Texas Global Funds Faculty Work Around the World

International collaboration continues to drive discovery, innovation and impact across The University of Texas at Austin. Through a range of funding opportunities, Texas Global helps faculty pursue international research partnerships, develop globally focused teaching initiatives and create innovative learning experiences with institutions around the world. 

Since 2020, Texas Global has awarded more than $2 million to faculty from 17 colleges and schools, strengthening UT Austin's global engagement and advancing research, teaching and cross-disciplinary collaboration. 

During the Spring 2026 funding cycle, Texas Global awarded more than $122,000 to 16 faculty members across 10 colleges and schools. The funded projects span engineering, computer science, public affairs, nursing, education and communications, and address pressing global issues such as healthcare innovation, climate resilience, sustainability, artificial intelligence, economic development and disaster preparedness through partnerships across Asia, Europe, the Middle East and Latin America. 

Faculty Research Seed Grant 

Texas Global’s Faculty Research Seed Grants provide funding across all disciplines to help UT Austin faculty develop new partnerships and strengthen existing relationships with higher education institutions and organizations around the world. Texas Global awards Faculty Research Seed Grants on a semiannual basis, once each in the fall and spring semesters. 

Spring 2026 recipients:

Stephanie Grasso 

Assistant Professor, Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences, Moody College of Communication 
“ComUNIDAD: Cross-national Innovation in Communication Intervention for Spanish Speakers with Aphasia” 
In partnership with Tecnológico de Monterrey, Mexico  

Aaron Baker 

Professor, Biomedical Engineering, Cockrell School of Engineering 
“Real-Time Electrochemical Monitoring of Vascular Cell Biochemical Responses to Mechanical Forces” 
In partnership with Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel 

Jung Kwak 

Associate Professor, Nursing, School of Nursing 
“What Matters to Persons Living with Dementia: A Japan-U.S. Cross-Cultural Comparison of Self-Agency and Relationship Quality” 
In partnership with University of Hyogo, Japan 

Georgios Pavlakos 

Assistant Professor, Computer Science, College of Natural Sciences 
“An AR System for Creating a Large-Scale Hand-Object Interaction Benchmark Dataset” 
In partnership with Mahidol University, Thailand 

Iyaxel Cojti Ren  

Assistant Professor, Anthropology, College of Liberal Arts 
“Civil Unrest During Times of Climate Crisis: New Lessons from the Ancient Maya Dead” 
In partnership with Universidad Autónoma de Yucatán, Mexico 

Cristine Legare 

Professor, Psychology, College of Liberal Arts 
“Conceptions of Justice in Conflict Contexts: Coalitional Psychology and Restorative Justice Among Jewish and Arab Youth in Israel” 
In partnership with Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel 

Maria Arredondo 

Assistant Professor, Human Development and Family Sciences, College of Natural Sciences 
“International Collaboration to Develop Brain Age Modeling Approaches for Studying Lifelong Cognitive Resilience” 
In partnership with University of Amsterdam, Netherlands 

Xavier Fonoll Almansa 

Assistant Professor, Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering, Cockrell School of Engineering 
“Developing AI Predictors for Early Detection of Anaerobic Digestion Process Upsets” 
In partnership with Tecnológico de Monterrey, Mexico 

Andrew Waxman  

Associate Professor, Public Affairs, LBJ School of Public Affairs 
“Do Low-Emission Zones Reshape Cities? Experimental Evidence on Transportation and Economic Outcomes in Urban Vietnam” 
In partnership with Government of Vietnam Ministry of Construction, Vietnam 

Jani Das 

Research Assistant Professor, Bureau of Economic Geology, Jackson School of Geosciences 
“Design of an Open-Source Decision Support Tool for Virtual Power Plant Design and Planning” 
In partnership with National Institute of Technology Calicut, India 

Lisa Griffin 

Associate Professor, Kinesiology and Health Education, College of Education 
“AI-Based Video Analysis and Real-Time Feedback for Remote Rehabilitation of Balance Control in Patients with Diabetic Peripheral Neuropathy” 
In partnership with Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel 

Global Virtual Exchange 

The Global Virtual Exchange (GVE) initiative contributes to the University’s mission of integrating global perspectives and innovative teaching practices into the curriculum. GVE funds support faculty in co-creating Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) courses with peers at universities around the world. The courses foster meaningful, sustainable and accessible international experiences for UT Austin students and those at partnering institutions, deepening students’ understanding of subject matter and expanding their global perspectives while they engage in project-based learning.  

Spring 2026 recipients:

Maarten Rotman  

Assistant Dean of Medical Innovation and Entrepreneurship and Assistant Professor, Medical Education, Dell Medical School 
“Global Healthcare Innovation Across Cultures: Bridging Innovation between Egypt and Texas” 
In partnership with Nile University, Egypt 

Faculty Travel Planning Grant 

Texas Global’s Faculty Travel Planning Grants can benefit UT Austin faculty members working to establish connections abroad to satisfy eligibility requirements for Texas Global funding opportunities. These grants afford faculty the unique opportunity to explore possibilities, develop connections and seek potential initiatives within their international networks in order to produce other high-quality Texas Global funding proposals.  

Spring 2026 recipients:

Ilias Georgakopoulos‑Soares 

Assistant Professor, Pharmacology and Toxicology, College of Pharmacy 
“Establishing a U.S.–Chile Research Partnership in Genomics, RNA Splicing, and Gene Regulation” 
In partnership with Universidad de Chile and Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Chile 

Emmanouil Parastatidis 

Research Assistant Professor, Bureau of Economic Geology, Jackson School of Geosciences 
“Developing an International Collaboration on Reservoir-Induced Seismicity and Geomechanical Monitoring between UT Austin and the University of Strathclyde” 
In partnership with University of Strathclyde, Scotland, United Kingdom 

John Hasenbein 

Professor, Walker Department of Mechanical Engineering, Cockrell School of Engineering 
“Modeling the Societal Impact of Extreme Weather Hazards on Infrastructure” 
In partnership with the Institut de Recherche en Informatique de Toulouse, France 

Thorsten Becker 

Professor, Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Jackson School of Geosciences 
“Fault Zone Physics, Damage Evolution, and Earthquake Nucleation: A Collaborative Visit between UT and Ben-Gurion University of the Negev” 
In partnership with Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel 

Learn more about available grants and funding opportunities on the Texas Global Funding Opportunities page.