To date, Good Systems researchers are leading at least a dozen projects related to COVID-19, just as our grand challenge moves into its second year.

University of Texas researchers argue that information scientists have a bigger role to play in the COVID-19 crisis because of the proliferation of conflicting messages. We asked three experts, who have been sheltering-in-place for the past two months in Austin, Texas, to tell us more about their perspectives on the pandemic.

Even in a life full of shocks big and small, people typically find their own personal equilibrium over time, balancing core feelings of sadness, happiness and fear. What people feel in the immediate aftermath of even the most significant life events.

This story highlights how we’re committed to developing technology that puts information about indoor air quality into the hands of the people who can use it most.

When COVID-19 began actually infecting bodies around the globe earlier this year, UT community and regional planning associate professor Junfeng Jiao decided to look at the transportation system as a way to predict the virus’ spread.

Climate change is straining our natural and built environments as well as our social networks. Add to that a growing population — Texas’ numbers are expected to double in the next 30 years — and cities throughout our region are facing water scarcity, inadequate infrastructure, and other strains.

The bacterium Burkholderia pseudomallei, which causes the serious disease melioidosis, is normally found in tropical and subtropical environments but is now present in parts of Central America, Mexico, Puerto Rico — and even Texas. UT’s Planet Texas 2050 grand challenge team is studying the bacterium Burkholderia pseudomallei by examining regional soil, water, weather, and land use data, as well as other risk factors, to identify potential ecological niches in Texas where Burkholderia might thrive.

The 50th anniversary of Earth Day offers Planet Texas 2050 a chance to reflect on how defining moments can mobilize millions to envision more just and healthy futures. How crises, whether they be COVID-19 or climate change, can rouse us to redress inequities and ensure the vitality of all people and places as we plan for the days, years, and decades ahead.

Students and faculty at UT's College of Fine Arts came together to construct a fully operational escape room prototype that places participants in the shoes of scientists on an observational platform in the middle of the Gulf of Mexico during a devastatingly powerful hurricane that’s intensifying quickly.

It is imperative that we use technology to maximize the best and minimize the negative parts of the human condition. But in order to do this... companies must act sustainably. And in this case, ‘sustainable’ refers to ethical practices.