millions of measurements on
are mutually incompatible. On
millions of systems and you are
the microscopic scale, Einstein’s
not far from the “infinite series
theory fails to comply with
of times, in a growing dizzying
the quantum rules that govern
net of divergent, convergent and
the behavior of the subatomic
parallel times” of Ts’ui Pen.
particles, while (on the microscopic scale) black holes are
Not everybody liked the Everett
threatening the very foundations
interpretation. In fact the biggest
of quantum mechanics.
objection was it was only an interpretation. To a physicist,
Something big has to
unless there is some experimental
give. This augurs a new
way of discriminating between
scientific revolution.
the Copenhagen and many worlds descriptions then there
Many physicists believe that this
is no point in trying to choose
revolution is already underway
between them. This argument
with the theory of superstrings.
continues to divide the physics
As their name suggests,
community. Some say we will
superstrings are one-dimensional
never tell them apart; others say
string-like objects. Just like
cat-in-a-box, which could both be 70% dead and 30% alive until we open the box and observe it to be either one or the other. Everett was dissatisfied with this indeterminacy and proposed that the act of measurement produces a fork in the road: in one universe the outcome is A
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violin strings, they can vibrate and each mode
incorporating and extending the standard models
of vibration, each note if you like, corresponds
of particle physics and cosmology. String theorists
to a different subatomic particle. This note is an
are the first to admit that the theory is by no
electron, this one a quark, that one a Higgs boson
means complete but is constantly undergoing
and so on. One strange feature of superstrings
improvement in the light of new discoveries.
is that they live in a universe with nine space
For example, one of the problems with the form
dimensions and one time dimension. Since the
of the theory developed in the 1980s was there
world around us seems to have only three space
was not one but five mathematically consistent
dimensions, the extra six would have to be curled
superstrings. If one is looking for a unique
up to an unobservable small size (or else rendered
theory of everything, five theories of everything
invisible in some other way) if the theory is to
seems like an embarrassment of riches. In 1995,
be at all realistic. Fortunately, the equations
the theory underwent a revolution when it was
admit solutions where this actually happens.
realized that these five strings were not after all
The main reason why theorists are so enamored with string theory is that it seems at last to provide the long-dreamed-of consistent quantum theory of gravity and holds promise,
different theories but just five corners of a deeper and more profound new theory, called ‘M-theory’. M-theory involves membrane-like extended objects, which themselves live in a universe with 11 dimensions (10 space and 1 time).
String theorists are the first to admit that the theory is by no means complete but is constantly undergoing improvement in the light of new discoveries.
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Black-hole formula first proposed by Stephen Hawking in the mid-1970s.
String and M-theory continue to make remarkable
royal Lord Martin Rees and others, in which there
theoretical progress, for example, by providing the
was not one big bang but many, possibly infinitely
first microscopic derivation of the quantum black-
many, stretching back into the infinite past.
hole formula first proposed by Stephen Hawking in the mid-1970s. Solving long-outstanding theoretical problems such as this indicated that we are on the right track. But, as often happens in science, M-theory presented new problems of its own, not least of which is that its equations admit even more ways of curling up the extra dimensions than string theory does, and at the moment we have no idea which one, if any, nature should pick to describe our universe.
This version of ‘many worlds’ should not be confused with Everett’s interpretation of quantum mechanics; at least that is what I intended to tell the cast and crew of "Constellations" when Nick Payne invited me to address them on the subject last November. Nick’s script seemed in places to conflate the two. But I decided to check on the latest developments before giving my talk. I was astonished to find that Susskind and his colleague Raphael Bousso had recently
Theorists are divided on this issue. Some think
written a paper called "The Multiverse Interpretation
that when we understand the theory better, we will
of Quantum Mechanic" with the opening sentence:
understand why one unique universe will be singled out, thus answering in the negative Einsteins’s question: “Did God have any choice in creating the universe?” Others think that there are indeed many, possibly infinitely many, different universes and we just happen to be living in one of them. For example, Leonard Susskind at Standford University regards this ‘multiverse’ as a virtue to be exploited,
“We argue that the many worlds of quantum mechanics and the many worlds of the multiverse are the same thing, and that the multiverse is necessary to give exact operational meaning to probabilistic predictions from the quantum mechanics.” Another case of life imitating art.
as it fits in with ideas advocated by astronomer
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THE HAGLER FELLOWS
2023-24 HAGLER FELLOW
PHILIP CALDER
Head, School of Human Development and Health Professor, Nutritional Immunology University of Southampton, United Kingdom
An internationally recognized researcher on nutritional immunology, Philip Calder is known for his work in understanding how nutrition affects the functioning of the human body and developing strategies to lower disease risk and treat nutrition-related illnesses. His research focuses on the influence of diet and nutrients on immune and inflammatory responses, and on the metabolism and functionality of fatty acids with an emphasis on the roles of omega-3 fatty acids. He received his doctorate in biochemistry from the University of Auckland. Calder is a fellow of the Royal Society for Biology, the Association for Nutrition and the International Society for the Study of Fatty Acids and Lipids. He received the Ralph Holman Lifetime Achievement Award, American Oil Chemists’ Society; the Lifetime Achievement Prize in Human Nutrition, DSM; the Danone International Prize for Nutrition, Danone Foundation; the European Lipid Science Award, Euro Fed Lipid; the 80th Anniversary Award, The Nutrition Society (United Kingdom); the Normann Medal, German Society of Fat Science; the Cuthbertson Lecture, European Society for Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism; the Nutricia International Award, Nutricia Research Foundation; the Sir David Cuthbertson Medal, Nutrition Society; the Muriel Bell Award, New Zealand Nutrition Society; and the British Nutrition Foundation Prize, British Nutrition Foundation. Calder is president of the Federation of European Nutrition Societies as well as associate editor of Clinical Science, Journal of Nutrition and Annals of Nutrition and Metabolism. He served as the editor-in-chief of the British Journal of Nutrition; chair of the Scientific Committee of the European Society for Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism; and president of the European Branch of the International Life Sciences Institute, the Nutrition Society and the International Society for the Study of Fatty Acids and Lipids. Recognized as a highly cited researcher, Calder has authored four books and more than 800 peer-reviewed publications. He has received three patents. Calder will collaborate with faculty, researchers and students in the School of Medicine.
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2023-24 HAGLER FELLOW
ALICIA L. CARRIQUIRY
Distinguished Professor and holder of the President’s Chair in Statistics Director, Center for Statistics and Applications in Forensic Evidence Department of Statistics Iowa State University
Specializing in Bayesian statistics and applications of statistical methodology, Alicia Carriquiry focuses her work on applications of statistics in human nutrition, bioinformatics, forensic sciences and traffic safety. Carriquiry has led an effort by the National Academy of Medicine to evaluate Veterans Affairs mental health services and developed statistical methods to better measure nutrient intake. Her research influenced improving quantitative literacy among forensic practitioners and legal professionals by building a statistically and scientifically solid foundation for the analysis and interpretation of forensic evidence. She received her doctorate in statistics and animal science from Iowa State University. Carriquiry is an elected member of the National Academy of Medicine, the International Statistical Institute and the Intelligence Science and Technology Experts Group of the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine, and an elected associate member of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences. She is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the International Society for Bayesian Analysis, the Institute of Mathematical Statistics and the American Statistical Association. She received the Zellner Medal, International Society for Bayesian Analysis; the Founders Award, American Statistical Association; the Florence N. David Award, Committee of Presidents of Statistical Societies; and the 20/20 Visionary Award, Iowa State University. She has edited or written 16 books and published more than 150 peer-reviewed articles. Carriquiry serves on the editorial board of the Annual Review of Statistics and Its Application and on the board of advisors for the Center for Integrity in Forensic Sciences at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Carriquiry will collaborate with faculty, researchers and students in the College of Arts and Sciences.
