Research Impact Partners

Connecting Research and Education At TExas (CREATE) was founded in 2017 through a partnership established between Dr. Sean T. Roberts at The University of Texas at Austin (UT) and Dr. Shawn M. Amorde at Austin Community College (ACC) with support from the National Science Foundation. CREATE’s initial goal was to improve community college student retention in the physical sciences by fostering mentorship relationships between ACC students and UT faculty through research projects tied to green energy. Over time, CREATE’s managing team has been broadened to include Dr. Emily Que (UT), Dr. Samantha Soebbing (ACC), Dr. Purna Murthy (ACC), and Dr. Huilang (Evan) Wang (UT) which has allowed its scope to expand into a range of areas in chemistry, molecular biosciences, physics, materials science, and engineering.

The Engineering Student Success Center provides special programming through workshops, student leadership opportunities and welcoming spaces that help all students have a wonderful experience to aid in positive educational outcomes.

The Environmental Science Institute (ESI) was founded as a multi-disciplinary institute for basic scientific research in environmental studies. The Institute serves as a focal point on campus for a wide scope of interdisciplinary research and teaching. ESI coordinates cross-departmental environmental science instruction; facilitates education and outreach in STEM fields; and disseminates advances in the area of enviromental science that are important locally and globally. ESI coordinates innovative educational outreach programs that work together to support awareness of science, technology, engineering and math, promost better communication of scientific research, and ultimately spark an interest in science and learning. Host Science - Cool Talks provides a front row seat to world-class research. Presented by ESI, this nationally recognized series allows leading researchers from UT and other prominent universities to share their passion about science, technology, engineering and math with the general public. Events are held six times a year (on-campus or virtually).

GeoFORCE Texas develops the next generation of STEM workforce through participation in traveling in-person and virtual field academies. Students travel throughout the U.S. for 1 week in the summer for 4 consecutive years learning about geologically relevant field sites from experts in Earth science. Student recruitment is focused on 8th grade students, application is required for selection into the program, and participation is free.

This nationally recognized series allows leading researchers from The University of Texas and other prominent universities to share their passion for science, technology, engineering and math with the general public. Events are held six times a year. Visit our website for the latest talk!

The Lab for Immersive Media (LIM) is a high tech interactive and immersive media laboratory that enables novel research and entertainment experiences in virtual and physical space. A key goal of the LIM is to broaden research impact through partnerships, public engagement, and unique collaborations between art and science.

Living Learning Communities (LLCs) are residential communities that introduce and integrate academic and social learning through faculty/staff involvement and holistic education. Students living in LLCs live together in the same area of a residence hall and share experiences that reinforce the theme of their LLCs. LLCs provide students and faculty opportunities for connection outside the classroom and support networking across common interests.

The Education and Outreach Directorate at the Texas Advanced Computing Center provides K-20 programming to address 21st-century workforce development needs. This includes STEM summer camps for middle school and high school students, research experiences for undergraduate students and educators, fellowships, internships, and public outreach.

At Texas Immersive Institute, The mission is to create responsible, responsive, and remarkable solutions through the power of immersive storytelling. We empower artists, scientists, and humanists with access to cutting-edge technology and research to design experiences that address significant challenges.

The UTeach Institute supports the development of highly effective K–12 STEM teachers who stay in teaching and effectively engage all students in meaningful learning of STEM disciplines through research-based best practices in preservice teacher preparation, and in-service teacher induction, mentoring, and coaching. It serves as the hub to a vibrant national community of practice of more than 700 college and university STEM education experts and 5,000 K–12 STEM teachers. UTeach Institute develops innovative K–12 coursework and teacher professional learning that strengthens STEM teacher effectiveness and engagement and preparation of K–12 students across STEM disciplines.