The 10 most disruptive areas of research happening in Texas

Texas is no stranger to disrupting the status quo. Across the country, governments and thought leaders look to recreate the success that the Lone Star state has long enjoyed thanks to its business-forward mindset and ‘shake it up’ attitude.

As Texas looks to the future, it is well positioned to continue leading the way thanks to disruptive research innovations that are university-led and state-sponsored. The powerful results of this combination of knowledge exploration and political support are clearly evident in the work being conducted through The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA).

Here are the top 10 disruptive areas of research coming out of the university with the highest potential for making significant improvements to our daily lives.

1. Manufacturing and supply chain security: UTSA’s Cybersecurity Manufacturing Innovation Institute is helping secure and sustain American leadership in global manufacturing competitiveness for decades to come. By working directly with manufacturers, the Department of Energy, and researchers across the country, the institute is driving a cybersecure and energy efficient industry.

2. Artificial intelligence (AI): Building a system’s ability to think and learn has far reaching implications for humanity. From augmenting human capabilities to help regulate oxygen flow to a newborn in the ICU to developing brain-inspired computing systems that solve real-world problems, AI offers a promising future. This is one reason UTSA is working to helping students combine existing coursework with AI.

3. Cloud computing: Our lives increasingly exist on the cloud, the broad digital universe that stores our memories, data, and services. Technologies such as Galahad, an open source revolutionary user computer environment developed by the Office of National Intelligence and hosted at UTSA, as well as the university’s Open Cloud Institute, which brings together researchers and industry for collaboration opportunities, are working to keep the cloud safe and secure.

4. Data analytics: In today’s digital economy, data analytics is the currency that opens the door to new discovery. UTSA’s new School of Data Science is welcoming hundreds of students enrolled in five data science graduate programs, guided by 30 world-class faculty members who will educate and prepare Texas students and businesses for the digital economy.

5. Bioengineering: Combining traditional engineering with healthcare, bioengineering is a growing field. UTSA’s new doctoral program will give graduates a competitive edge in the emerging regenerative medicine sector. Additionally, students are pushing the limits of medicine, working on cutting edge projects such as bioengineering synthetic immune organs to help scientists study the effects of vaccines and infections.

6. Materials science: Looking to the stars for ways to improve life on Earth, Professor Angela Speck is studying how injecting dust particles into the stratosphere can cool the planet.

7. Neuroscience: Brain health impacts all our lives. Researcher Astrid E. Cardona is focused on determining the origins of tissue injury and the factors that account for disease progression. Meanwhile, the UTSA Brain Health Consortium brings together talent across the state to advance the understanding of the brain and is using a $12.5M award from the National Institutes of Health to research genetic brain disorders.

8. Immunology: Immunology research is essential to prepare Texas and the world for the next major health challenge. Dr. Chiung-Yu Hung is working with the National Institutes of Health to fight San Joaquin Valley fever, an infectious fungal disease that affects the respiratory system and a significant health threat to South Texans.

9. NextGen wireless: Our world revolves around the electromagnetic spectrum and UTSA researchers are working to prepare Texas for potential disruptions. Working with the military and other partners, the university is building education programs to raise awareness and increase preparedness to enhance the resiliency for metropolitan areas.

10. Quantum security: Loosely defined as securing and transmitting data in ways that cannot be hacked, Quantum Security is vital to protecting our information and infrastructure. With its long-standing experience in cybersecurity, UTSA is uniquely suited to bring its data science expertise to deal with the challenges that quantum presents to protecting our communities, be it by training 1 million future cyber professionals or spearheading Internet of Things research.

Thanks to innovations in these and other cutting-edge sectors, Texas universities like UTSA are leading the way in producing the research that will improve lives for generations to come.