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2023-24 HAGLER FELLOW
GEORGE GEORGIOU
Professor, Cockrell School of Engineering Dula D. Cockrell Centennial Chair in Engineering #2 The University of Texas at Austin
Named one of the “Top 20 Transnational Researchers” by Nature Biotechnology, George Georgiou is a leader in the discovery and development of protein therapeutics. His research centers on analyzing adaptive-immune response and improving enzyme and antibody therapeutics for cancer treatment and inborn errors of metabolism. Georgiou received his doctorate in chemical engineering from Cornell University. He is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the National Academy of Medicine and the National Academy of Engineering. Georgiou is a fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering, and the National Academy of Inventors. He received the William H. Walker Award for Excellence in Contributions to Chemical Engineering Literature; the Food, Pharmaceutical and Bioengineering Division Award in Chemical Engineering; the Professional Progress Award for Outstanding Progress in Chemical Engineering, American Institute of Chemical Engineers; the Billy and Claude R. Hocott Distinguished Centennial Engineering Research Award; the Startup of the Year Award; the Inventor of the Year Award, University of Texas at Austin; the James E. Bailey Award, Society of Biological Engineers; the Amgen Award in Biochemical Engineering; and the Marvin J. Johnson Award in Microbial and Biochemical Technology, American Chemical Society. He sits on the editorial boards for ACS Synthetic Biology, Biotechnology and Bioengineering, Protein Expression and Purification, J. Biotechnology, Microbial Cell Factories and the Oxford University Press. Georgiou is currently the Dula D. Cockrell Centennial Chair in Engineering #2 at The University of Texas at Austin. He leads the George Georgiou Research Group, which is committed to advancing therapeutic protein manufacturing and engineering for commercial use. He has received 58 patents and authored more than 260 peer-reviewed publications. Georgiou will collaborate with faculty, researchers and students in the School of Medicine.
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2023-24 HAGLER FELLOW
JODY GOOKIN
FluoroScience Distinguished Professor of Veterinary Scholars Research Education College of Veterinary Medicine North Carolina State University
An internationally recognized expert in gastroenterology, Jody Gookin is credited with the discovery of Tritrichomonas foetus as the most common, worldwide infectious cause of colitis in domestic cats. Gookin and her team have dedicated more than 20 years of research effort into the discovery of this infection, identification of the causative species, proof of Koch’s postulates of disease causation, establishing prevalence and risk factors, development of methods for diagnosis, conducting basic science studies of disease pathogenesis and identification of the only known treatment. In addition, she is a leading researcher in gallbladder mucocele disease in dogs, an emerging disease with significant morbidity and mortality. Gookin received a doctorate in veterinary medicine from the University of California, Davis, and a doctorate in gastrointestinal physiology from North Carolina State University (NCSU). She is a diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine, specializing in small animal internal medicine and comparative gastroenterology. She is affiliated with the American Gastroenterology Society, the American Physiological Society, the American Society for Microbiology, the North Carolina Veterinary Medical Association and the Phi Zeta Veterinary Professional Honor Society. Gookin is co-director of the Veterinary Scholars Program at NCSU, which is home to one of the largest cohorts of veterinary clinician scientists in training in the United States. She is a Chancellor’s University Faculty Scholar at NCSU. She received the Zoetis Award for Veterinary Research Excellence, and the Excellence in Feline Research Award, Winn Feline Foundation and the American Veterinary Medical Foundation. Gookin has authored 92 peer-reviewed articles and 14 book chapters. She is credited with three inventions. Gookin will collaborate with faculty, researchers and students in the School of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences.
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2023-24 HAGLER FELLOW
MAE JEMISON President
The Jemison Group, Inc.
Astronaut, engineer, entrepreneur, physician and educator Mae Jemison is at the forefront of integrating the physical and social sciences with art and culture to solve problems and foster innovation. She leads 100 Year Starship, a global initiative to assure that the capabilities exist for human travel beyond our solar system to another star within the next 100 years. The first woman of color to go into space, Jemison served six years as a NASA astronaut. Aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour’s STS-47 Spacelab J mission in September 1992, she performed experiments in material science, life sciences and human adaptation to weightlessness. Jemison earned her medical degree at Cornell University. As a professor at Dartmouth College, Jemison worked on sustainable development and technology design particularly for the developing world. Before joining NASA, she was the area Peace Corps medical officer for Sierra Leone and Liberia as well as a general practice physician in Los Angeles. She founded The Jemison Group Inc., a technology consulting firm integrating critical socio-cultural issues into the design of engineering and science projects. Jemison is a member of the National Academy of Medicine. She was inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame, the National Medical Association Hall of Fame, Texas Science Hall of Fame and the International Space Hall of Fame. She has received the Galien Foundation’s 2023 Roy Vagelos Pro Bono Humanum Award for Global Health Equity, the Common Wealth Award for Distinguished Service, the National Organization for Women’s Intrepid Award and the Kilby Science Award. Jemison will collaborate with faculty, researchers and students in the School of Engineering Medicine.
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2023-24 HAGLER FELLOW
ERIC S. MASKIN
Adams University Professor Professor, Economics and Mathematics Harvard University
Known for his contributions to game theory, contract theory, social-choice theory and political economy, Eric S. Maskin shared the 2007 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics for advancing mechanism design, the study of when and how social and economic goals can be achieved through the design of new institutions. The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences honored Maskin with Leonid Hurwicz, University of Minnesota, and Roger B. Myerson, University of Chicago, for their work on the concept, which allows economists to improve on market outcomes. According to the academy, their work has “helped economists identify efficient trading mechanisms, regulation schemes and voting procedures. Today, mechanism design theory plays a central role in many areas of economics and parts of political science.” Maskin’s other research and papers often focus on inequality, electoral rules and coalition formation. His articles about mechanism design, implementation theory and dynamic games are widely read. He belongs to the National Academy of Sciences and is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the British Academy, the Society for the Advancement of Economic Theory, the Royal Academy of Economic Sciences and Finance (Spain), the Econometric Society and the Game Theory Society. He is a past Guggenheim Fellow and Sloan Research Fellow as well as an honorary fellow at Darwin, Jesus, and St John’s colleges, Cambridge. Honors include the Medal of Honor, Congress of Peru; the Kempe Award in Environmental Economics (with P. Dasgupta), European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists; the James Joyce Award, Literary and Historical Society, Trinity College (Ireland); the Centennial Medal, Harvard University; the International Economics Award, Cristóbal Gabarrón Foundation; and 18 honorary doctorate degrees. He has authored or edited four books and 145 peer-reviewed articles. Maskin will collaborate with faculty, researchers and students in the College of Arts and Sciences.
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2023-24 HAGLER FELLOW
H. RICHARD MILNER IV
Professor of Education Cornelius Vanderbilt Chair of Education Immediate Past Joseph A. Johnson, Jr. Distinguished Leadership Professor Department of Teaching and Learning Professor of Sociology (Secondary) Professor of Education Policy Studies (Secondary) Founding Director, Initiative for Race Research and Justice Peabody College of Education and Human Development, Vanderbilt University
H. Richard Milner IV is a researcher, scholar and leader of urban education and teacher education, whose work innovates and supports educator effectiveness across disciplines. Milner’s work has influenced designs and implementation of curricular, assessment, and instructional policies and practices in school districts across the United States and world. Milner developed and introduced the Opportunity Gap Framework to assist researchers in better capturing students’ experiences in schools. He also introduced the Researcher Positionality Framework to challenge and support researchers in designing and enacting studies and programs of research that recognize, name and work through what he describes as dangers “seen, unseen and unforeseen” in studying race and culture in education science. Widely cited, the framework has been adapted across the world and in a range of disciplines including engineering and health sciences. With his colleagues, Milner led the effort to develop the Teachers Race Talk Survey, one of the first survey instruments focused on teachers’ reported beliefs about race and discourse. The survey attempts to capture teachers’ reported beliefs about the role and importance of race in classroom discourses and learning. It is widely implemented across the nation. Milner has called for and advanced stronger conceptual and definitional work of urban education as a unit of analysis. He described and conceptualized three sites of urban education that other researchers use to make sense of and describe urban contexts. Milner earned his doctorate in educational policy and leadership from The Ohio State University. He is the first Black person in the history of Vanderbilt University to earn tenure and promotion in the Peabody College of Education and Human Development. His work has been cited or featured in the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, the Cincinnati Enquirer, the Atlantic, the Philadelphia Inquirer, Huffington Post, National Public Radio (NPR), National Education Association Today, Educational Leadership, and Education Week. He has authored nine books, including three best-sellers, and more than 100 peer-reviewed publications. Milner will collaborate with faculty, researchers and students in the School of Education and Human Development.
