In 2021, the University of Texas at Austin Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Professor Fernanda Leite published a paper in an academic journal showing the benefits of virtual reality to construction engineers.

Borders today are understood as political demarcations that separate states and nation-states. But, sometimes, we share more in common with the people beyond these arbitrary lines than we think.

As part of the Institute for Historical Studies' "Climate in Context" events, Planet Texas 2050 has teamed up with the digital magazine "Not Even Past" to produce a series of articles outlining why history and archaeology are important to our understanding and mitigation of the effects of climate change. This article introduces our grand challenge.

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.

UT researchers have been working with Southeast Texas Regional Advisory Council (SETRAC) over the past three years to build a more efficient model that would show, very clearly, where flooding is expected during major storms. SETRAC could then use that model to decide where to stage assets like ambulances and how to evacuate patients.

As Texas’s population is expected to nearly double in the next 30 years, Planet Texas 2050 grand challenge researchers find it important to understand what effect rapid urbanization will have on the natural environment.

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.