Professor , Department of Government , College of Liberal Arts
+1 512 232 6224, +1 781 223 8395, jabramson@austin.utexas.edu

Abramson teaches in the areas of constitutional law, civil liberties, the jury and political theory. He is the author of "We, the Jury: The Jury System and the Ideal of Democracy" and numerous law review articles. Professor Abramson also teaches courses in the Department of Government in political theory.

Media Contact: Daniel Oppenheimer, oppenheimer@utexas.edu, 512-475-9712

Distinguished Senior Lecturer , Lyndon B Johnson School of Public Affairs
+1 512 232 2562, +1 512 296 7212, michele.deitch@austin.utexas.edu

Deitch is an attorney with more than 23 years of experience working on criminal justice policy issues with state and local government officials, corrections officials, judges and advocates. Most of Deitch’s current research focuses on independent prison oversight and the management of juvenile offenders.

Media Contact: Tori Yu, victoriajyu@austin.utexas.edu, 512-232-4054

Professor , School of Law
+1 512 232 3627, jlaurin@law.utexas.edu

Laurin’s primary research interests lie at the intersections of criminal and constitutional litigation and regulation of criminal justice institutions. She can speak about capital punishment, civil rights and criminal justice as well as federal civil rights litigation.

Media Contact: Robyn Lindenberg, rlindenberg@law.utexas.edu, 512-232-6798

Associate Professor , Department of Communication Studies , Moody College of Communication
+1 512 471 5251, diballard@utexas.edu

An expert in the study of chronemics – time as it is bound to human communication – Ballard studies attention management, communication overload, mobile communication technologies (including mobile wallet use), and tradeoffs between convenience and security. She researches what drives our pace of life and its impact on the communication practices of organizations, communities, and individuals.

Media Contact: Mary Huber, mary.huber@austin.utexas.edu, 409-790-6902

Professor , Chandra Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
+1 512 656 6152, sbarber@identity.utexas.edu

Barber directs the Center for Identity, which delivers high-quality discoveries, applications, education and outreach in identity management, privacy and security. The center’s public resource effort is funded by the Texas Legislature, the largest state-level investment in identity theft protection in the country. Barber is an expert on cyber trust, cyber security, agent-based systems and software engineering.

Associate Professor , Lyndon B Johnson School of Public Affairs
+1 512 471 2411, +1 512 471 2601, inboden@austin.utexas.edu

Inboden's expertise spans a range of foreign policy issues including national security strategy, strategic forecasting, democracy and governance, contingency planning, counter-radicalization, and multilateral institutions and initiatives. His commentary on foreign policy has appeared in numerous outlets including the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Washington Post, NPR, Sky News, and BBC. 

Media Contact: Tori Yu, victoriajyu@austin.utexas.edu, 512-232-4054

Professor , Department of Communication Studies , Moody College of Communication
+1 512 471 1920, matthew_mcglone@austin.utexas.edu

A researcher at UT Austin’s Center for Identity, McGlone works to study and educate the public on identity management and protection. McGlone also investigates the cognitive, cultural, and psychological foundations of interpersonal communication and persuasion.

Media Contact: Mary Huber, mary.huber@austin.utexas.edu, 409-790-6902

Lecturer , Clements Center , College of Liberal Arts
, millerp1@georgetown.edu

Miller, a former White House staffer for Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama, is an expert on national security and foreign affairs. He has written regularly about U.S. policy toward Afghanistan, Pakistan, and South Asia. His second book, "American Power and Liberal Order: A Conservative Internationalist Grand Strategy," is forthcoming from Georgetown University Press in 2016.

Media Contact: Daniel Oppenheimer, oppenheimer@utexas.edu, 512-475-9712

Director of the Intelligence Studies Project , Intelligence Studies Project
+1 512 471 0814, sbslick@austin.utexas.edu

Slick is the inaugural director of the Intelligence Studies Project, which was established to promote increased study of the U.S. intelligence community and national security policymaking. He served 28 years in CIA's clandestine service and, between 2005 and 2009, was a special assistant to the president and the Senior Director for Intelligence Programs and Reform on the staff of the National Security Council. 

Professor , School of Law
+1 512 475 9198, svladeck@law.utexas.edu

Vladeck's teaching and research focus on federal jurisdiction, constitutional law, and national security law. A nationally recognized expert on the role of the federal courts in the war on terrorism, Vladeck is a co-author of Aspen Publishers' leading national security law and counterterrorism law casebooks and Supreme Court contributor to CNN.

Media Contact: Robyn Lindenberg, rlindenberg@law.utexas.edu, 512-232-6798

Clinical Associate Professor , Department of Finance , Red McCombs School of Business
+1 512 232 6821, butlerjc@mccombs.utexas.edu

Butler’s main research interests are in decision sciences such as decision analysis, operations, information systems, management science and statistics. He is a member of the INFORMS Decision Analysis Society. He is also the Affiliate director of the Kay Bailey Hutchison Center for Energy, Law and Business.

Media Contact: Jeremy Simon, jeremy.simon@mccombs.utexas.edu, 512-232-6031

Professor , School of Law
+1 512 232 1367, jdzienkowski@law.utexas.edu


Dzienkowski teaches and writes in the areas of professional responsibility of lawyers, real property, international energy transactions, and oil and gas taxation.

Media Contact: Robyn Lindenberg, rlindenberg@law.utexas.edu, 512-232-6798

Professor , Chandra Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
+1 512 232 1457, bevans@ece.utexas.edu

Evans’ research focuses on signal processing, increasing connection speeds and reliability in communication systems. He can discuss smart grids, utilities and power usage.

