In honor of Hispanic Heritage Month the UTA College of Science is focusing its lens on its Hispanic faculty, staff and students. UTA, a Texas Tier 1 and Carnegie R-1 university, carries a Hispanic Serving Institution designation and is one of the most diverse public campuses in the nation. Members of the Hispanic community are learning and doing great Science at UTA, including College of Science Senior Associate Dean and mathematics professor Minerva Cordero, a respected and awarded educator and champion for underrepresented minorities and women in STEM. Dr. Cordero discusses Hispanic Heritage Month while sharing her story and work in this edition of Voices - thoughts from Maverick Scientists leading the charge to innovate, discover and learn. #MaverickScience

UTA Astrophysicist Nevin Weinberg has received a grant from the National Science Foundation to help lead a study of the explosive phenomena of X-Ray bursts in order to better understand Neutron Stars and a variety of physics principles. The three-year award from the NSF’s division of astronomical sciences pairs Weinberg’s research group with researchers from the University of Virginia in a study titled “Spectral and Radiation Hydrodynamic Models of Photospheric Radius Expansion X-Ray Bursts.” Weinberg describes X-Ray bursts, neutron stars and the scope of research being done in this edition of Voices - thoughts from Maverick Scientists leading the charge to innovate, discover and learn.

UTA Biologist Piya Ghose recently received grant funding from the National Institutes of Health to do In Vivo Genetic Analysis of Compartmentalized Cell Elimination inside the nematode C. elegans. The five-year award will fuel her lab’s research as they try to better understand what genes contribute to cell death in different contexts and may someday provide the groundwork for potential targeted therapies to treat a variety of conditions, including cancer and neurological injuries in humans. Ghose discusses the project, her discovery of compartmentalized cell elimination in C. elegans, the development of her start-up lab and the importance of providing more research opportunities, particularly for women in science, in this edition of Voices - thoughts from Maverick Scientists leading the charge to innovate, discover and learn.

A biologist at the University of Texas at Arlington has received a more than one million dollar grant from the National Science Foundation to study the diversity of anole lizard species in the Caribbean. Luke Frishkoff, an assistant professor of biology will collaborate with a team over the next three years to investigate the reptile’s ecological niches. Frishkoff explains the project, the collaboration, UTA student involvement and his motivation in this edition of Voices - thoughts from Maverick Scientists leading the charge to innovate, discover and learn. #MaverickScience