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2023-24 HAGLER FELLOW
KYLE J. MYERS
Principal, Puente Solutions LLC
Best known for the development of analytical and regulatory science methods for the accuracy and safety of medical imaging devices, Kyle J. Myers established nextgeneration screening techniques for medical diagnostics using advanced imaging technology for breast cancer, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease. She has demonstrated creativity in using novel software approaches to improve imaging technologies of all types. She is known for her service to society and leadership in building consortia for regulatory affairs and information processing. Myers is the former director of the Division of Imaging, Diagnostics and Software Reliability at the Federal Drug Administration (FDA). While at the FDA, she implemented an imaging program in the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research that brought international credit to the agency. As the manager and technical director for FDA programs, she improved medical imaging, diagnostics, clinical trial methods and software verification tools. Myers earned a doctorate in optical science from the University of Arizona. She belongs to the National Academy of Engineering and is a member of the International Society for Optics and Photonics (SPIE), the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering and Optica. She served on SPIE’s board of directors. Honors include the SPIE Community Champion Award and the Joseph W. Goodman Book Writing Award, SPIE and Optica. Myers has published two books and 76 peer-reviewed articles. Myers will collaborate with faculty, researchers and students in the College of Engineering.
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2023-24 HAGLER FELLOW
KONSTANTIN NOVOSELOV
Director, Institute for Functional Intelligent Materials Tan Chin Tuan Centennial Professor National University of Singapore
An expert in condensed matter physics, mesoscopic physics and nanotechnology, Sir Konstantin Novoselov is best known for isolating graphene at The University of Manchester in 2004. Working with fellow physicist Andre Geim, Novoselov produced a material long considered only theoretical: carbon atoms arranged in a hexagonal lattice and only one atom thick. Novoselov and Geim shared the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2010 for their achievement. Novoselov earned his doctorate from Radboud University of Nijmegen, Netherlands. He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and a fellow of the Royal Society in the United Kingdom. Honors include the Nicholas Kurti Science Prize, Oxford Instruments; the International Union of Pure and Applied Physics Young Scientist Prize; recognition as an MIT Technology Review Young Innovator; the Europhysics Prize, European Physical Society; the Bragg Lecture Prize, Union of Crystallography; the Kohn Award Lecture, Imperial College London; the Leverhulme Medal, Royal Society; the Onsager Medal, Norwegian University of Science and Technology; the Carbon Medal, American Carbon Society; the Dalton Medal, Manchester Literary and Philosophical Society; the Otto Warburg Medal, German Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology; and the John von Neumann Professorship from the John von Neumann Computer Society and Budapest University of Technology and Economics. Novoselov is a Knight Commander of the Order of the Netherlands Lion and a Knight Bachelor in the United Kingdom for services to science. He consistently ranks among the world’s most highly cited researchers, having published 376 peer-reviewed papers. Novoselov will collaborate with faculty, researchers and students in the College of Arts and Sciences.
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2023-24 HAGLER FELLOW
ELEFTHERIOS T. PAPOUTSAKIS
Unidel Eugene DuPont Chaired Professor, Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering Professor, Biological Sciences University of Delaware
Considered a pioneer in metabolic engineering, Terry Papoutsakis has discovered ways to manipulate complex cellular processes, leading to new methods for creating fuels, chemicals and therapeutic compounds. He is best known for unraveling the interplay of cellular processes, allowing beneficial breakthroughs from regenerative medicine to industrial biotechnology. His current research focuses on molecular biotechnology and synthetic biology for sustainable manufacturing and the development of human therapeutics. Papoutsakis earned a doctorate in chemical engineering from Purdue University. He is a member of the National Academy of Engineering and a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Academy of Microbiology, the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, the American Chemical Society, the National Academy of Inventors and the International Academy of Medical and Biological Engineering. He is a founding fellow of the American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineers. Honors include the E. V. Murphree Award in Industrial and Engineering Chemistry of the American Chemical Society, the Alpha Chi Sigma, the William H. Walker, the James E. Bailey and the Daniel I. C. Wang awards of American Institute of Chemical Engineers and the Society of Biological Engineering. He has authored two books and 277 peer-reviewed publications. He holds 20 patents. Papoutsakis will collaborate with faculty, researchers and students in the College of Engineering.
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2023-24 HAGLER FELLOW
RADIA PERLMAN Fellow, Dell EMC
For more than three decades, Radia Perlman has been instrumental in the development and advancement of modern computer networks. Her innovative contributions to network design and standardization, including the function of linkstate routing protocols and spanning tree Ethernet, have earned her the nickname “Mother of the Internet.” Perlman’s most widely known invention, Spanning Tree Protocol (STP), was adopted as an Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers 802.1d standard in 1990. STP prevents bridge loops and broadcast radiation for Ethernet networks and is essential to the basic operation of network bridges. In effort to improve STP, Perlman also designed Transparent Interconnection of Lots of Links (TRILL) protocol, which combines bridging and routing techniques to support multipathing in the data center. She received her doctorate in computer science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Perlman is a fellow of Dell Technologies, the Association for Computing Machinery and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, as well as a member of the National Academy of Engineering. She has been inducted in the Internet Hall of Fame and the National Inventors Hall of Fame. She has received the SIGCOMM Award, Association for Computing Machinery’s Special Interest Group on Data Communications; the USENIX Lifetime Achievement Award; and became the first recipient of the Women of Vision Award for Innovation, Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology. Data Communications magazine named her one of the 20 most influential people in the industry in 1992 and among its top 25 technologists in 1997. She has authored two books and 36 peer-reviewed articles and has received more than 200 patents. Perlman will collaborate with researchers, students and faculty in the College of Engineering.
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2023-24 HAGLER FELLOW
SOROOSH SOROOSHIAN
Director, Center for Hydrometeorology and Remote Sensing Distinguished Professor and the Henry Samueli Chair, Departments of Civil & Environmental Engineering and Earth System Science University of California, Irvine
An expert in the field of hydrometeorology, Soroosh Sorooshian has advanced waterresource systems through his application of remote sensing and development of improved precipitation runoff modeling. He received his doctorate in engineering from the University of California, Los Angeles. Sorooshian is a member of the National Academy of Engineering, the International Academy of Astronautics and the World Academy of Sciences as well as a foreign member of the European Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Sciences. He is the fellow of the American Geophysical Union, the American Meteorological Society, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics, and the International Water Resources Association. Honors include the Hydrological Sciences Medal, American Meteorological Society; the Lifetime Achievement Award, Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers Systems, Man and Cybernetics Society; the Ven Te Chow Award, American Society of Civil Engineers; the Robert E. Horton Medalist, American Geophysical Union; the Prince Sultan Bin Abdulaziz International Prize for Water Resources Management and Protection; the NASA Distinguished Public Service Medal; and the Einstein Professorship of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. He has authored seven books and more than 300 peer-reviewed publications. Sorooshian will collaborate with faculty, researchers and students in the College of Arts and Sciences.
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2023-24 HAGLER FELLOW
ROBYN TANGUAY
University Distinguished Professor, Environmental and Molecular Toxicology Director of the Superfund Research Program, the Sinnhuber Aquatic Research Laboratory Former Director of the Environmental Health Sciences Center Oregon State University
A pioneer in the use of zebrafish as toxicology models, Robyn Tanguay explores how to predict the damage that chemicals, nanomaterials and similar structures may inflict upon vertebrate development and function in order to protect human health. Tanguay has evaluated the bioactivity of thousands of chemicals and mixtures, including polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, ethanol, flame retardants, nicotine, pesticides, pharmaceuticals and complex environmental mixtures. She has used several systems and bioinformatic approaches to pursue toxicity mechanisms, with much of her efforts focused on genetics, transcriptomics, small non-coding RNAs, metabolomics and pathway analysis. Her approach is considered revolutionary. Her most recent research led to the development of automated high-throughput instrumentation and software to accelerate phenotyping and molecular responses to biological perturbations Tanguay received her doctorate in biochemistry from the University of California, Riverside. Honors include the Oregon State University James and Mildred Oldfield and E.R. Jackman Foundation Team Award; Pacific Northwest Association of Toxicologists Achievement Award; Reproductive and Developmental Toxicology Scientific Achievement Award; Society of Toxicology Mentoring Award; Toxicological Sciences Paper of the Year; the Roy G. Arnold Agricultural Research Foundation Leadership Award; the Oregon State University Agricultural Research Foundation Distinguished Faculty Award; and the Oregon State University Excellence in Postdoctoral Mentoring Award. She has authored more than 300 peer-reviewed articles. Tanguay will collaborate with faculty, researchers and students at Texas A&M University at Galveston.