Professor and Leonidas T. Barrow Centennial Chair Emeritus in Mineral Resources , Department of Geological Sciences , Jackson School of Geosciences
, wfisher@jsg.utexas.edu

Fisher is an expert in the areas of stratigraphy, sedimentology, and oil and gas assessment. He served in the U.S. Department of the Interior as assistant secretary for energy and minerals under President Gerald Ford and on the White House Science Council under President Ronald Reagan. He is a leader in promoting the reserve growth from existing, geologically complex oil and gas fields.

Media Contact: Anton Caputo, anton.caputo@jsg.utexas.edu, 512-232-9623

Chief Energy Economist & Head of CEE , Bureau of Economic Geology , Jackson School of Geosciences
+1 512 471 1534, michelle.foss@utexas.edu

Foss has 29 years' experience in energy and environmental research and consulting in the U.S. and abroad. She can discuss oil and gas prices, liquified natural gas (LNG) and utility markets, as well as applied energy economics, business development and business-government relationships across energy value chains.

Media Contact: Anton Caputo, anton.caputo@jsg.utexas.edu, 512-232-9623

Senior Research Scientist Emeritus , Institute for Geophysics , Jackson School of Geosciences
+1 512 471 0460, +1 512 471 6156, cliff@ig.utexas.edu

Frohlich is a seismologist with an enduring interest in deep earthquakes, Texas earthquakes, moonquakes and the statistical analysis of earthquake catalogs. Frohlich is well known for his research into the correlation between injection wells and small earthquakes in the Barnett Shale region of Texas.

Media Contact: Anton Caputo, anton.caputo@jsg.utexas.edu, 512-232-9623

Director, Center for Electromechanics , Cockrell School of Engineering
+1 512 232 1628, r.hebner@cem.utexas.edu

Hebner’s research interests include microgrid performance, electrical process in algal biofuels production and electrical insulation.

Media Contact: Nat Levy, nat.levy@utexas.edu, 512-471-2129

Professor , Lyndon B Johnson School of Public Affairs
+1 512 471 2064, sheila.olmstead@austin.utexas.edu

Olmstead is an environmental economist whose current research projects examine the environmental externalities associated with shale gas development in the U.S. She has worked on the economics of water resource management, focusing on water demand estimation, water conservation policy and access to drinking water services among low-income communities.

Media Contact: Tori Yu, victoriajyu@austin.utexas.edu, 512-232-4054

Department Chair, Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering , Cockrell School of Engineering
+1 512 471 3161, +1 512 471 7375, jolson@austin.utexas.edu

Olson focuses on production optimization and environmental impact issues related to hydraulic fracturing and unconventional oil and gas development.

Media Contact: Nat Levy, nat.levy@utexas.edu, 512-471-2129

Director of the Center for International Energy and Environmental Policy , Jackson School of Geosciences
+1 305 926 6910, +1 512 232 4988, jrpinon@austin.utexas.edu

Piñon has testified before the Texas Senate and Texas House of Representatives committees on issues of energy policy and Latin America. He is recognized as an independent analyst of regional energy issues, as well as the geopolitics of oil and natural gas in Latin America.

Media Contact: Anton Caputo, anton.caputo@jsg.utexas.edu, 512-232-9623

A&P Hourly Employment , Bureau of Economic Geology , Jackson School of Geosciences
+1 512 471 7090, eric.potter@beg.utexas.edu

Potter is an expert on oil and gas exploration including shale gas, offshore drilling and technological tools that improve energy resource discovery. Potter can discuss Texas energy policies and the oil and gas industry.

Media Contact: Anton Caputo, anton.caputo@jsg.utexas.edu, 512-232-9623

Professor , Lyndon B Johnson School of Public Affairs
+1 512 471 4697, +1 512 471 5057, rai@austin.utexas.edu

Rai is an expert in policy issues concerning energy, technology, the environment and climate change. His research has been published in Harvard International Review, Newsweek, Energy Policy, Economic and Political Weekly and IAEE Energy Forum.

Media Contact: Tori Yu, victoriajyu@austin.utexas.edu, 512-232-4054

Professor , Hildebrand Department of Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering
+1 512 471 3161, +1 512 471 3257, msharma@mail.utexas.edu

Sharma is a national expert in hydraulic fracturing and has developed a chemical alternative for fracking that is

Professor , School of Law
+1 512 554 9350, david.spence@mccombs.utexas.edu

Spence is a professor in the business, government and society department at the McCombs School of Business, and he teaches energy law at the School of Law. Spence is an attorney and expert on governmental relations and regulation, particularly energy and environmental regulation. He studies ethics and corporate social responsibility, business law and environmental law.

Media Contact: Robyn Lindenberg, rlindenberg@law.utexas.edu, 512-232-6798

Director , Bureau of Economic Geology , Jackson School of Geosciences
+1 512 471 0209, +1 512 471 1534, scott.tinker@beg.utexas.edu

Tinker, the state geologist of Texas, oversees major research programs in energy and the environment at the Bureau of Economic Geology. Co-producer of the movie “Switch,” he is a general expert on energy, especially natural gas, global reserves and the nexus of energy and the environment.

Media Contact: Anton Caputo, anton.caputo@jsg.utexas.edu, 512-232-9623

Associate Professor , Cockrell School of Engineering
+1 512 475 6867, webber@mail.utexas.edu

Webber is a national expert on fracking and the water-energy nexus. He has led research projects for policy issues relevant to energy, innovation and national security. Webber can discuss a variety of energy topics including energy policy, energy and water, and energy in Texas.

