Feb. 4 Research Bulletin (Texas A&M University)

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Send: Research-related news about Texas A&M faculty, staff or students at our colleges, schools or member agencies, including honors, publications, presentations and appearances in news media
Note: The Research Bulletin does not publish links to scholarly or peer-reviewed journal articles. If your work appears in a journal, please first work with your college or school communications team to develop a news story, then submit the link to that story for inclusion.
Include: A URL that links directly to your news coverage, research story or professional achievement
Email: rcomm@tamu.edu

Announcement

Julian Hurdle was named interim department head of the Naresh K. Vashisht College of Medicine’s Department of Translational Medical Sciences, effective Feb. 1.

News-Media Coverage

AgriMarketing, Reinaldo Cooke (Agriculture and Life Sciences), about a study that found that administering FerAppease at the time of artificial insemination significantly increased pregnancy rates in lactating Holstein cows.

E&E News, Siddharth Misra (Engineering), about how the Strategic Petroleum Reserve cannot safely store Venezuelan crude because its high sulfur content could damage infrastructure and contaminate existing oil. (Paywall)

Fortune, Raymond Robertson (Government and Public Service), about how long-term economic data show the United States’ labor share of gross domestic product has fallen to a historic low and how structural changes, globalization, technology and shifts in bargaining power have contributed to that decline.

Fox News, John Hettema (Medicine), about findings that depression, anxiety and other psychiatric disorders may share common genetic risk factors, offering new insight into why these conditions often overlap and how they might be treated more effectively.

Gizmodo, Michael Demkowicz and Charles Borenstein (Engineering), about the development of a metallic gel capable of withstanding temperatures above 1,000°C, opening new possibilities for high-temperature energy storage and advanced materials applications. (Spanish)

Hart Energy, Siddharth Misra (Engineering), about the Orinoco Oil Belt and the technical, chemical and logistical challenges of turning Venezuelan oil into usable crude. (Paywall)

KBTX, Jonathan Snodgrass (Engineering), about how the rapid growth of energy-intensive data centers could strain Texas’ power grid and efforts to help ERCOT better understand and plan for future electricity demand and grid reliability challenges.

MSN, Karl Kaiser (Galveston), about the development of space-based technologies to track and reduce microplastic pollution, advancing new methods for monitoring and protecting marine environments.

Olhar Digital, Timothy Logan (Arts and Sciences), about how the smell of rain, called petrichor, comes from soil compounds like geosmin and triggers the brain’s memory and emotion centers, promoting well-being and reducing stress. (Portuguese)

Science Post, Weida Hu (Arts and Sciences), about contributing to research by using the James Webb Space Telescope to observe an extraordinarily rare cosmic collision, thus offering new insights into extreme events that shape the evolution of the universe. (French)

Tech Explorist, Jeong-Hui Park and Tyler Prochnow (Public Health), about how older adults experience greater health benefits when physical activity is paired with strong social connections, showing that exercise and social engagement work together to improve overall well-being as people age.

The Cool Down, Ali Mostafavi (Engineering), about how artificial intelligence (AI) was used to analyze a decade of national data, with findings that extreme weather and energy-intensive AI data centers are driving a sharp rise in U.S. power outages and outage duration, frequency and magnitude have increased by about 20% annually since 2019.

The Ticker, Christine Merlin (Arts and Sciences), about findings that monarch butterflies play a larger ecological role than previously understood, contributing to pollination and ecosystem health beyond their well-known migration patterns.

The Washington Post, Angela Paola and Peter Fix (Arts and Sciences), about the preservation of America’s oldest warship, the Revolutionary War–era Philadelphia, which sank in 1776, as part of a major effort to document and protect the historic vessel ahead of the country’s 250th anniversary.

TZ, Ana Diaz Artiles (Engineering) and Adrien Robin (Nursing), about a study on how gravitational forces influence human health, which revealed that changes in gravity can have profound effects on the body’s physiological systems and overall well-being.(German)

Yahoo! News, Ali Mostafavi (Engineering), about how extreme weather and climate hazards affect infrastructure and communities, using data-driven models to improve risk assessment, resilience and disaster preparedness.

