UTSA professors and researchers Marina Suarez and Kelly Nash
(Feb. 9, 2018) -- Two University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) faculty members, four UTSA alumni and an undergraduate have been honored for their excellence in academics and research, and for their community contributions.
Marina Suarez, UTSA associate professor of geology, and Larissa Mercado-López ’03, ’08, ’11, who earned three degrees from the university, have been named 2018 Emerging Scholars by Diverse: Issues in Higher Education. They are among just 15 U.S. scholars under the age of 40 to be recognized by the publication for academic and research excellence.
Suarez, a native San Antonian, has been passionate about dinosaurs since she was a child. The UTSA faculty member is currently conducting research in paleoclimatology with the support of a $478,000 grant through a National Science Foundation Faculty Early Career Development Award. At UTSA, she teaches courses in stable isotope geochemistry, earth history and paleontology.
Notably, in 2011, a new species of dinosaur, Geminiraptor suarezarum, was named after Suarez and her twin sister/fellow paleontologist, Celina Suarez, after the sisters discovered the dinosaur at a site in Utah. The animal lived 100 million years ago during the Cretaceous period, a critical time in Earth’s history.
Diverse: Issues in Higher Education emerging scholar Mercado-López earned her bachelor of arts in Mexican American studies from UTSA in 2003, her master’s in English literature in 2008 and her Ph.D. in English literature from UTSA in 2011. Today, the UTSA alumna is an associate professor of women’s studies at California State University, Fresno. She examines the visual and environmental notions of fitness, investigating ways popular fitness conflicts with working-class Latinas’ constructions of womanhood. Over her career, she has sought inspiration for her research from her personal experience as a mother attending college.
Diverse: Issues in Higher Education received hundreds of nominations in this 17th year of recognizing minority scholars under 40 years old.
Additionally, a UTSA faculty member, four alumni and an undergraduate are among 2018’s selection of San Antonio Business Journal’s 40 Under 40, which honors young and ambitious rising stars in San Antonio who are leading in their industries while giving back to the community. A record-setting 250 nominations were submitted for this year’s 40 Under 40 class, which will be honored at an event on February 22.
Kelly Nash ’09, associate professor of physics, earned her Ph.D. in physics from UTSA, becoming one of fewer than 100 female, African-American physicists in the U.S. with a doctoral degree. Last year, Nash received a $65,000 grant from the National Science Foundation to develop a nanomaterial that can do the work of a water treatment plant.
UTSA alumni named among the 40 under 40 include Andrew Casillas ’07, director of contracting and legal compliance at InGenesis Inc, Joshua Cude ’02, CEO of Cude Engineers, Ryan Parker ’05, San Antonio market CEO of BBVA Compass, and Michael Sindon ’07, ’10, assistant director of the City of San Antonio’s economic development department.
Undergraduate communications major Emma Faye Rudkin, CEO of Aid the Silent, also made the list.
“Congratulations to all our faculty, alumni and student honorees,” said Mauli Agrawal, interim provost and vice president for academic affairs. “These recognitions are a testament to the strength and breadth of UTSA community of scholars and how Roadrunners in diverse industries and disciplines are effecting change for the betterment of our world.”
Read more about Marina Suarez and Kelly Nash.
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Join the PEACE Center and Wellbeing Services for Denim Day, a day of learning about the importance of consent and why we wear denim on the last Wednesday of the month each April during Sexual Assault Awareness Month. Stop by our Denim Day display to take a photo in front of our Denim Wall, spin the "Is It Consent?" Wheel, and get a Concha or goodie.
Student Union Window Lounge, Main CampusLearn to use Zotero®, a citation manager that can help you store and organize citations you find during your research. Zotero can generate bibliographies in various styles, insert in-text citations and allow you to share sources with collaborators.
Virtual EventThis event will acknowledge graduating seniors from the McNair Scholars program at UTSA before inducting the new cohort of scholars into the program.
North Paseo Building (NPB 5.140), Main CampusAt this memorable celebration, UTSA graduates will be introduced one-by-one to cross the stage and accept their doctoral degrees.
Arts Building Recital Hall, Main CampusRoadrunner Walk is an event for graduating students to have a memorable walk on campus to celebrate an important milestone and their achievements. Graduates will walk along the Paseo while being celebrated by the UTSA community, friends, and family members.
Student Union Paseo, Main CampusCelebrate the accomplishments of College of Education and Human Development, College for Health, Community and Policy, College of Sciences and University College.
Alamodome, 100 Montana St.Celebrate the accomplishments of Alvarez College of Business, College of Liberal and Fine Arts and Klesse College of Engineering and Integrated Design.
Alamodome, 100 Montana St.The University of Texas at San Antonio is dedicated to the advancement of knowledge through research and discovery, teaching and learning, community engagement and public service. As an institution of access and excellence, UTSA embraces multicultural traditions and serves as a center for intellectual and creative resources as well as a catalyst for socioeconomic development and the commercialization of intellectual property - for Texas, the nation and the world.
To be a premier public research university, providing access to educational excellence and preparing citizen leaders for the global environment.
We encourage an environment of dialogue and discovery, where integrity, excellence, inclusiveness, respect, collaboration and innovation are fostered.
UTSA is a proud Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) as designated by the U.S. Department of Education .
The University of Texas at San Antonio, a Hispanic Serving Institution situated in a global city that has been a crossroads of peoples and cultures for centuries, values diversity and inclusion in all aspects of university life. As an institution expressly founded to advance the education of Mexican Americans and other underserved communities, our university is committed to promoting access for all. UTSA, a premier public research university, fosters academic excellence through a community of dialogue, discovery and innovation that embraces the uniqueness of each voice.