Media Contact: Nat Levy, nat.levy@utexas.edu, 512-471-2129

Professor of Pediatrics , Department of Pediatrics , Dell Medical School
+1 512 495 4700, sabrams@austin.utexas.edu

Abrams is a neonatologist and a professor of pediatrics. His research is focused on healthy nutrition for children, and he is an advocate for healthy feeding practices. He served on the dietary huidelines advisory committee in 2015 and supports balanced sustainable nutrition practices.

Media Contact: Shahreen Abedin, shahreen.abedin@austin.utexas.edu, 512-495-5062

Associate Professor , Lyndon B Johnson School of Public Affairs
+1 512 232 2561, araa2@utexas.edu

Aiken's research focuses on reproductive health and spans several disciplines, combining backgrounds in biomedical sciences, public policy, demography, public health. Her current projects include: examining women's experiences obtaining safe abortion in contexts where legislative barriers prevent access through the healthcare system; evaluating programs and policies designed to increase access to contraception in the postpartum and post-abortion setting; and investigating the determinants and impacts of unintended pregnancies through a health equity and reproductive justice framework.

Media Contact: Tori Yu, victoriajyu@austin.utexas.edu, 512-232-4054

Professor , Lyndon B Johnson School of Public Affairs
+1 512 471 2956, jangel@austin.utexas.edu

Angel has published extensively about the sociology of aging and how it is affected by the life course and social policy. She also serves as an adviser to professional committees, nongovernmental organizations and other agencies that provide basic services to elderly people. She focuses on evaluating the impact of policies on the health and well-being of Latinos, immigrants and other vulnerable groups.

Media Contact: Tori Yu, victoriajyu@austin.utexas.edu, 512-232-4054

Professor , Department of Psychology , College of Liberal Arts
+1 512 232 3706, +1 512 471 1157, beevers@utexas.edu

Beevers investigates the diagnosis and treatment methods surrounding topics of mental health in adults. His primary research interest focuses on major depression. He believes that understanding normal cognitive processes provides an important foundation for identifying how these processes go awry in clinical depression.

Media Contact: Daniel Oppenheimer, oppenheimer@utexas.edu, 512-475-9712

Dean, Moody College of Communication
+1 512 471 5646, +1 512 471 8100, moody.dean@austin.utexas.edu

Jay Bernhardt is Founding Director of the Center for Health Communication at the Moody College of Communication. He is recognized internationally as a visionary leader, respected scholar, and innovative scientist in the application of communication, marketing, and media to public health, healthcare, and medicine. He previously served as Director of the National Center for Health Marketing (NCHM) at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Media Contact: Joey Williams, joey.williams@austin.utexas.edu, 512-232-3716

Professor of Surgery , Dell Medical School
+1 512 495 5089, kevin.bozic@austin.utexas.edu

Bozic's clinical interests are arthritis of the hip and knee and primary and revision hip and knee replacement. He researches health policy and health care services in the areas of health care technology assessment, cost-effectiveness analysis, shared medical decision-making and the implementation and evaluation of value-based payment and delivery models, value-based health care and patient-reported outcome measures.

Media Contact: Shahreen Abedin, shahreen.abedin@austin.utexas.edu, 512-495-5062

Professor , Department of Kinesiology and Health Education , College of Education
+1 512 232 7636, dcastelli@utexas.edu

Castelli has worked with a team to establish national physical activity guidelines for children and has done research that shows a positive correlation between physical activity and cognitive health in children.

Media Contact: Amanda Karr, amanda.karr@austin.utexas.edu, 323-422-1739

Executive Director, Design Institute for Health , Design Institute for Health , Dell Medical School
+1 512 495 5087, stacey.chang@austin.utexas.edu

Stacey Chang serves as the Executive Director of the Design Institute for Health, a collaboration between the Dell Medical School and the College of Fine Arts at the University of Texas at Austin. It is a first-of-its-kind institution, dedicated to applying design approaches to solving systemic health care challenges as an integrated part of a medical education and training program.

Media Contact: Shahreen Abedin, shahreen.abedin@austin.utexas.edu, 512-495-5062

Professor , School of Social Work
+1 512 232 9590, nchoi@austin.utexas.edu

Namkee Choi, Ph.D., is the Louis and Ann Wolens Centennial Chair in Gerontology at the Steve Hicks School of Social Work. She is an expert on geriatric mental health. Her current research focuses on depression in late life and the use of technology to bring effective psychosocial interventions for depressive symptoms among older adults.

Media Contact: Cassie Bernhardt, cassiebernhardt@austin.utexas.edu, 512-232-8376

Professor of Medical Education , Dell Medical School
, suecox@austin.utexas.edu

Cox's expanding interest in education has resulted in a number of peer-reviewed journal articles, primarily in areas such as: establishing educational objectives, recruitment, clerkship director development, faculty development, developing clinical skills, dealing with difficult students, teaching techniques and evaluation of students and programs. 

Media Contact: Shahreen Abedin, shahreen.abedin@austin.utexas.edu, 512-495-5062

Professor of Surgery , Department of Surgery and Perioperative Care , Dell Medical School
+1 512 495 5044, richard.freeman@austin.utexas.edu

Freeman is a a veteran transplant surgeon and leading innovator in health care delivery and redesign. He provides strategic leadership, oversight and management in the effort to integrate the local network of physicians and practices with Dell Medical School's efforts to create a model healthy city and community.