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2023-24 HAGLER FELLOW
GÜNTER WAGNER
Alison Richard Professor Emeritus, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Yale University Senior Research Fellow, University of Vienna, Austria
Recognized for his groundbreaking research on the evolution of genes and gene networks, Günter Wagner examines the developmental basis of homology and evolutionary novelties. Often by applying mathematical theory, Wagner’s work explores gene regulation, complex traits, novel cell types and character identity. His recent research relates to the evolution of cellular innovations in limb evolution and mammalian and reptilian pregnancy. He received his doctorate in zoology from the University of Vienna. Wagner is a member of the National Academy of Science, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering, as well as a fellow of the MacArthur Foundation, the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the Austrian Academy of Sciences. He has received the Alexander von Humboldt Research Award, Alexander von Humboldt Foundation; the Alexander O. Kovalesky Medal, St. Petersburg Society of Naturalists; the Daniel Giraud Elliot Medal, National Academy of Sciences; and the Koopmans Distinguished Lectureship, International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis. Wagner is the former chair of the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at Yale University and the current Alison Richard Professor Emeritus. He also directs research primarily focused on the evolution of endometrial stromal cells in relation to the evolutionary origin of mammalian pregnancy. He has authored one book and more 160 peer-reviewed articles. Wagner will collaborate with faculty, researchers and students in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and the School of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences.
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2023-24 DISTINGUISHED LECTURER
JULIO M. OTTINO
R.R. McCormick Institute Professor Walter P. Murphy Professor, Chemical and Biological Engineering, Mechanical Engineering Former Dean, R.R. McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science Professor of Management and Organizations, Kellogg School of Management Northwestern University
With a research portfolio that includes projects in chemical, mechanical, polymer engineering—as well as nonlinear dynamics, complex systems, geophysics, oceanography and environmental sciences—Julio M. Ottino is known for developing and operationalizing whole-brain engineering, which merges analytical left-brain skills with right brain creative skill to develop whole-brain engineers. His early research focused on chaos theory and applications. Today, he investigates a broad class of problems in complex systems where there is a competition between order and disorder. He co-founded and was the initial director of the Northwestern Institute on Complex Systems. Ottino earned his doctorate in chemical engineering from the University of Minnesota. He is a member of National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He is a fellow of the American Physical Society and the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and is a past Guggenheim Fellow. Honors include the National Academy of Engineering ‘s Bernard M. Gordon Prize for Innovation in Engineering and Technology Education, the William H. Walker Award and the Founder Award from American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) and the first-ever Presidential Young Investigator Award. He has served as the Paul J. Flory Lecturer at Stanford University and presented at the Danckwerts Memorial Lecture in London. He has produced three books and more than 270 peer-reviewed publications. Ottino will collaborate with faculty, researchers and students in the College of Engineering and elsewhere within the university.
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2023-24 DISTINGUISHED LECTURER
MARK ZOBACK
Benjamin M. Page Professor, Geophysics Emeritus Emeritus Director, Stanford Natural Gas Initiative Stanford University
Renowned for his research in reservoir geomechanics, Mark Zoback investigates in situ stress, fault mechanics, and reservoir geomechanics with an emphasis on shale gas, tight gas and tight oil production, induced seismicity and CO2 sequestration. Zoback served as a principal investigator for a project that successfully drilled the first research well through the San Andreas Fault at a seismic depth. He served on the committee of the National Academy of Engineering to investigate the Deepwater Horizon accident. He also served on committees in the United States and Canada to study shale-gas development and methods of environmental protection. Zoback earned his doctorate in geophysics from Stanford University. He was also co-director of the Stanford Center for Induced and Triggered Seismicity as well as the Stanford Center for Carbon Storage. Zoback is a member of the National Academy of Engineering and a fellow of the American Rock Mechanics Association, the American Geophysical Union, the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the Geological Society of America. Honors include the Louis Néel Medal from the European Geosciences Union, the Walter H. Bucher Medal from the American Geophysical Union, the Emil Wiechert Medal from the German Geophysical Society, the Senior Research Scientist Award from the Alexander Von Humboldt Foundation, the Rolf Emmermann Medal of the German Research Centre for Geosciences; and the Robert R. Berg Outstanding Research Award from the American Association of Petroleum Geologists. He was also awarded an Einstein Chair Professorship of the Chinese Academy of Sciences He has authored two books and 250 peer-reviewed publications and holds five patents. Zoback will collaborate with faculty, researchers and students in the College of Engineering.
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CLASS OF 2022-23 GUY BERTRAND Distinguished Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry Director, UCSD-CNRS Joint Research Chemistry Laboratory University of California San Diego Research: Taming reactive molecules and transforming them into useful tools for synthetic chemists HUI CAO John C. Malone Professor of Applied Physics Professor of Physics and Professor of Electrical Engineering Department of Applied Physics Yale University Research: Understanding and controlling light transport, scattering, absorption and amplification in complex photonic nanostructures JOHN MICHAEL CULLEN Distinguished Professor, Associate in the Toxicology Faculty and Adjunct Senior Researcher, Hammer Institute Department of Population Health and Pathobiology College of Veterinary Medicine North Carolina State University Research: Drug-induced hepatic disease and animal models of viral hepatitis ODILE EISENSTEIN Director de Recherche CNRS Emeritus, Institut Charles Gerhardt Montpellier CTMM group Universite de Montpellier Hylleraas Center for Quantum Molecular Science University of Oslo, Norway Research: Molecular organic and organometallic chemistry DIMITAR FILEV Henry Ford Technical Fellow Ford Research and Innovation Center Research: Computational intelligence, artificial intelligence and intelligent control HOWARD FRUMKIN Senior Vice President, the Trust for Public Land Professor Emeritus of Environmental and Occupational Sciences School of Public Health University of Washington Research: Public health aspects of the built environment SEBASTIAN (BAS) JONKMAN Professor and holder of the Integral Hydraulic Engineering Chair Delft University of Technology, Netherlands Research: Flood risk management, land reclamation and the integral design of hydraulic infrastructure
MARK O’MALLEY Leverhulme Professor of Power Systems Imperial College London Research: Integrating wind-energy systems into smart grids LAWRENCE QUE JR. Regents Professor College of Science and Engineering University of Minnesota Research: Understanding how non-heme iron centers activate oxygen to carry out a diverse array of metabolically important reactions JEAN-PAUL RODRIGUE Professor Department of Global Studies and Geography Hofstra University Research: Mobility, freight distribution, containerization, logistics and transport terminals DONALD L. SPARKS Francis Alison Professor and holder of the Unidel S. Hallock du Pont Chair in Soil and Environmental Chemistry Professor, Chemistry and Biochemistry Director, Delaware Environmental Institute College of Agriculture & Natural Resources University of Delaware Research: Kinetics of geochemical processes, molecular scale investigations of metal and nutrient fate, transport in soils and water, soil remediation and climate change impacts on soil MADHAVI SUNDER Frank Sherry Professor of Intellectual Property and Associate Dean for International and Graduate Programs Georgetown Law Center Research: Intellectual property law and extending into culture, human rights and the First Amendment MICHAEL W. YOUNG Richard and Jeanne Fisher Professor Laboratory of Genetics, head Vice President for Academic Affairs The Rockefeller University Research: Biological clocks that regulate the human body’s sleep patterns, metabolism and response to disease DAVID ZILBERMAN Distinguished Professor and holder, Robinson Chair Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics College of Natural Resources University of California, Berkeley Research: Agricultural and environmental policy; economics of innovation and risk; water biotechnology; and climate change
