UTSA’s Academy Fellows Speaker Series resumes

National Academies members Sergio M. Alcocer, Berrien Moore III, Vicki L. Ruiz, Randall W. Poston and Inderpal Bhandari will speak at UTSA in the 2019–2020 series.

Oct. 31, 2019 — The Academy Fellows Speaker Series at UTSA resumes in November with a new slate of invited National Academies members and other prominent scholars. Presented by the Presidential Task Force on Research Excellence, the series aims to bring renowned academy fellows to present their internationally recognized scholarly work and innovation to the campus community. In turn, faculty, staff and students can engage and share their research passion and expertise. The series began in spring 2019 to mark UTSA’s 50th anniversary. 

Becoming a member of a national or international academy solidifies a researcher’s scholarly and professional accomplishments, celebrating not only their achievements but also their institution. Speakers represent a variety of disciplines that intersect with research specialties across the UTSA knowledge enterprise. 

“By bringing national academy members to discuss their research specialties and career paths, our goal is to forge new collaborations and alliances, further intellectual discourse and bring different perspectives on familiar and new topics to the UTSA community,” said Bernard Arulanandam, vice president for research, economic development and knowledge enterprise at UTSA. “We encourage everyone to come and support this critical series.” 

⇒ Explore UTSA’s Academy Fellows Speaker Series.
⇒ Learn more about the Presidential Task Force on Research Excellence.

Sergio M. Alcocer will kick off the series on Nov. 14 at the Downtown Campus with his presentation, The Role of Mexican and U.S. Universities: Societal Fatigue and Frustration in an era of Change. Alcocer is a research professor with the Institute of Engineering at the National Autonomous University of Mexico, a key UTSA research partner. He was inducted in 2017 into the U.S. National Academy of Engineering for improvements to the seismic safety of buildings in developing countries through improved design standards and government policies. 

The former undersecretary for North America in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Mexico, Alcocer worked to advance the country’s presence in the international arena and strengthen its ties across North America through trade, border infrastructure, investment, and educational and cultural exchanges. He is also founder and president of México Exponencial, a think tank for the development of public policy and strategies for embracing exponential technologies in Mexico. 

From that perspective, Alcocer will speak on the complex relationship between the U.S. and Mexico and the role of universities. He will examine human interaction across the border region, trade and value chain integration, security at large and shared management of ecosystems—all to illustrate the breadth and intensity of the intertwined relationship between our neighboring countries. Adding to that complexity is the convergence of technologies, the media’s role on people’s perceptions and decisions, society’s growing apathy and frustration, disparities in opportunities and development, the accelerating need to compete on the basis of knowledge and the global dynamism that pushes national identities aside. 

His public lecture will highlight the significant role that Mexican and American universities, like UTSA, can play in harnessing common opportunities, to build bridges between our societies, and for developing a region of shared prosperity and social well-being, all supported by education, research and innovation. 

The series will continue with four distinguished scholars in the spring semester [click each speaker's name to expand a description]:

— Sarah Hada

Celebrate UTSA’s 50th anniversary year and share social media posts about the 50th using the hashtag #UTSA50.

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