What Starts Small Changes the World

When it comes to curiosity-driven pursuits, big change sometimes comes in small packages. For example, two decades ago, a group of educators in UT’s College of Natural Sciences wanted to answer a call to improve undergraduates’ engagement in STEM. They launched a small program with just a few dozen students, but it grew into the Freshman Research Initiative, which today is the largest, most exciting undergraduate research program on any campus in the country. Now more than 16,000 UT alumni and students know its power firsthand.

Or consider that, some years ago, scientists identified a naturally occurring process in bacteria, called CRISPR. Before long, researchers – including here at The University of Texas at Austin –

had harnessed that process for revolutionary transformations in medicine and biotechnology. When advanced gene-editing tools find their start with a study of basic biology in microbes, that’s world-changing science.

This edition of The Texas Scientist delves into these and other stories where scientists and students work to translate kernels of curiosity into big impact in the world. You’ll meet people and ideas in these pages that inspire a closer look at the many ways in which science opens possibilities and transforms our world.

David VandenBout
Dean, College of Natural Sciences