President’s Award for Global Learning 2027 Faculty Programs Selected
Two faculty teams at The University of Texas at Austin, partnering with universities and nonprofit organizations in France, Tanzania, Kenya, and Colombia, have been selected to receive the 2026-2027 President’s Award for Global Learning.
The projects address timely and critical issues worldwide, including the production of isotopes for clean energy and decentralized solutions for treatment of drinking water in developing countries. Participating students will engage in project-based teams alongside international partners and faculty mentors to research and propose constructive responses for solving these complex problems.
The President’s Award for Global Learning was created with the objective of invigorating cooperation between the University and the world, combining interdisciplinary faculty collaboration, transnational institutional partnerships, and cross-cultural work and research opportunities for students.
To be considered for selection, teams of 2-3 faculty members from distinct disciplines conceive research or service projects that address challenges in a specific area of the world. Each proposal involves participation with an international associate in its designated region and supports the participation of 12-18 UT Austin students.
After faculty proposals are accepted, students from numerous colleges and schools form teams and propose projects that operate within the established themes. Students whose projects are selected then enroll in courses taught by UT faculty teams and their counterparts, also embarking on trips abroad to complete in-country work during the program.
Selected faculty receive $5,000 per program to support student projects and class activities, in addition to a $14,000 honorarium for each faculty leader and $8,000 for an optional faculty mentor. The award also includes fully funded travel for both faculty and students.
Students interested in the President’s Award for Global Learning can attend an information session and must submit an application in PDF format to presidentsaward@austin.utexas.edu by 5 p.m. on November 1, 2026.
Since its inception, the program has invested more than $5 million, supporting 371 undergraduate students and 67 faculty members executing projects in 20 countries.
Please join us in congratulating the faculty recipients of the 2026-2027 President’s Award for Global Learning for their winning proposals:
France
Production and Measurement of Isotopes for Clean Energy, Robust Infrastructure, and Fundamental Science
This program gives UT Austin students a multinational research experience in nuclear science by combining the University’s strengths in reactor technology, isotope production, and particle physics with access to world-class facilities at Institut Laue-Langevin in France. Interdisciplinary teams of engineering and science students will work on challenges such as digital twins for isotope production, improved nuclear simulations, and the discovery of previously unknown nuclear states. Their research will contribute to advances in nuclear technology and fundamental physics, including next-generation neutrino detection.
Faculty team members:
William Charlton, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Cockrell School of Engineering
Scott Kravitz, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Physics, College of Natural Sciences
Will Flanagan, Ph.D., Research Scientist, Department of Physics, College of Natural Sciences
International partner: Institut Laue-Langevin
Tanzania/Kenya/Colombia
Evaluating Failed, Ongoing, and Successful Decentralized Interventions for Drinking Water in Developing Countries
This program addresses a gap in engineering education by combining technical problem-solving with the social, cultural, political, and economic factors that shape real-world water access challenges. Through interdisciplinary, international collaboration in the U.S., Kenya, Tanzania, and Colombia, students examine and evaluate sustainable water treatment technologies while studying their social impacts across diverse communities. The program emphasizes hands-on fieldwork, cross-cultural learning, and long-term global partnerships to prepare students to develop effective, sustainable solutions for improving access to safe drinking water.
Faculty team members:
Anastasia Schauer, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Cockrell School of Engineering
Manish Kumar, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Civil, Architectural, and Environmental Engineering, Cockrell School of Engineering
Richard Patrick Bixler, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, LBJ School of Public Affairs
International partners: South Eastern Kenya University and GivePower Foundation
