“Growing up in Argentina, I witnessed firsthand how policy decisions, often made without sufficient evidence, can shape people’s lives,” Antonia Vazquez, 5th-year Ph.D. candidate in public policy at @thelbjschool said.

“My experience as a first-generation immigrant motivates me to serve marginalized communities with social work policy and practice,” Cheng Chow, first-year Ph.D. student in @texasstevehicks said.

When San Diego residents were concerned about sewage-related air contamination from a nearby river, Lea El Khoury, Ph.D. candidate in @texasche, stepped in to investigate. Her data played a role in prompting local authorities to act on improving air conditions in San Diego.

For @utexasmccombs MBA student Aldo Galli, it’s all about using the right tools at the right time. In 2023, Galli was selected as one of MIT’s Innovators Under 35 Latin America for his startup, Cocarbon.

@utaustinpsychology Ph.D. candidate Rebecka K. Hahnel-Peeters defends her dissertation this summer, after which she begins an assistant professorship at Indiana State University.

Congratulations to our four 2025 winners from the Empower Your Pitch competition! From left to right: Cell and Molecular Biology Ph.D. Candidate Lisa Wang won the award for Outstanding Public Engagement, Piano Performance Ph.D.

One important problem in physics involves understanding the energy levels of a system of interacting particles. It is incredibly difficult, even for a quantum computer, so Justin Yirka, sixth year Ph.D. candidate in Computer Science @texasscience, studies approximations.

Meet the 13 finalists for the 2025 Empower Your Pitch competition at @utaustintx.
 

A former collegiate athlete, Erin Crownover brings her A-game to uncovering the history of the athletic training profession and its origins at UT-Austin. A fourth year Ph.D.