CLASS OF 2021-22 ARTHUR M. JAFFE Landon T. Clay Professor of Mathematics and Theoretical Sciences Department of Physics Harvard University Research: The relation between super symmetry and a new mathematical subject — non-commutative geometry — where one builds quantum space into the notion of space-time KEVIN G. BOWCUTT Principal Senior Technical Fellow and Chief Scientist of Hypersonics Boeing Research and Technology Research: Hypersonic aerodynamics, propulsion integration, and vehicle design and optimization JACQUELINE H. CHEN Senior Scientist Combustion Research Facility Sandia National Laboratories Research: Applies massively parallel computing to the simulation of turbulent combustion JENNIFER H. ELISSEEFF Jules Stein Professor Department of Biomedical Engineering Morton Goldberg Professor, Ophthalmology Director, Translational Tissue Engineering Center Johns Hopkins University Research: Regenerative medicine, biomaterials, tissue engineering, immunoengineering and biomedical engineering THEODORE GOODSON III Richard Barry Bernstein Collegiate Professor of Chemistry and Macromolecular Science and Engineering Department of Chemistry University of Michigan Research: Non-linear optical properties of novel organic materials NANCY R. SOTTOS Department Head and Holder, Maybelle Leland Swanlund Endowed Chair Center for Advanced Study Professor Materials Science and Engineering Grainger College of Engineering University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Research: Self-healing materials for energy and the environment, mechanical properties and materials for extreme conditions DONNA T. STRICKLAND Professor Department of Physics and Astronomy University of Waterloo Ontario, Canada Research: Develops novel ultrafast laser systems to study nonlinear optical phenomena
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NIKOLAY I. ZHELUDEV Professor and Deputy Director of the Zepler Institute University of Southampton, United Kingdom Co-Director, The Photonics Institute Nanyang Technological University, Singapore Research: Nanophotonics, metamaterials, nanotechnology, electrodynamics, and nonlinear optics
JULIA KING Professor Baroness Brown of Cambridge, Crossbench Life Peer, House of Lords, London Chair, Sir Henry Royce Institute for Advanced Materials, Carbon Trust Research: Science, technology, and policy to support low-carbon and new negative-emissions science
MARIO ANDRÉS HAMUY Vice President and Head of Mission, Chile Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy Washington, DC Research: Established the use of supernovas to measure distances into the far universe, leading to the discovery of the accelerated expansion of the universe
CLASS OF 2020-21
GLORIA LADSON-BILLINGS Former Kellner Family Distinguished Professor Department of Educational Policy Studies School of Education University of Wisconsin Research: Examines the pedagogical practices of teachers who are successful with African American students, and investigates applications of critical race theory to education
PETER J. HOTEZ Dean, National School of Tropical Medicine Professor Departments of Pediatrics and Molecular Virology & Microbiology Endowed Chair in Tropical Pediatrics Baylor College of Medicine Research: Neglected tropical diseases and vaccine development
R. GRAHAM COOKS Henry B. Hass Distinguished Professor of Analytical Chemistry Department of Chemistry College of Science Purdue University Research: Mass spectrometry, including fundamental phenomena, instrumentation and analytical applications ANDREW P. FEINBERG Director, Center for Epigenetics Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine Bloomberg Distinguished Professor Whiting School of Engineering and Bloomberg School of Public Health Johns Hopkins University Research: Multidisciplinary research spans many fields, from genetics to computational biology and mathematics JAMES J. GIOVANNONI Director Robert W. Holley Center for Agriculture & Health Laboratory USDA-ARS Adjunct Professor Boyce Thompson Institute Cornell University Research: Molecular and genetic analysis of fruit physiology and ripening and signal transduction systems in the tomato and additional fruit species PAULA T. HAMMOND David H. Koch (1962) Professor in Engineering Head, Department of Chemical Engineering School of Engineering Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Research: Macromolecular design and synthesis, targeted drug delivery for cancer, nanoscale assembly of synthetic biomaterials and electrostatic and directed materials assembly TIMOTHY A. JUDGE Joseph A. Alutto Chair in Leadership Effectiveness Department of Management and Human Resources Fischer College of Business The Ohio State University Research: Clarifies the role of personality in job performance, job attitudes and career success
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RACHEL F. MORAN Distinguished Professor School of Law University of California, Irvine Research: Education policy, civil right and race and the law SHAUL MUKAMEL Distinguished Professor Department of Chemistry School of Physical Sciences University of California, Irvine Research: Studies molecules by measuring their response to short pulses of light. Pioneered the field of coherent ultrafast multidimensional molecular spectroscopy LENA COWEN ORLIN Professor Department of English Georgetown College Georgetown University Research: Expert on private domestic life during the Renaissance and specializes in works of Shakespeare
CLASS OF 2019-20 LUIZ DAVIDOVICH Professor of Physics Instituto de Física Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro Research: Decoherence, dynamics of entanglement, laser theory, and quantum metrology SHARON DONOVAN Professor and Holder, Melissa M. Noel Endowed Chair in Nutrition and Health Department of Nutritional Sciences College of Agricultural, Consumer & Environmental Sciences The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Research: Pediatric nutrition, focusing on optimizing intestinal and cognitive development and on development of the gut microbiome
H AG L E R I N S T I T U T E F O R A D VA N C E D S T U DY AT T E X A S A & M U N I V E R S I T Y
KATHLEEN C. HOWELL Hsu Lo Distinguished Professor School of Aeronautics and Astronautics College of Engineering Purdue University Research:Contributions to the three body problem, the interplanetary superhighway, and artificial satellite theories MISHA LYUBICH Professor Department of Mathematics Director, Institute for Mathematical Sciences College of Arts and Sciences Stony Brook University Research: Analytic low-dimensional dynamics of recursive maps HENRY ROUSSO Directeur de Recherche Émérite French National Centre for Scientific Research Paris, France Research: Link between history and memory and historical trauma PETER W. SHOR Henry Adams Morss and Henry Adams Morss Jr. Professor of Applied Mathematics School of Science Massachusetts Institute of Technology Research: Quantum algorithm for factoring exponentially faster than the best currently known algorithm running on a classical computer EDWIN L. “NED” THOMAS Ernest Dell Butcher Professor of Engineering Department of Materials Science and Nanoengineering School of Engineering Rice University Research: Development of novel photonic materials and determination of the morphology of black copolymers
CLASS OF 2018-19 VANDERLEI SALVADOR BAGNATO Professor Department of Physics and Materials Science University of São Paulo and the Institute of Physics of São Carlos Brazil Research: Laser cooling, trapping neutral atoms, and applying the principles of optics and lasers in health sciences MICHAEL J. DUFF Emeritus Professor of Theoretical Physics Senior Research Investigator Imperial College London Research: Quantum gravity, quantum informatics, string theory, M-theory, and unified theories of the elementary particles YONGGANG HUANG Walter P. Murphy Professor of Mechanical Engineering, Civil and Environmental Engineering, and Materials Science and Engineering McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science Northwestern University Research: Mechanics of stretchable materials and additive manufacturing CAMERON JONES Professor and Holder of the R.L. Martin Distinguished Chair of Chemistry Monash University Melbourne, Australia Research: Existing views on structure, bonding, and stability STEFAN H.E. KAUFMANN Head, Department of Immunology Founding Director Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology Germany Research: Vaccines for tuberculosis H. VINCENT POOR Michael Henry Strater University Professor Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering School of Engineering and Applied Science Princeton University Research: Advancing rapid development of technology ROBERT D. PUTNAM Peter and Isabel Malkin Research Professor of Public Policy Kennedy School of Government Harvard University Research: Religion in society, the fall and revival of American community, and opportunity gaps
ANDREA RINALDO Professor of Hydrology and Water Resources Director, Laboratory of Ecohydrology École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne Switzerland Research: Theory of self-organized fractal river networks and efficient transportation networks
JERRY TESSENDORF Professor of Visual Computing School of Computing College of Engineering, Computing and Applied Sciences Clemson University Research: Fluid simulations in computer graphics for motion pictures
WILLIAM G. UNRUH Professor of Physics Department of Physics & Astronomy University of British Columbia Research: General relativity and refining the foundations of quantum mechanics in relation to black holes
CLASS OF 2016-17
CLASS OF 2017-18 VIJAY K. DHIR Distinguished Professor Departments of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering and Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering Samueli School of Engineering University of California, Los Angeles Northwestern University Research: Fundamental and applied sciences involving boiling RICHARD A. DIXON Distinguished Research Professor Department of Biological Sciences College of Science University of North Texas Research: Metabolic engineering of plants RICHARD A. EPSTEIN Laurence A. Tisch Professor of Law Director, Classical Liberal Institute School of Law New York University Research: Legal theory property, torts, and employment TOM GINSBURG Leo Spitz Professor of International Law Ludwig and Hilde Wolf Research Scholar Professor of Political Science University of Chicago Law School Research: Multidisciplinary social scientific analysis to comparative constitutional law JAMES E. HUBBARD JR. Oscar S. Wyatt Jr. ‘45 Chair I Professor Department of Mechanical Engineering College of Engineering Texas A&M University Research: Designs, develops, and defines the state of the art in robotic platforms THOMAS J. STIPANOWICH William H. Webster Chair in Dispute Resolution Professor of Law Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution Caruso School of Law Pepperdine University Research: Commercial arbitration and dispute resolution