Media Contact: Shahreen Abedin, shahreen.abedin@austin.utexas.edu, 512-495-5062

Associate Professor , Department of Economics , College of Liberal Arts
+1 512 475 8704, mike.geruso@utexas.edu

Michael Geruso’s research focuses on developing country health and the regulation of US health insurance markets. In his work on Medicare, he has used publicly available and large-scale administrative datasets to investigate upcoding by physicians and imperfect competition among private Medicare Advantage insurers. His research on sanitation provides the first evidence that that open defecation, practiced by a billion people worldwide, generates large infant mortality externalities. His work has been featured in the New York Times, NPR, and the Economist magazine. His research has been funded by the National Institutes for Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

Media Contact: Daniel Oppenheimer, oppenheimer@utexas.edu, 512-475-9712

Professor , Chandra Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
+1 512 471 8980, jghosh@utexas.edu

Ghosh researches data and Web mining, predictive modeling and analytics and the applications of machine learning to real-world problems. He can speak about using data science to improve health care.

Professor of Neurology , Department of Neurology , Dell Medical School
+1 512 495 5000, clay.johnston@utexas.edu

Published extensively in the prevention and treatment of stroke and transient ischemic attack, Johnston is perhaps best known for his studies describing the short-term risk of stroke in patients with transient ischemic attack and identifying patients at greatest risk, and also for his work related to measuring the impact of research.

Media Contact: Shahreen Abedin, shahreen.abedin@austin.utexas.edu, 512-495-5062

Associate Dean for Health Affairs , Dell Medical School
+1 512 475 9367, barbarajones@mail.utexas.edu


Barbara Jones, Ph.D., is assistant dean for health affairs at the School of Social Work and co-direct of the Institute for Collaborative Health Research and Practice. Her research focuses on improving care for children, adolescents and young adults with cancer and their families. Jones clinical experience has been primarily in the fields of pediatric oncology, children's grief and loss, pediatric palliative and end-of-life care, adolescent and young adult oncology, grief, trauma, and survival.

Media Contact: Shahreen Abedin, shahreen.abedin@austin.utexas.edu, 512-495-5062

Senior Policy Director , Dell Medical School
+1 512 796 3807, lisa.kirsch@austin.utexas.edu

Lisa Kirsch is the Senior Policy Director at the Dell Medical School at the University of Texas at Austin. She conducts health policy research and analysis to support innovations in health care delivery and payment. Prior to joining the medical school, Lisa worked for over 13 years at the Texas Health and Human Services Commission on Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program policy issues.

Media Contact: Shahreen Abedin, shahreen.abedin@austin.utexas.edu, 512-495-5062

Professor Emeritus , Department of Psychiatry
, william.lawson@austin.utexas.edu

Dr. Lawson is Associate Dean for Health Disparities at the Dell Medical School and Director of Community Health Programs and Professor at Huston-Tillotson University, where he leads the Sandra Joy Anderson Community Health and Wellness Center. He is also UT Austin's institutional representative for the Health Disparities Education, Awareness, Research and Training (HDEART) Consortium.

Research Associate Professor , Office of the Associate Dean for Research
+1 512 232 0614, mlopez@austin.utexas.edu

Lopez is an expert in mental health services, child and adolescent service systems, the implementation of evidence-based practices, and cognitive behavioral therapies. She is the director of the Texas Institute for Excellence in Mental Health.

Associate Professor of Practice , School of Design and Creative Technologies
+1 512 495 5088, beto.lopez@austin.utexas.edu
Spanish Speaker

Lopez helps organizations grow their business and culture through human-centered design. Passionate about the mash-up of design thinking and systems thinking, he works at the intersection of deisng, business strategy and rapid prototyping to transform the way organizations work together and with others to create and deliver value to people. 

Director of the Center for Health Communication , Stan Richards School of Advertising and Public Relations , Moody College of Communication
+1 512 348 8490, mackert@utexas.edu

Dr. Mackert's primary research interest is telemedicine, the provision of healthcare from a distance via telecommunication technology. He is also interested in health communication, with a particular focus on how trust plays a role in the communication process. Other interests include health literacy and online communities.

Media Contact: Mary Huber, mary.huber@austin.utexas.edu, 409-790-6902

Assistant Dean of Healthcare Value, Associate Chair of Quality, Safety, and Value , Dell Medical School
+1 512 495 5168, cmoriates@austin.utexas.edu

Moriates is responsible for creating an innovative curriculum for value-based healthcare for undergraduate, graduate, and continuing medical education, as well as building a robust value improvement program that engages healthcare providers across the healthcare community in Austin. Dr. Moriates co-authored the book "Understanding Value-Based Healthcare" (McGraw-Hill, 2015), which Dr. Atul Gawande called "a masterful primer for all clinicians."

Media Contact: Shahreen Abedin, shahreen.abedin@austin.utexas.edu, 512-495-5062

Associate Professor , Lyndon B Johnson School of Public Affairs
+1 512 471 8456, tolmstead@austin.utexas.edu

Olmstead is an expert on intelligent transportation systems, highway safety and administrative rulemaking. He is also an expert in the areas of health economics, health services research and health care policy.

Media Contact: Tori Yu, victoriajyu@austin.utexas.edu, 512-232-4054

Other University Affiliate , Population Research Center , College of Liberal Arts
+1 512 689 7211, joe@prc.utexas.edu

Potter's interests lie in the areas of reproductive health, population and development, and demographic estimation. He leads the Texas Policy Evaluation Project to evaluate the impact of legislation enacted by the Texas Legislature affecting funding for family planning and access to abortion care.

