News: Accolades
Texas Research
Faculty Member Wins University-Wide Research Excellence Award
Vagheesh Narasimhan had an extraordinary achievement in original research, providing clues to human evolution.
![A young man in a yellow shirt smiles in a picture framed by graphic elements that speak to science and the UT campus.](https://cns.utexas.edu/sites/default/files/uploads/images/default/vagheesh-narasimhan-3-2.png)
UT News
2024 Hamilton Book Award Grand Prize Goes to David Hillis for Homage to Texas Hill Country’s Biological Diversity
The Biodiversity Center director penned “Armadillos to Ziziphus,” a celebration of life in the Texas Hill Country.
![A man in a hat and boots holds binoculars while standing on a rocky point looking over brushland and a sunset.](https://cns.utexas.edu/sites/default/files/uploads/images/default/cover_hillis.jpg)
College of Natural Sciences Faculty Receive NSF CAREER Awards
The awards from the National Science Foundation support innovative work by earlier-career faculty.
![Photos of five faculty members around the logo of the National Science Foundation](https://cns.utexas.edu/sites/default/files/uploads/images/default/nsf_awardees_3x2.png)
Dell Medical School
Arbel Harpak: Pursuing the Next Frontier in Genetics
Arbel Harpak, recently named a Pew Scholar in the Biomedical Sciences, researches how genetic makeup can have dramatically different impacts on health and evolution in males and females.
![A scientist in white shirt stands in front of a sculpture made of aluminum canoes](https://cns.utexas.edu/sites/default/files/uploads/images/default/062024_voicesarbelharpak_feature.jpg)
NSF Awards Graduate Research Fellowships to 23 UT Natural Sciences Students
Dozens of graduate and undergraduate students of UT Austin's College of Natural Sciences were honored this year by the National Science Foundation.
![Graduate students sit and stand in rows in a library setting](https://cns.utexas.edu/sites/default/files/uploads/images/default/3-2-nsf-graduate-student-fellowships.jpg)
Three in Texas Science Elected Fellows of AAAS
Scott Aaronson, Catherine Calder and Claus Wilke are now fellows of the world’s largest general scientific society.
![Portrait of three people](https://cns.utexas.edu/sites/default/files/uploads/images/default/aaronson-calder-wilke3x2_0.jpg)
Moran to Receive Waksman Award in Microbiology from NAS
Nancy Moran receives the Selman A. Waksman Award in Microbiology from the National Academy of Sciences.
![Portrait of a woman in a blue shirt and glasses](https://cns.utexas.edu/sites/default/files/uploads/images/default/moran_3x2.png)
Biologist Awarded Radcliffe and Guggenheim Fellowships
Steven Phelps will research how and why animals form attachments as part of a book project focused on the biology of intimacy.
![Portrait of a man with glasses and a suit](https://cns.utexas.edu/sites/default/files/uploads/images/default/phelps2400x1350.jpg)
Integrative Biology Professor Wins Early Career Award for Contributions to Ecology
Caroline Farrior has been awarded for her research on forest ecosystem dynamics through mathematical modeling.
![Portrait of a woman in front of a stream](https://cns.utexas.edu/sites/default/files/uploads/images/default/farrior_earlycareerfellow2400x1600.jpg)
Brett Baker Receives Simons Award
The faculty member who helped envision a changed the tree of life received the award.
![Brett Baker in a zippered shirt stands in a lab in front of cabinets](https://cns.utexas.edu/sites/default/files/uploads/images/default/brett_baker.jpeg)