Hagler Institute Names Its First Permanent Members

The Hagler Institute for Advanced Study has named seven of its former Faculty Fellows to its first group of Permanent Members, the Institute announced today. This honor recognizes each of the renowned scholars who accepted faculty positions at Texas A&M University.

“These seven individuals are Hagler Faculty Fellows who have joined the permanent faculty at Texas A&M University. The title Permanent Member is an honorific title to recognize these excellent scholars for their on-going contributions to the University and the Hagler Institute in their role as tenured faculty. These individuals span a wide diversity of fields from architecture to astronomy, to mathematics, to science and engineering. They are already making an indelible impact on advancing scholarship at Texas A&M. In their role as Permanent Members, each is expected to organize an annual Hagler Institute Workshop or a Hagler Institute Symposium to highlight recent progress in their disciplines and disseminate the results of their scholarly activities,” said John Junkins, founding director of the Hagler Institute for Advanced Study.

Based on nominations solicited from the Texas A&M faculty, the Hagler Institute selects its Faculty Fellows from among top scholars who have distinguished themselves through outstanding professional accomplishments and significant recognition. These scholars then collaborate with A&M faculty and students on research projects designed to solve some of the world’s toughest problems and challenges.

The following were named Permanent Members in the Hagler Institute.

• Alan Needleman, University Distinguished Professor, Department of Material Sciences, which is jointly operated by the colleges of engineering and science, and a 2012-13 Hagler Faculty Fellow. Needleman joined the Texas A&M faculty in 2014 following appointments at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Brown University and the University of North Texas. He is a member of the National Academy of Engineering and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
• Leif Andersson, professor, Department of Veterinary Integrative Biosciences, College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences, and a 2013-14 Hagler Faculty Fellow. Andersson joined the Texas A&M faculty in 2016 and also holds a faculty appointment at Uppsala University in Sweden. Andersson received the Wolf Prize in Agriculture in 2014 and is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.
• Roger Howe, professor, Department of Teaching, Learning, and Culture, College of Education and Human Development, and a 2013-14 Hagler Faculty Fellow, joined the Texas A&M faculty in 2015. He also holds a faculty emeritus appointment at Yale University and is a member of the National Academy of Sciences.
• Harold Adams, professor of the practice, Department of Architecture, College of Architecture, and a 2014-15 Hagler Faculty Fellow joined the Texas A&M faculty in 2018. He is a fellow of the American Institute of Architects.
• Robert Skelton, Texas Engineering Experiment Station (TEES) Eminent Professor, Department of Aerospace Engineering, College of Engineering, and a 2014-15 Hagler Faculty Fellow joined the Texas A&M faculty in 2015 following appointments at Purdue University and the University of California, San Diego. Skelton is a member of the National Academy of Engineering, a fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, a fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, and a life member of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation.
• Robert Kennicutt Jr., professor, Department of Physics and Astronomy, College of Science, and a 2016-17 Hagler Faculty Fellow joined the Texas A&M faculty in 2018 following appointments at the universities of Minnesota, Arizona and Cambridge. He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, the American Astronomical Society, the International Astronomical Union, and the Astronomical Society of the Pacific, and is a fellow of the Royal Society in the United Kingdom and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
• James E. Hubbard Jr., TEES Eminent Professor, J. Mike Walker ’66 Department of Mechanical Engineering, College of Engineering, and a 2017-18 Hagler Faculty Fellow joined the Texas A&M faculty in 2018 following previous positions at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Charles Stark Draper Laboratory, Optron Systems Inc., and the Photonics Center at Boston University. Hubbard co-founded PhotoSense Inc. and iProvica Inc.

About the Hagler Institute for Advanced Study: The Hagler Institute for Advanced Study was established in December 2010 by The Texas A&M University System Board of Regents to build on the growing academic reputation of Texas A&M and to provide a framework to attract top scholars from throughout the nation and abroad for appointments of up to a year. The selection of Faculty Fellows initiates with faculty nominations of National Academies and Nobel Prize-caliber scholars who align with existing strengths and ambitions of the University. To learn more, visit http://hias.tamu.edu.

About Research at Texas A&M University: 

As one of the world’s leading research institutions, Texas A&M is at the forefront in making significant contributions to scholarship and discovery, including that of science and technology. Research conducted at Texas A&M represented annual expenditures of more than $905.4 million in fiscal year 2017, ranking Texas A&M in the top 20 of the National Science Foundation’s Higher Education Research and Development survey (2017). Texas A&M’s research creates new knowledge that provides basic, fundamental and applied contributions resulting, in many cases, in economic benefits to the state, nation and world. To learn more, visit http://research.tamu.edu.