A message from Heather Houser, outgoing Chair of Planet Texas 2050.

The Planet Texas 2050 theme organizing committee shows its support for the City of Austin's Climate Equity Plan. We also request that the UT Austin President’s Sustainability Steering Committee integrate climate equity-related goals and strategies into the university Sustainability Master Plan.

Our dirty, smelly wastewater could hold something very valuable: the key to tracking COVID-19 hot spots in Austin before diagnostic testing is able to identify outbreaks. The novel coronavirus is a fecally shed virus, which means its signature shows up in our waste. Because of this, University of Texas researchers are hoping they can track its spread by studying human feces.

In a first-of-its-kind study, UT, the City of Austin, the community organization Go! Austin/Vamos! Austin, and St. Edward’s University, will creatively examine long-standing problems in neighborhoods that have worse outcomes in response to climate-related issues because of inadequate infrastructure and investment.

The COVID-19 pandemic has introduced obstacles to all aspects of life. Whole Communities–Whole Health it sprinting toward the launch of its 5-year cohort study. However, our teams have met the challenges of our changing world by engaging in research that will directly effect people amid the pandemic. 

To protect ourselves and others during the COVID-19 pandemic, most of us have had to shift our everyday lives to our homes. This has led to a steep drop in the amount of physical activity our kids are getting. 

Keri Stephens, a University of Texas at Austin professor in organizational communication technology, is a Good Systems Grand Challenge researcher whose work has centered around the role of technology in organizations, particularly in the context of crisis, disaster, and health. Here, Stephens discusses the effects of using personal mobile devices for work and how to secure data while also maintaining privacy.

When we think of the robots in practical use today, the most common are stationary robots that help assemble parts in automotive factories or can assist in performing delicate medical surgeries. Building a robot that can move within the human world with all its unpredictable variables, like self-driving cars, is oftentimes more difficult.

As digital assistants like Siri and Alexa become more common in our lives, people increasingly see them as companions that accompany them throughout their day. Young children, especially, are more apt to see these devices as real people or friends.

Messages from Kenneth Fleischmann, outgoing Executive Team Chair of Good Systems and Chair-Elect Junfeng Jiao.