Media Contact: Daniel Oppenheimer, oppenheimer@utexas.edu, 512-475-9712

Professor , School of Law
+1 512 232 1307, jrobertson@law.utexas.edu

Robertson has written and lectured widely on law and bioethical issues. He is the author of two books in bioethics, “The Rights of the Critically Ill” (1983) and “Children of Choice: Freedom and the New Reproductive Technologies” (1994), and numerous articles on reproductive rights, genetics, organ transplantation and human experimentation.

Media Contact: Robyn Lindenberg, rlindenberg@law.utexas.edu, 512-232-6798

Professor , School of Law
+1 512 232 7806, bsage@law.utexas.edu

Sage charts the legal landscape of competition in health care markets and can discuss the Affordable Care Act. His current areas of teaching are health law, regulatory theory, antitrust and professional responsibility. Sage is a veteran of the health care reform effort.

Media Contact: Robyn Lindenberg, rlindenberg@law.utexas.edu, 512-232-6798

Professor , Department of Philosophy , College of Liberal Arts
+1 512 232 3800, +1 512 232 7122, sarkar@austin.utexas.edu

Sahotra Sarkar is a professor of integrative biology and disease ecologist whose research models the spread of tropical diseases. He and his colleagues previously mapped the likely spread of the virus in 100 cities worldwide under two different scenarios and demonstrated that the spread depends on whether a second species of mosquito carries the virus. His research related to Zika has received widespread media coverage.

Media Contact: Daniel Oppenheimer, oppenheimer@utexas.edu, 512-475-9712

Professor , Department of Psychology , College of Liberal Arts
+1 512 471 3393, +1 512 475 8488, +1 512 560 4100, telch@austin.utexas.edu

Telch’s expertise lies in panic disorder, anxiety disorders, especially PTSD and OCD, and the cognitive processes in fear reduction and evaluation of psychotherapeutic outcome.

Media Contact: Daniel Oppenheimer, oppenheimer@utexas.edu, 512-475-9712

Professor of Medicine (Clinical Educator) , Department of Population Health , Dell Medical School
, tierney@utexas.edu

William Tierney, MD is a general internist, medical informaticist, and health services researcher who is Professor and inaugural Chair of the Department of Population Health in the Dell Medical School at the University of Texas at Austin. He and his department are playing a leading role in the Dell Medical School’s mission to help Austin become a model healthy city.

Media Contact: Shahreen Abedin, shahreen.abedin@austin.utexas.edu, 512-495-5062

Department Chair , Department of Kinesiology and Health Education , College of Education
+1 512 471 0993, +1 512 471 0995, j.todd@austin.utexas.edu

Todd directs the Ph.D. program in Physical Culture and Sport Studies and the Sport Management graduate and undergraduate programs. She teaches courses in sport history, physical activity, sport philosophy, ethics, culture and alternative medicine. Todd and her husband are the founders and co-directors of the H.J. Lutcher Stark Center.

Media Contact: Amanda Karr, amanda.karr@austin.utexas.edu, 323-422-1739

Professor , School of Social Work
+1 512 471 7019, velasquez@mail.utexas.edu

With more than 20 years of support from the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Velasquez has developed and studied behavioral interventions in the areas of integrated primary care, screening and brief interventions, fetal alcohol spectrum disorder, alcohol and other drug abuse, prenatal health, HIV prevention, and smoking cessation.

Media Contact: Cassie Bernhardt, cassiebernhardt@austin.utexas.edu, 512-232-8376

Managing Director, Value Institute for Health and Care , Dell Medical School
+1 512 495 5127, +1 708 267 6564, scott.wallace@austin.utexas.edu

Scott Wallace plays an influential part in the transformation of America's health delivery. Leveraging his business and health policy background, he works in the U.S. and around the world with employers, health care providers, health plans, governments and others to develop new health benefit and care models to improve health, stop the progression of chronic diseases and effectively treat patients' medical conditions.

Media Contact: Shahreen Abedin, shahreen.abedin@austin.utexas.edu, 512-495-5062

Professor Emeritus , Lyndon B Johnson School of Public Affairs
, david.warner@utexas.edu

Warner's major teaching and research interests are health policy and health finance. He is currently working on projects related to improving health insurance coverage, the integration of the U.S. and Mexican health care systems, diabetes policy, public health funding and U.S.-Mexico border health.

Media Contact: Tori Yu, victoriajyu@austin.utexas.edu, 512-232-4054

Director of Cancer Imaging Research , LIVESTRONG Cancer Institutes , Dell Medical School
+1 512 417 1733, thomas.yankeelov@utexas.edu

Yankeelov is a distinguished senior cancer researcher with expertise in computational biology, advanced imaging, and mathematical modeling. The overall goal of Yankeelov's clinical research is to improve patient care by employing advanced imaging methods for the early identification, assessment, and prediction of tumors' response to therapy. 

Media Contact: Shahreen Abedin, shahreen.abedin@austin.utexas.edu, 512-495-5062

Chief Clinical Officer, Vice Dean of Professional Practice , Dell Medical School
, amyyoung@austin.utexas.edu
Spanish Speaker

A nationally known educator, Dr. Young is the immediate past president of the Association of Professors of Gynecology and Obstetrics. She has served Texas as Vice-Chair and Chair of District XI of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. In her role at Dell Medical School, she leads efforts to create a more integrated and more effective system for women's health in Travis County, working with a wide range of health care paertners to create a health safety net. 