Articles From Colleges and Schools

Abdoulaye Djire, Perla Balbuena, David Kumar and Hao-En Lai (Engineering) advanced new ways to produce, store and use ammonia more efficiently and sustainably, positioning it as a key resource for strengthening global food security and driving economic growth. Transforming Ammonia for Food Security and Economic Growth
Angela Arenas (Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences) and her team identified the bacteria Brucella abortus as the cause of illness for animals in Cameroon, advancing research for the fight against brucellosis. Texas A&M Research Team Identifies Species of Brucellosis-Causing Bacteria in Cameroon
Bani Mallick, Tapasree Roy Sarkar, Rajarshi Guhaniyogi and Yang Ni (Arts and Sciences) utilized spatial transcriptomics and a Grace cluster supercomputer to study the effect of a poor sleep cycle on mammary gland health. The Rhythm of the Night
Benjamin Montemayor (Public Health) led a study evaluating how college students, specifically those at high risk of developing an alcohol use disorder, perceive the risks and benefits of participating in alcohol-use research. College Students Share Insights on Their Participation in Substance Use Research
Candice Brinkmeyer-Langford (Public Health) and team found that certain viral infections may trigger molecular changes in motor neurons that increase the risk of developing ALS, offering new insight into how the disease may begin. Texas A&M Study Suggests Link Between Viral Infection and ALS
Jeffrey Tomberlin (Agriculture and Life Sciences) developed the “Black Soldier Fly Billet,” a new method for storing young black soldier fly larvae that accelerates larvae production and limits waste. New Technology Solves Production Bottleneck for Black Soldier Fly Larvae
Jenna Yentes (Education and Human Development) partnered with the Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service to research the limitations of firefighters’ personal protective equipment and reduce injuries caused by the gear. Helping Our Heroes: Improving Firefighter Safety Through Science
Justinn Jones (Agriculture and Life Sciences) used ecoinformatics, which combines environmental science and technology, to advance conservation efforts across Texas and other states. Ecoinformatics Lets Student Explore Science in Nature
Leonard Berry (Business) found that family caregivers should be integrated into shared decision-making. Expert Calls for Greater Role of Family Caregivers in Cancer Care Decisions
Mark Benden (Public Health) found that while wearable technology can encourage healthy habits, there is a risk of becoming overly reliant on its provided, and potentially incorrect, data. To Wear or Not To Wear: Do Healthy Habits Start With Technology?
Ralf Rapp (Cyclotron Institute) used high-energy nuclear collisions to study quark–gluon plasma, helping scientists better understand how matter behaved in the extreme conditions of the early universe. Quarkonia Survive Surprisingly Longer Than Expected in Quark-Gluon Plasma
Scott Socolofsky and Kuang-An Chang (Engineering) and team have developed and tested a more efficient method for measuring coastal currents, offering faster, lower-cost data collection that can improve coastal monitoring, modeling and hazard response. Determining an Efficient Method for Measuring Coastal Currents
Suresh Pillai (Agriculture and Life Sciences) played a leading role while working with the U.S. Department of Energy National Nuclear Security Administration’s Office of Radiological Security to pilot a nuclear-based sterilization approach that could make medical device sterilization safer, more reliable and less dependent on traditional chemical methods. AgriLife Research, Nuclear Administration Pilot Safer Medical Device Sterilization
Tyler Prochnow, Jacqueline Vigil and Matthew Lee Smith (Public Health), along with Texas A&M former doctoral student Jeong-Hui Park, found that combining regular physical activity with meaningful social connections significantly enhances physical and mental health outcomes for older adults, highlighting the power of social engagement in healthy aging. Stronger Together: How Social Connections and Physical Activity Team Up To Boost Older Adults’ Health
William Baule and John Nielsen-Gammon (Arts and Sciences) identified specific data collection, documentation and coordination improvements that could help counties more accurately report extreme weather damage and increase their eligibility for state and federal disaster reimbursement. Texas A&M Research Identifies Steps To Strengthen Extreme Weather Damage Reporting and Improve Counties’ Disaster Reimbursement
Ximena Garcia-Rada (Business) and team discovered that caregivers prefer products that acknowledge their efforts and provide support, rather than those that reduce their responsibilities. Why Convenience Marketing Falls Short for Products Aimed at Caregivers
Yubin Zhou (Institute of Biosciences and Technology) developed a chemogenetic approach using clustered interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) and caffeine — called “caffebodies” — to precisely control gene editing and T cell activation, offering a potentially safe, reversible method for treating diseases like cancer and diabetes. Brewing Possibilities: Using Caffeine To Edit Gene Expression

Accomplishments

Benjamin Davis (Arts and Sciences) was awarded a National Endowment for the Humanities in recognition of his contributions to humanities scholarship and to support events focused on the French philosopher, Simone Weil.

Feng Tao, Rashmi Hegde and Janna Burnett (Dentistry) were presented faculty awards for their outstanding leadership and commitment to the College of Dentistry.

Gabriel Eckstein (Law) was appointed as a visiting scholar with the Environmental Law Institute.

Jay Maddock (Public Health) was named the 2026 American Academy of Health Behavior (AAHB) Research Laureate in Health Behavior Research, the highest member award given by the AAHB.

Karen Wooley (Arts and Sciences) was a co-recipient of the 2026 Hill Prize for Physical Sciences for her impactful research on turning agricultural waste into degradable plastics and chemicals.

Lily T. Garcia (Dentistry) received the American College of Prosthodontists Education Foundation’s (ACPEF) 2025 Founders Society Award for her impact on the growth of ACPEF and her service in the prosthodontics field.

Paul Morley (Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences) was named the sole 2026 Conference of Research Workers in Animal Diseases Fellow in recognition of his contributions to food animal medicine.

The AI Bridge Summit in January brought researchers together to build interdisciplinary collaborations around artificial intelligence, launch new teams and ideas aimed at advancing AI-driven research across campus, and invite proposals for the AI Bridge Seed Grant.

Professional Development

Research Development Services offers faculty development programs and research funding workshops to assist in the process of applying for grants. 

Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) offers virtual workshops that meet the face-to-face requirements of University SAP 15.99.99.M0.04. Please note that it is the responsibility of each college or school (with support or information from individual principal investigators) to ensure that all student and postdoctoral researchers associated with them are compliant with the RCR training requirements. 

High Performance Research Computing offers an ongoing series of short training courses for beginning, intermediate and advanced researchers. 