CHRISTOPHER C. CUMMINS Henry Dreyfus Professor of Chemistry Department of Chemistry School of Science Massachusetts Institute of Technology Research: Synthetic chemistry, inorganic synthesis methodology INGRID DAUBECHIES James B. Duke Distinguished Professor Departments of Mathematics and Electrical & Computer Engineering Trinity College of Arts and Sciences, Pratt School of Engineering Duke University Research: Wavelets, mathematical methods GERALD GALLOWAY Professor Emeritus Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering A. James Clark School of Engineering University of Maryland Research: Civil engineering, flood plain management HUAJIAN GAO Walter H. Annenberg Professor of Engineering School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Brown University Research: Mechanical and biological engineering MARYELLEN GIGER A. N. Pritzker Distinguished Service Professor Department of Radiology Committee on Medical Physics The College at the University of Chicago Research: Computer-aided diagnosis, digital signal and image processing ROBERT KENNICUTT JR. Plumian Professor of Astronomy and Experimental Philosophy, Emerita School of Physical Sciences University of Cambridge Research: Astronomy, star formation and galaxies CHARLES E. KOLB Former President and Chief Executive Officer Aerodyne Research Inc. Research: Atmospheric chemistry, air quality, and climate
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V. KUMAR Professor Department of Marketing The Peter J. Tobin College of Business St. John’s University, New York Research: Marketing research methods, customer relationship management WILLIAM M. SAGE James R. Dougherty Chair for Faculty Excellence Professor Department of Surgery and Perioperative Care Dell Medical School The University of Texas at Austin School of Law Research: Law, national health care reform THOMAS S. ULEN Research Professor Swanlund Chair Emeritus College of Law University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Research: Law, economics, legal, scholarship, and legal education
CLASS OF 2015-16 W. DAVID ARNETT Regents’ Professor Emeritus Department of Astronomy College of Science University of Arizona Research:Theoretical astrophysics, supernovae, and stellar astronomy JOHN T. BROSNAN Professor Emeritus Department of Biochemistry Memorial University of Newfoundland Research: Amino acid biochemistry ROBERT A. CALDERBANK Charles S. Sydnor Distinguished Professor Departments of Electrical & Computer Engineering and Mathematics Director, Rhodes Information Initiative Pratt School of Engineering, Trinity College of Arts and Sciences Duke University Research: Computer science, electrical engineering, and mathematics RICHARD DELGADO John J. Sparkman Chair of Law School of Law The University of Alabama Research: Critical race theory, law RICHARD GIBBS Wofford Cain Chair and Professor Department of Molecular and Human Genetics Director & Founder, Human Genome Sequencing Center Baylor College of Medicine Research: Genome science, human molecular evolution
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J. KARL HEDRICK James Marshall Wells Academic Chair and Professor Department of Mechanical Engineering College of Engineering University of California, Berkeley Research: Nonlinear control theory, automotive control systems RICHARD HOLM Higgins Professor of Chemistry Emeritus Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Harvard University Research: Bioinorganic chemistry MICHAEL KING Senior Research Scientist Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics University of Colorado Boulder Research: Atmospheric and space physics STEVE POLASKY Regents Professor, Fesler-Lampert Professor of Ecological/Environmental Economics Department of Applied Economics College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences University of Minnesota Research: Ecological/environmental economics JOHN A. ROGERS Louis Simpson and Kimberly Querrey Professor of Materials Science and Engineering, Biomedical Engineering, and Neurological Surgery Director, Querrey Simpson Institute for Bioelectronics McCormick School of Engineering Northwestern University Research: Materials science and engineering MANFRED SCHARTL Senior Professor Department of Developmental Biochemistry The Biocenter University of Würzburg Germany Research: Biology, genetics KUMARES SINHA Edgar B. and Hedwig M. Olson Distinguished Professor of Civil Engineering Lyles School of Civil Engineering Purdue University Research: Civil engineering SUSAN SULEIMAN C. Douglas Dillon Professor of the Civilization of France and Professor of Comparative Literature, Emerita Department of Romance Languages & Literatures Arts and Humanities Harvard University Research: Twentieth-century French literature
H AG L E R I N S T I T U T E F O R A D VA N C E D S T U DY AT T E X A S A & M U N I V E R S I T Y
CLASS OF 2014-15 HAROLD ADAMS Chairman Emeritus RTKL Associates Inc. Research: Architecture and building construction RAKESH AGRAWAL Winthrop E. Stone Distinguished Professor of Chemical Engineering Davidson School of Chemical Engineering College of Engineering Purdue University Research: Chemical engineering, invention JACK DONGARRA University Distinguished Professor Min H. Kao Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Director, Innovative Computing Laboratory Tickle College of Engineering University of Tennessee, Knoxville Research: Computational mathematics WILLIAM MARRAS Honda Chair in Transportation Department of Integrated Systems Engineering Director, Spine Research Institute The Ohio State University Research: Ergonomics and occupational health ED MOSES President Longview Consulting Research: Fusion energy, high-power laser physics YURI OGANESSIAN Scientific Director Flerov Laboratory of Nuclear Reactions Joint Institute for Nuclear Research Dubna, Russia Research: Nuclear physics ROBERT SKELTON Wofford Cain Chair III and Professor Departments of Aerospace Engineering and Ocean Engineering College of Engineering Texas A&M University Research: Systems and aerospace engineering
CLASS OF 2013-14 LEIF ANDERSSON Uppsala University, Sweden Professor Department of Veterinary Integrative Biosciences School of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences Texas A&M University Research: Animal genetics
SATYA ATLURI Presidential Chair & University Distinguished Professor Department of Chemical Engineering Edward E. Whitacre Jr. College of Engineering Texas Tech University Research: Mechanical and aerospace engineering CLAUDE BOUCHARD John W. Barton, Sr. Endowed Chair in Genetics and Nutrition Boyd Professor and Professor in Human Genomics Pennington Biomedical Research Center Louisiana State University Research: Genetics and nutrition CHRISTODOULOS FLOUDAS Director, Texas A&M Energy Institute Erle Nye ‘59 Chair Professor for Engineering Excellence Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering Texas A&M University Research: Chemical and biological engineering ROY GLAUBER Harvard University Nobel Prize in Physics Research: Quantum physics ROGER HOWE University Distinguished Professor Department of Teaching, Learning & Culture School of Education and Human Development Texas A&M University Research: Mathematics ROBERT LEVINE Distinguished University Professor, English Departments of English and American Studies College of Arts and Humanities University of Maryland Research: Literary and comparative studies WOLFGANG SCHLEICH Chair Professor of Theoretical Physics Director, Institute of Quantum Physics Ulm University, Germany Research: Theoretical and quantum physics PETER STANG Distinguished Professor and David P. Gardner Presidential Chair Department of Chemistry College of Science University of Utah Research: Organic chemistry
CLASS OF 2012-13 JAY DUNLAP Nathan Smith Professor Departments of Molecular and Systems Biology and Biochemistry and Cell Biology Geisel School of Medicine Dartmouth College Research: Genetics, biochemistry PETER LISS Professor Emeritus School of Environmental Sciences University of East Anglia, UK Research: Environmental sciences ALAN NEEDLEMAN University Distinguished Professor and Royce E. Wisenbaker ’39 Chair III Departments of Materials Science & Engineering and Mechanical Engineering College of Engineering Texas A&M University Research: Materials science and engineering ALEDA ROTH Burlington Industries Distinguished Professor of Supply Chain Management Department of Management Wilburn O. and Ann Powers College of Business Clemson University Research: Global supply chain management VERNON SMITH George L. Argyros Endowed Chair in Finance and Economics, Professor of Economics and Law Founder, Economic Science Institute The George L. Argyros School of Business and Economics, Dale E. Fowler School of Law Chapman University Research: Experimental economics KATEPALLI SREENIVASAN Dean Emeritus of NYU Tandon School of Engineering Eugene Kleiner Professor for Innovation in Mechanical Engineering University Professor Departments of Physics and Mathematics College of Arts and Science, Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences New York University Research: Mechanical engineering
In 2023, the Hagler Institute hosted two symposiums which featured a distinguished lineup of renowned and award-winning scholars.
WORLD-CLASS CORNERSTONE | 2023 ANNUAL REPORT
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FINANCIAL OVERVIEW
I
n fiscal year 2017, Jon L. Hagler ’58 committed a
earnings from newly endowed Hagler Institute College
$10 million cash gift and a $10 million estate gift
Chairs. Those earnings will be generated each year in
to help endow what is now the Hagler Institute for
the future. Our goal is to increase endowment funding,
Advanced Study.
particularly for Hagler Fellows within colleges, and for the institute’s graduate student fellowships.