Media Contact: Shahreen Abedin, shahreen.abedin@austin.utexas.edu, 512-495-5062

M. K. Hage Centennial Professor in Education , Counseling Psychology , Department of Educational Psychology , College of Education
+1 512 471 0364, +1 512 471 4407, rainslie@austin.utexas.edu

Ainslie is an expert on the psychological experience of immigration and ethnic conflicts within communities. He has written a book and made a film documentary about the U.S.-Mexico drug wars and has spent a great deal of time on the border — particularly in Juarez, the violent epicenter of the conflict — doing research and conducting interviews.

Media Contact: Amanda Karr, amanda.karr@austin.utexas.edu, 323-422-1739

Professor , School of Social Work
+1 512 232 6388, +1 512 471 3470, nbusch@austin.utexas.edu

Busch-Armendariz manages research projects investigating domestic violence, sexual assault, human trafficking and resiliency in child welfare works. Her areas of specialization are interpersonal violence, refugees, victims of human trafficking and asylees, and international social work. She is called upon regularly to serve as an expert to Texas House and Senate committees.

Media Contact: Cassie Bernhardt, cassiebernhardt@austin.utexas.edu, 512-232-8376

Clinical Professor , School of Law
+1 512 232 7796, dgilman@law.utexas.edu

Gilman is co-director of the School of Law’s Immigration Clinic, which has clients from all over the world. Gilman has written and practiced law extensively in the international human rights and immigrants’ rights fields. Her areas of expertise include immigration, immigrant rights, civil rights advocacy and human rights advocacy.

Media Contact: Robyn Lindenberg, rlindenberg@law.utexas.edu, 512-232-6798

Assistant Professor , Department of Mexican American and Latino/a Studies , College of Liberal Arts
, alfonso.gonzales@austin.utexas.edu

Gonzales’ scholarly interests are in Latino and Latin American politics, migration control, and migrant social movements in the United States, Mexico and Central America. He is particularly interested in what the politics of migration control—which, broadly conceived, includes policing, asylum, detention, and deportation—means for democracy, human rights, and justice.

Media Contact: Daniel Oppenheimer, oppenheimer@utexas.edu, 512-475-9712

Professor , Department of Government , College of Liberal Arts
+1 512 471 1343, dleal@austin.utexas.edu

An expert on immigration and the Texas border, Leal’s primary academic interests are Latino politics and policy. He teaches about Mexican-American public policy, politics, religion and the U.S. Congress. Leal researches Latino electoral engagement, ethnic identity and issues with significant implications for Latino communities such as immigration and education.

Media Contact: Daniel Oppenheimer, oppenheimer@utexas.edu, 512-475-9712

Professor , School of Social Work
+1 512 471 1937, lzayas@austin.utexas.edu
Spanish Speaker

Zayas studies the plight of citizen-children whose parents are being deported. Through funding from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, he is examining the effects of deportation on the psychosocial functioning of U.S.-born children of undocumented Mexican immigrants.

Media Contact: Cassie Bernhardt, cassiebernhardt@austin.utexas.edu, 512-232-8376

Executive Director WiSTEM , Women in STEM
, triciaberry@utexas.edu

An expert on science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education, Berry leads efforts on recruitment and retention of women in the Cockrell School of Engineering. She directs the Texas Girls Collaborative Project, connecting Texas organizations, companies and individuals working to advance gender equity in STEM fields in coordination with the National Girls Collaborative Project.

Professor , Department of Educational Leadership and Policy , College of Education
+1 512 232 2288, cpbrown@utexas.edu

Brown has studied how high-stakes testing and accountability-based reform are affecting early-childhood education. He is looking at what needs to be done in teacher education programs, with curriculum development, in the classroom and among policymakers.

Media Contact: Amanda Karr, amanda.karr@austin.utexas.edu, 323-422-1739

Professor , Department of Curriculum and Instruction , College of Education
+1 512 232 4257, keffrelyn@austin.utexas.edu

Brown studies multicultural teacher education and achievement issues in the African American student population.

Media Contact: Amanda Karr, amanda.karr@austin.utexas.edu, 323-422-1739

Professor , Department of Human Development and Family Sciences , College of Natural Sciences
+1 512 471 4800, liz.gershoff@austin.utexas.edu

Gershoff expores how neighborhoods, schools, early childhood education settings and public policies affect children and youths, focusing on how socioeconomic reources and exposure to violence influence them. 

Media Contact: Christine Sinatra, christine.sinatra@austin.utexas.edu, 512-471-4641

Associate Professor , Department of Curriculum and Instruction , College of Education
+1 512 232 4145, joanh@austin.utexas.edu

Hughes’ expertise is on teacher learning and technology integration in the classroom. Her current work examines content-based approaches to educational technology instruction and inquiry approaches to professional learning. She focuses attention on issues related to technology leadership and the use of video-based hypermedia materials in teacher education.

Media Contact: Amanda Karr, amanda.karr@austin.utexas.edu, 323-422-1739

Associate Professor , Department of Educational Leadership and Policy , College of Education
, jabbar@austin.utexas.edu

Jabbar studies the social and political dimensions of market-based reforms in education. Her research interests include: school choice policy, privatization, the politics of research use, and student decision-making in higher education. She is also a current research Affiliate at the Education Research Alliance for New Orleans, where she continues to study issues related to school choice in New Orleans.

Media Contact: Amanda Karr, amanda.karr@austin.utexas.edu, 323-422-1739

Research Affiliate - Sr Research Fellow , Lyndon B Johnson School of Public Affairs
+1 512 471 9808, cosborne@prc.utexas.edu

Osborne’s teaching and research interests include poverty and inequality, and educator effectiveness and accountability. She recently completed a major project for the Texas Education Agency creating a metric to help gauge student achievement using teacher effectiveness as a measurement. She can talk about teacher preparation programs in Texas.

