ICYMI: Five Key Takeaways from the 2024 Planet Texas 2050 Symposium

Extreme heat poses significant challenges to communities across Texas, impacting public health, infrastructure, and ecosystems. On February 28, the Oden Institute for Computational Engineering and Sciences at the University of Texas at Austin hosted a panel discussion as part of the ongoing Planet Texas 2050 initiative, exploring interdisciplinary approaches to address the complexities of extreme heat in the state.

The University of Texas at Austin is welcomed visitors to campus for the solar eclipse on April 8. In addition to the distribution of free eclipse glasses, live music and events around campus, a unique comprehensive visual installation at the Oden Institute for Computational Engineering and Sciences was on display.

Pooja Tilvawala, the closing keynote speaker at this year’s Planet Texas 2050 Symposium, has emerged as a formidable leader and voice for young people around the world who are passionate about taking meaningful climate action. As the founder and director of Youth Climate Collaborative (YCC), she steers a global hub that offers tools and programs designed to empower young individuals and communities to find solutions rather than simply identifying the problems.

The launch celebration for the opening of a new exhibition, "Looking to the Future: Youth Perspectives on the Environment" is scheduled for Wednesday, November 15th, at 6 p.m. at the Pharr Memorial Library in Pharr, Texas. The thought-provoking photovoice exhibit is presented by the Coalition for Youth, Health, and the Environment, in collaboration with Texas Children in Nature (TCiNN) and The University of Texas at Austin's Planet Texas 2050 (PT2050) grand challenge.

The winners of the inaugural Planet Texas 2050 + Humanities Institute Faculty Learning Community awards have been announced. Despite planning to select only five awardees for the inaugural cohort, the organizers received dozens of impressive applications, compelling program leaders to select six recipients for the full award as well as funding ten additional microgrants. The awards are the result of a recent open call that Planet Texas 2050 issued in partnership with the Humanities Institute to seed new collaborations with researchers from arts, design, and humanities. 

The collaboration between the City of Austin and Planet Texas 2050 has been crucial to ensuring the city’s leaders are basing their climate resilience action on research informed by the needs of Austin’s most vulnerable communities.

Following the hottest month ever recorded for the planet, places like Texas have yet to catch a break from scorching temperatures. With the extreme climb on thermometers also come opportunities to study and understand the effects of increasing heat for people and the planet—as well as what we might be able to do about it.

UT Geoscientists are helping the City of Austin protect its water supply in the face of a changing climate

Planet Texas 2050 artist fellow Juliet Whitsett makes Texas’s most vulnerable species her muses.