Texas A&M Hagler Institute Inducts 2019-2020 Faculty Fellows, Distinguished Lecturers

The Hagler Institute for Advanced Study at Texas A&M University inducted nine Hagler Fellows into the 2019-20 class during its eighth annual gala on Friday, Feb. 28.

The faculty fellows are distinguished in the advancement of research in aeronautics and astronautics, astronomy, history, law, physics, mathematics, materials science and nanoengineering, nutrition and health and tropical medicine. The institute also honored its distinguished lecturers for the 2019-20 academic year.

In remarks to the 200-plus audience in the Bethancourt Grand Ballroom at the Memorial Student Center, Chancellor John Sharp of The Texas A&M University System regarded the Hagler Institute as one of the greatest ways to incorporate distinction and reach Texas A&M’s high standard for academic achievement.

“The quality of the professors to come to us through the Hagler Institute for Advanced Study has been nothing short of extraordinary,” Sharp said.

Texas A&M President Michael K. Young began by thanking Founding Director John Junkins for his vision and commitment to the institute. Young also thanked Jon Hagler for his generosity and dedication to excellence.

“By investing in the excellence of intellectual explorers like the ones we welcome tonight, he has ensured his lasting legacy as a catalyst for groundbreaking scholarship and discovery,” Young said.

Keynote speaker Norman Augustine, former chair and CEO of Lockheed Martin and current chair of the Hagler Institute’s External Advisory Board, referenced the progress the Hagler Institute has made over the last decade.

“Its remarkable growth has been possible by the early support of Chancellor Sharp and the continuing support of President Young as the Hagler Institute now moves into Phase 2.0,” Augustine said. “Their confidence and the confidence of people like this audience, along with the infinite energy and persistence of John Junkins, have turned a fragile idea into a remarkable institution.”

Augustine urged the audience to actively support the work of the Hagler Institute.

“Education and research are the engines that drive our economy, and our economy is the engine that, to a considerable extent, drives the quality of our lives,” he said.

This year’s induction of Hagler Fellows includes members of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and equivalent academies around the world, bringing the total number of past and present Hagler Fellows to 70. Each fellow collaborates with one or more of Texas A&M’s colleges or schools.

• Luiz Davidovich, professor of physics, Instituto de Física, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro
• Sharon Donovan, professor and holder, Melissa M. Noel Endowed Chair in Nutrition and Health, Department of Nutritional Sciences, College of Agricultural, Consumer & Environmental Sciences, The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
• Mario Andrés Hamuy, vice president and head of mission, Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Washington, D.C.
• Peter Hotez, dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine, professor, Departments of Pediatrics and Molecular Virology & Microbiology, Endowed Chair in Tropical Pediatrics, Baylor College of Medicine
• Kathleen Howell, Hsu Lo Distinguished Professor, School of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Purdue University
• Misha Lyubich, professor, Department of Mathematics, director, Institute for Mathematical Sciences, College of Arts and Sciences, Stonybrook University
• Henry Rousso, directeur de recherche de Classe Exceptionelle, French National Centre for Scientific Research, Paris, France
• Peter Shor, Henry Adams Morss and Henry Adams Morss Jr. Professor, Applied Mathematics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
• Ned Thomas, Ernest Dell Butcher Professor of Engineering, Department of Materials Science and Nanoengineering, Rice University

The Hagler Institute also formally welcomed its Distinguished Lecturers for 2019-2020.

• Martha Fineman, Robert W. Woodruff Professor, School of Law, Emory University
• Dierdre McCloskey, Distinguished Professor Emerita, Economics, History, English, and Communication, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, University of Illinois at Chicago
• Rachel Moran, Distinguished Professor, School of Law, University of California, Irvine
• Susan Wolf, McKnight Presidential Professor of Law, Medicine & Public Policy, Faegre Baker Daniels Professor of Law and professor of Law and Medicine, University of Minnesota
• Huda Zhogbi, professor and holder, Ralph D. Feign, M.D. Endowed Chair, Department of Molecular and Human Genetics, director, Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute at Texas Children’s Hospital, Baylor College of Medicine

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 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 the Hagler Institute webpage.