Media Contact: Tori Yu, victoriajyu@austin.utexas.edu, 512-232-4054

Professor , Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders , Moody College of Communication
+1 512 471 2690, lizp@mail.utexas.edu

Peña’s research focuses on differentiating language impairment from language difference in bilingual children. She is interested in how children from diverse linguistic backgrounds learn new language skills and how they lexicalize their conceptual knowledge across two 

Media Contact: Mary Huber, mary.huber@austin.utexas.edu, 409-790-6902

Associate Professor , Department of Special Education , College of Education
+1 512 475 6556, srpowell@utexas.edu

Powell’s research interests include developing and testing interventions for students with mathematics difficulties. She is especially interested in peer tutoring, word-problem solving, and the role of symbols for understanding mathematics.

Media Contact: Amanda Karr, amanda.karr@austin.utexas.edu, 323-422-1739

Acting Associate Dean, Equity and Inclusive Excellence , College of Education
+1 512 232 7519, +1 512 471 7551, vsaenz@austin.utexas.edu
Spanish Speaker

Sáenz is founder and executive director of Project MALES and the Texas Education Consortium for Male Students of Color. He has been invited numerous times to Capitol Hill to speak about his research and community work related to improving academic outcomes for Hispanic males.

Media Contact: Amanda Karr, amanda.karr@austin.utexas.edu, 323-422-1739

Assistant Dean, Instructional Continuity and Innovation , College of Fine Arts
+1 512 232 1772, julie.schell@austin.utexas.edu

Schell leads institutional and statewide efforts to improve college student success, preparation and excellence. She is an international expert in instructional innovation, specializing in blended and flipped learning. Schell can discuss MOOCs and higher education issues.

Media Contact: Alicia Dietrich, aliciadietrich@utexas.edu, 512-232-3667

Associate Professor , Department of Special Education , College of Education
+1 512 475 6551, jrtoste@austin.utexas.edu

Toste researches subjects related to students with learning disabilities and effective reading interventions, with a particular focus on psychosocial processes and classroom climate as determinants of school success.

Media Contact: Amanda Karr, amanda.karr@austin.utexas.edu, 323-422-1739

Associate Dean , Lyndon B Johnson School of Public Affairs
+1 512 537 8112, paulvonhippel@utexas.edu

Von Hippel’s research interests include educational inequality and the relationship between schooling, health, and obesity. He was a co-investigator on a state-funded project that evaluated the teacher preparation programs in Texas

Media Contact: Tori Yu, victoriajyu@austin.utexas.edu, 512-232-4054

Associate Professor , Department of Psychology , College of Liberal Arts
, dyeager@utexas.edu

Yeager studies adolescent development, with a focus on aggression, stress, and academic achievement. His approach investigates the role of social cognitive processes in shaping adolescents' developmental trajectories. His research has garnered attention from national media such as the New York Times, who in 2014 said he was "emerging as one of the world's leading experts on the psychology of education."

Media Contact: Daniel Oppenheimer, oppenheimer@utexas.edu, 512-475-9712

Director of Research for the Texas Politics Project , College of Liberal Arts
+1 512 471 0371, joshmblank@austin.utexas.edu

Joshua Blank is the manager of polling and research at the Texas Politics Project. His areas of expertise include public opinion on current political issues, political psychology, and surveying and analysis in the context of elections. 

Media Contact: Daniel Oppenheimer, oppenheimer@utexas.edu, 512-475-9712

Dean, School of Law
+1 512 232 1298, rchesney@law.utexas.edu

Chesney is a national security law specialist, with a particular interest in problems associated with terrorism. He recently served in the Justice Department in connection with the Detainee Policy Task Force and has published extensively about topics ranging from detention and prosecution in the counterterrorism context to the states secrets privilege.

Media Contact: Joey Williams, joey.williams@austin.utexas.edu, 512-232-3716

Assistant Dean , Lyndon B Johnson School of Public Affairs
+1 512 471 8324, +1 512 656 6592, srgreenberg@austin.utexas.edu

Greenberg served for 10 years as a member of the Texas House of Representatives, completing her final term in January 2001. Greenberg is an expert on the Texas state government, public finance and electronic government. Her teaching and research interests also include public procurement, public pensions, transparency and civic engagement, elections, education and housing.

Media Contact: Tori Yu, victoriajyu@austin.utexas.edu, 512-232-4054

Executive Director of Texas Politics Project , Texas Politics Project
+1 512 471 0090, j.henson@austin.utexas.edu

Henson researches Texas and U.S. politics and the political impact of policy decisions. His areas of expertise include presidential elections, Internet and politics, political campaigns and government. He also co-directs the UT/Texas Tribune Poll, the only open-access, public, statewide survey of public opinion in Texas.

Professor , Department of Government , College of Liberal Arts
+1 512 232 7275, dshaw@austin.utexas.edu

Shaw teaches about American government, campaigns and elections, political parties, public opinion and voting behavior, and applied survey research. He has worked on several political campaigns as a survey research analyst and also served as a strategist in two presidential election campaigns

Media Contact: Daniel Oppenheimer, oppenheimer@utexas.edu, 512-475-9712

Professor Emeritus , Department of Radio-Television-Film , Moody College of Communication
, paul.stekler@austin.utexas.edu

Stekler, a nationally renowned documentary filmmaker whose works focus on American politics and society, has a doctorate in government from Harvard University. He has written about Southern politics and recently collaborated with PBS on a series of short documentaries on the state of politics around the country, "Postcards from the Great Divide." 