Jon L. Hagler’s endowment, coupled with Academic Master Plan funds ($1.8 million in 2016 dollars per year) and
REVENUES AND EXPENDITURES
Heep Foundation earnings ($400,000 per year) contributed by Texas A&M University President General (Ret.) Mark
Revenues were less than expenditures in academic fiscal
A. Welsh lll, ensure that the Hagler Institute will serve
year 2023, which ended Aug. 31, 2023. The largest sources of
permanently as a beacon of excellence at Texas A&M.
revenues came from Texas A&M University to pay operating expenses and compensation to fellows. Endowment income
The institute’s current financing is enough to support an
continues to grow, however, primarily due to additions of
average of about 10 new Hagler Fellows per year. The 2023-
earnings on some recently established endowments.
24 fellows numbered 14, with two additional Distinguished Lecturers. Looking forward, we see a new era of growth
The total of the Hagler Institute’s new obligations to Hagler
in Hagler Fellows to an average in the mid-teens annually.
Fellows and Distinguished Lecturers recruited in fiscal year
Two major contributors that enable the institute’s growth
2023 for the 2023-24 academic year are reported as “Fellow
are earnings from Jon L. Hagler’s cash endowment and
and Lecturer Compensation.” The Hagler Institute’s fellow
FISCAL YEAR 23
SOURCES OF REVENUES TEXAS A&M FUNDS
$1,872,901
REVENUES
ENDOWMENT EARNINGS AND GIFTS
$695,046
HEEP FOUNDATION
$400,000
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H AG L E R I N S T I T U T E F O R A D VA N C E D S T U DY AT T E X A S A & M U N I V E R S I T Y
$2,967,947
obligations totaled $2,506,700 and Distinguished Lecturer
CASH ENDOWMENTS AND PLANNED
obligations totaled $92,400.
ESTATE GIFTS
Operating expenses totaled $1,118,801 and expenditures
Former students led by Jon L. Hagler ’58 have provided
for student fellowships were $372,494.
impressive support for Texas A&M. For those alumni wanting to underwrite a legacy of ultimate academic
The fellowship expenditures enabled students to work
excellence, the Hagler Institute is an ideal solution. For
directly on research with Hagler Fellows and their
the life of the university, donors of a cash endowment or
Texas A&M faculty hosts. Our potential obligations for
a planned estate gift will have their names associated with
student fellowships are much larger than the cash outlays
a series of the world’s most remarkable scholars. History
shown in the fiscal year 2023 expenditures pie chart,
shows that more than 20% of the fellows who complete
and these will be shown as expenditures when these
their work in the institute join our faculty. Endowed chairs
fellowships are applied for and awarded.
for Hagler Fellows and endowed fellowships for graduate students to work with fellows are among the most
The shortfall of revenue compared with expenses is being
prestigious on campus. These endowments bear the name
financed by savings accumulated mainly during the
of the donor and may be focused in particular colleges,
COVID-19 pandemic. Without some additional resources,
schools, departments or disciplines.
recruiting of fellows will eventually have to decline to around 10 per year from the 14 recruited in fiscal year
Three Hagler Institute College Chairs of $3 million each
2022 and fiscal year 2023.
and a fourth chair endowed for $1 million are fully funded
FISCAL YEAR 23
EXPENDITURES
FELLOW AND LECTURER COMPENSATION
EXPENDITURES
$4,090,395
$2,599,100
OPERATING AND MISCELLANEOUS EXPENSES AND SALARIES
$1,118,801
STUDENT FELLOWSHIPS
$372,494
CORNERSTONE | 2023 ANNUAL REPORT
71
and are generating earnings for their
Some individuals have donated
Foundation, thanks to Trustee
respective colleges to support Hagler
unsolicited estate gifts. The first
Terrell Mullins ’67. Advocates Janet
Fellows. Those chairs were funded
professor to establish an estate
and Jean-Louis Briaud have also
by Trisha and L.C. “Chaz” Neely, ’62
gift was Ozden Ochoa, professor
made significant contributions.
(Mays Business School), Eric Yong
emerita, mechanical engineering.
A number of other donors who
Xu, ’93 (Department of Biology),
Walter Buchanan, professor in
wish to remain anonymous have
Thomas W. Powell, ’62 (College of
the College of Engineering and a
stepped forward to contribute. It is
Arts and Sciences), and Karin C. and
graduate of Purdue University and
remarkable that none of the gifts to
R. Bowen Loftin ’71 (Bush School
Indiana University, along with his
date have been solicited.
of Government and Public Service).
wife, Charlotte, donated their estates
These endowments were established
to establish a Hagler Chair within
with matching funds.
the College of Engineering. Elouise
The Jerry and Kay Cox Foundation was the first to establish an endowment within the Hagler Institute to support fellows from any discipline, subsequently joined by Susanne M. and Melbern G. Glasscock ’59, who established a similar endowment. Brad Worsham ’88, professor of practice in the College of Engineering, and Mary and Charles Gregory ’64 have helped establish $800,000 endowments for graduate student fellowships. Anthony J. Wood ’90 and Susan D. Wood ’89 have also funded an endowment for discretionary use by the Hagler
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and John L. Junkins, founding
By enhancing academic excellence every year, the institute is moving steadily forward, helping Texas
director of the Hagler Institute, have
A&M to achieve recognition as
endowed a chair from their estate to
a top 10 public university. Our
support Hagler Fellows in the field
near-term goal is to find one or
of aerospace engineering. Professor
more additional endowed chairs per
Janet Bluemel and University
college and school, as well as $25
Distinguished Professor John
million endowments for graduate
Gladysz, holder of the Dow Chair
student fellowships, by 2030. Despite
in Chemical Invention, both faculty
substantial progress, we are still
in the College of Arts and Sciences,
well short of that goal, but gaining
have made significant provisions in
momentum. We are pleased that
their wills to contribute to the Hagler
more and more members of the
Institute. The Hagler Institute has
Aggie Network are recognizing the
received other estate gifts, including
merit and power of investing in the
one from Associate Director Clifford
Hagler Institute. Achieving this goal
L. Fry ’67 and another one from an
will vastly accelerate every college
anonymous donor.
and school and make Hagler Fellows easily affordable for all disciplines.
Institute and supplemented the
The mission of the Hagler Institute
Director Chair endowment. Former
has inspired Texas A&M faculty
You can make a difference
Hagler Fellows are another source
members who are not former
in the excellence of your
of significant support. Robert
students to contribute support for
Skelton donated funds to help
the institute. Some have walked
department, college, school
endow a $200,000 discretionary
in unsolicited to the Hagler office
account emphasizing graduate
with a check in hand. Katepalli
student support. We were blessed
Sreenivasan and Alan Needleman,
to receive a gift from the estate of
from the first group of fellows,
former External Advisory Board
have made several cash gifts, as
member, the late Norm Abramson.
has the Williard and Anne Levin
H AG L E R I N S T I T U T E F O R A D VA N C E D S T U DY AT T E X A S A & M U N I V E R S I T Y
and Texas A&M. We would be delighted for you to join us to help elevate Texas A&M University in perpetuity.
CHARTING THE WAY FORWARD
TRAILBLAZING
M
ore than 20 years ago,
scholars in those fields to be fellows
complete their time in the Hagler
Texas A&M University
of the Hagler Institute. In other
Institute have joined Texas A&M’s
adopted Vision 2020,
areas of study, scholars have to be of
permanent faculty. In conjunction
its strategic plan to
academy-level stature or nominees
with the Chancellor’s Research
elevate Texas A&M into
have to be leaders in their fields to
Initiative, these Hagler Fellows have
the top 20 of public
be accepted into the Hagler Institute.
also attracted other academy level
universities in the nation.
scholars to Texas A&M’s faculty. By bringing a steady stream of
The number of academy-level
The Hagler Institute for Advanced
world-class scholars to Texas A&M
faculty at Texas A&M has increased
Study was founded to elevate the
with time in residence from three
from 11 in 2012 to 57 in 2023.
quality of Texas A&M’s faculty and
to 12 months, the Hagler Institute
Top students follow top faculty.
students, a program designed by
has fostered research collaboration,
Director John L. Junkins.
nurtured excellence and fostered
The Hagler Institute has helped
a steady flow of ideas into Texas
Texas A&M achieve its goal of
National academy membership in
A&M’s research program. A very
being a top 20 public university,
science, engineering and medicine
pleasant surprise has been that
and the quality keeps rising.
are minimum standards required of
more that 25% of fellows who
CORNERSTONE | 2023 ANNUAL REPORT
73
In the Wall Street Journal’s 2024 Best Colleges in the U.S. rankings, Texas A&M University placed number six among the nation’s public universities in the nation and number one among all universities in Texas. More than 400 universities were graded on how much a college improves its students’ chances of graduating and on how much it boosts the salaries they earn after graduation. The Journal’s study examined graduation rates, graduation salaries, cost of attendance, socioeconomic backgrounds and student opinions about the quality of learning opportunities and satisfaction with facilities. Ranking criteria differs from study to study and from undergraduate to graduate school education. In its 2024 Best College Rankings, U.S. News and World Report evaluated nearly 1,500 U.S. four-year bachelor’s degree-granting institutions on the bases of 19 metrics related to academic quality, graduation outcomes, campus culture, strength in specific majors and financial aid offered. Their report places Texas A&M University
programs in nuclear physics and inorganic chemistry. The
at number 20 of public universities in the nation.
School of Education and Human Development has a top
On May 11, 2023, U.S. News and World Report released its evaluation of graduate school programs, including those in business, education, engineering, law, medicine, public
has the number one master’s program in Texas, ranking number six in the nation.
affairs, public health, science and veterinary medicine. Its
These ratings demonstrate that perceptions in the
rankings were based on expert opinions about program
nation are catching up with the reality of the quality
excellence and on statistical measures of the quality of
at Texas A&M University. Those who have supported
each school’s faculty, research and students. Five of Texas
the Hagler Institute for Advanced Study are an integral
A&M’s colleges and schools placed programs in the top 10
part of this pursuit of excellence. But we are not done
in these seven categories.
yet. The Hagler Institute seeks to eventually be 100%
Texas A&M’s College of Engineering ranked 10th in the nation, with top 10 departments of petroleum engineering, nuclear engineering, agricultural engineering and industrial engineering. Texas A&M’s School of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences ranked 10th nationally. Texas A&M’s School of Law has two
74
10 overall master’s program, and the Mays Business School
funded by endowments so potential fluctuations in the future financial conditions of the Texas economy and the university cannot affect the scale and focus of this institute. The Hagler Institute is firmly committed to lead this effort. We invite you to join this quest to further elevate of the quality of Texas A&M.
programs in the top 10, dispute resolution and intellectual
The objective for the Hagler Institute is to help
property law. The College of Arts and Sciences has top 10
set Texas A&M on a trajectory to become the
H AG L E R I N S T I T U T E F O R A D VA N C E D S T U DY AT T E X A S A & M U N I V E R S I T Y
consensus number one public university in the
support a new fellow each year, a $1 million endowed
United States. This decadal quest requires sustained
chair will fund approximately one fellow once every
effort to elevate academics across all colleges and
three years. Enhancing the Hagler Institute’s $800,000
schools. The Hagler Institute is a key lever that
endowments for student fellowships is also an immediate
crosses the entire university to allow faculty and
goal. Those chairs and fellowships are permanently
administrators to efficiently act on their ambitions.
named for the donors.
The institute has been averaging close to nine new
For our longer-term goal of 20 new outstanding
fellows each year for its first 11 years of operation. In
scholars to Texas A&M per year we seek donors
the immediate future, we would like to move the annual
for multiple chairs and student fellowships
average of new fellows into the teens. Our long-term
and donors of new planned estate gifts.
goal is to reach 20 fellow appointments per year. Reaching this goal would allow us to average about one fellow per department every five years. Reaching our long-term goal requires: •
stronger “buy-in” by under-participating colleges and schools to use the Hagler Institute to enhance their programs
•
additional endowed Hagler Institute College Chairs, at least one per college or school, to make the fellows more affordable
•
additional fellowship endowments for
Jon Hagler’s $20 million donation to the Hagler Institute has enabled a major leap forward in our operations and has ensured that the Hagler Institute will remain a permanent part of Texas A&M. Other large donations can launch the Hagler Institute onto an immediate higher growth path. The institute’s planned gifts are established through the Texas A&M Foundation for the sole benefit of the Hagler Institute. Those gifts can take many forms and have beneficial tax advantages for the donor. Remarkably, several sitting Texas A&M faculty have made generous estate gifts. These gifts are crucial for the long-term health of the institute.
graduate students to work with fellows A Hagler Institute College Chair ensures that college’s participation in the Hagler Institute’s pursuit of excellence for the life of Texas A&M. For the donor who wants to enhance the quality and reputation of a college or school, a Hagler Institute College Chair is an essential choice. Chair earnings typically pay for all costs of fellows, and the chair earnings can only be used for that purpose.
Abraham Lincoln said, “The best way to predict your future is to create it.” Please join our colleagues in the Legacy Society and help create the future by giving back to Texas A&M through the Hagler Institute for Advanced Study.
Hagler Institute College Chairs and graduate student fellowships are among the most prestigious in the university because they are linked with a perpetual sequence of world-class scholars. A $3 million chair will
CORNERSTONE | 2023 ANNUAL REPORT
75
“Using the Governor’s
“The Hagler Institute consistently provides outstanding
University Research Initiative
opportunities for our faculty-researchers, graduate
and the Chancellor’s
students and undergraduates to collaborate with the
Research Initiative,
world’s most influential scholars. This raises the bar
Gov. Greg Abbott and I have
for academics and research at Texas A&M while
worked hard to increase
enhancing our reputation as a top-tier institution
the National Academy
nationally and internationally.”
memberships at Texas A&M from 11 to 57 over the past 12 years. Although the Hagler
Alan Sams Provost and Executive Vice President Texas A&M University
Institute wasn’t conceived to recruit permanent faculty, adding its 13 academy memberships to our faculty was a welcome bonus.” John Sharp Chancellor The Texas A&M University System
“Since its inception, the Hagler Institute has stimulated world-class innovation and discovery across the Texas A&M research enterprise. Year after year, the Hagler Fellows collaborate with our own outstanding faculty and inspire our brightest students to take on global challenges, produce effective solutions and advance human knowledge.”
“In just over a decade, the Hagler Institute has evolved from an intriguing idea to
Jack G. Baldauf Vice President for Research Texas A&M University
one of the most prestigious and effective programs at Texas A&M. Its influence on high-level scholarship among our faculty and students is undeniable, and its long-term impact on the future of the university and our research enterprise is incalculable.” General (Ret.) Mark A. Welsh III President Texas A&M University
“The true and lasting impact of our Hagler Fellows is that as role models. They help create a new culture of preeminence at Texas A&M, which, when mixed with our own long tradition of excellence and homegrown success and pride, propels Texas A&M to another level of excellence and bright future.” Miroslav M. Begovic Professor and former department head College of Engineering Texas A&M University
FOR INQUIRIES, CONTACT: Clifford L. Fry Hagler Institute for Advanced Study Associate Director cfry@tamu.edu / 979.458.5723 or John L. Junkins Founding Director Hagler Institute for Advanced Study junkins@tamu.edu / 979.458.4992
CONTENTS 2
Message from the Director
THE HAGLER INSTITUTE 6 About the Institute 8 About Jon L. Hagler 9 Faculty Advisory Board Hagler Institute Staff 10 External Advisory Board 12 Advocates 13 Administrative Council 14 National Academy Scholars 15 Legacy Society 16 Malina Renaissance Medallion Award
ABOUT THE HAGLER FELLOWS 18 The Impact 21 Recruitment 24 How Fellows Are Selected 25 Bradley L. Worsham ’88 Fellowship Recipient 26 Mary and Charles Gregory ’64 Fellowship Recipient
FEATURED ARTICLES 28 Designer Plants for a Cleaner Planet: Overcoming Nature’s Built-in Recalcitrance 34 A Short History of Tuberculosis . and a Brief Outlook Into the Future 44 The Many Worlds Interpretation.
THE HAGLER FELLOWS 49 2023-24 Fellow Inductees 65 2023-12 Fellows 70 Financial Overview 73 Charting the Way Forward
2023 ANNUAL R EPORT
2023 ANNUAL R EPORT
CORNERSTONE
Texas A&M University / 8th Floor, Rudder Tower / 3572 TAMU / College Station, Texas, 77843-3572 hias.tamu.edu P R O D U C E D BY R E S E A R C H C O M M U N I C AT I O N S