Media Contact: Mary Huber, mary.huber@austin.utexas.edu, 409-790-6902

Professor , Lyndon B Johnson School of Public Affairs
+1 512 475 7242, suri@austin.utexas.edu

Suri is an expert on foreign policy and contemporary politics. His work focuses on policymaking, governance, social movements and culture. Suri’s research interests include the emergence of modern international relations, the connections between foreign policy and domestic politics, international security, protest and dissident movements, and globalization.

Media Contact: Tori Yu, victoriajyu@austin.utexas.edu, 512-232-4054

Professor , Department of Civil, Architectural, and Environmental Engineering , Cockrell School of Engineering
+1 512 232 6409, +1 512 232 7826, bayrak@mail.utexas.edu

Bayrak is an expert on bridge infrastructure and roadway development. He researches reinforced and pre-stressed concrete structures, bridge engineering, structures in distress, structural repair, fiber reinforced polymers and earthquake engineering. He can also speak about the safety and integrity of nuclear power plants.

Media Contact: Nat Levy, nat.levy@utexas.edu, 512-471-2129

Professor , Department of Civil, Architectural, and Environmental Engineering , Cockrell School of Engineering
+1 512 471 4535, bhat@mail.utexas.edu

Bhat is an international expert on all facets of transportation, from driverless cars to young drivers. His expertise includes autonomous vehicles, pollution reduction, alternative fuel vehicles, and transportation policy and services. Bhat also evaluates the effectiveness of alternative traffic congestion alleviation strategies such as telecommuting, urban form design, pricing strategies and ridesharing incentives.

Media Contact: Nat Levy, nat.levy@utexas.edu, 512-471-2129

Professor Emeritus , Lyndon B Johnson School of Public Affairs
, leigh.boske@utexas.edu

Boske’s teaching and research interests have focused on transportation policy, economics, and finance. His published research is on national and international transportation policies and programs, state multimodal transportation planning, cost efficiency in the airline and railroad industries, and port finance.

Media Contact: Tori Yu, victoriajyu@austin.utexas.edu, 512-232-4054

Director, Organized Research Unit, Wireless Networking and Communications Group , Department of Aerospace Engineering and Engineering Mechanics , Cockrell School of Engineering
+1 512 471 4489, todd.humphreys@utexas.edu

Humphreys is one of the world's leading experts on drones and GPS technology and director of the Radionavigation Lab at UT Austin. Recently, Humphreys caught the attention of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security for his research on defending against intentional GPS jamming of drones over U.S. airspace.

Media Contact: Nat Levy, nat.levy@utexas.edu, 512-471-2129

Professor , Department of Civil, Architectural, and Environmental Engineering , Cockrell School of Engineering
+1 512 471 0210, kkockelm@mail.utexas.edu

Kockelman researches autonomous vehicle activity and modeling, travel behavior modeling, transport data analysis, intra-urban transport policy, roadway safety, and the connection between urban form and transportation. 

Media Contact: Nat Levy, nat.levy@utexas.edu, 512-471-2129

Associate Professor , Lyndon B Johnson School of Public Affairs
+1 512 471 8456, tolmstead@austin.utexas.edu

Olmstead is an expert on intelligent transportation systems, highway safety and administrative rulemaking. He is also an expert in the areas of health economics, health services research and health care policy.

Media Contact: Tori Yu, victoriajyu@austin.utexas.edu, 512-232-4054

Professor , Department of Computer Science , College of Natural Sciences
+1 512 471 9796, pstone@cs.utexas.edu

Stone's research specialization is artificial intelligence, including self-driving vehicles and autonomous approaches to traffic management, such as virtual intersection systems.

Media Contact: Christine Sinatra, christine.sinatra@austin.utexas.edu, 512-471-4641

Professor , Lyndon B Johnson School of Public Affairs
+1 512 471 8959, +1 512 471 8972, eaton@austin.utexas.edu

Eaton is an expert on environmental policy and water conservation, with a special focus on water sharing between Texas and Mexico. He can discuss water and energy conservation policy and groundwater management. Eaton is also the author of “NAFTA Handbook for Water Resource Managers and Engineers.”

Media Contact: Tori Yu, victoriajyu@austin.utexas.edu, 512-232-4054

Professor , Department of Civil, Architectural, and Environmental Engineering , Cockrell School of Engineering
+1 512 468 1744, +1 512 471 0065, +1 512 471 4620, maidment@utexas.edu

Maidment has expertise in statistical techniques in hydrology and water resources planning. Maidment can discuss Texas water issues as he works closely with state water organizations to monitor and analyze the state’s resources.

Media Contact: Nat Levy, nat.levy@utexas.edu, 512-471-2129

Professor , Lyndon B Johnson School of Public Affairs
+1 512 471 2064, sheila.olmstead@austin.utexas.edu

Olmstead is an environmental economist whose current research projects examine the environmental externalities associated with shale gas development in the U.S. She has worked on the economics of water resource management, focusing on water demand estimation, water conservation policy and access to drinking water services among low-income communities.

Media Contact: Tori Yu, victoriajyu@austin.utexas.edu, 512-232-4054

Professor , Department of Civil, Architectural, and Environmental Engineering , Cockrell School of Engineering
+1 512 232 1626, werth@utexas.edu

Werth focuses on environmental and water resources engineering. He can discuss the development of technologies for drinking water treatment, water pollution and resource management.

Media Contact: Nat Levy, nat.levy@utexas.edu, 512-471-2129