The Oden Institute hosted the Grainger Foundation's Frontiers in Engineering Symposium Sept. 21-24. The event is a signature activity of the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) for early career engineers. From left to right: Karen Willcox, Oden Institute Director; attendees at breakfast; and NAE President Tsu-Jae Liu.

This month’s newsletter celebrates both the scope and impact of Oden Institute research and the people behind it. Congratulations to Joshua Burby and Tan Bui-Thanh, who are part of a team recognized with a Google.org Impact Challenge: AI for Science award for fusion energy research. This award strengthens our partnership with the Institute for Fusion Studies and our work in computational energy.

In recognition of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, we are excited to announce this year's seed projects with the Joint Center for Computational Oncology and share a story about virtual clinical trials for breast cancer. In addition we feature profiles of one of our Peter O’Donnell Jr. postdoctoral fellows, a member of our administrative staff, and a former Moncrief Intern.

We are in the application acceptance period for many of our programs for the 2027-2028 academic year, including the Peter O’Donnell, Jr. Postdoctoral Fellowship, the Computational Medicine Portfolio program, and the CSEM Graduate Program.

Upcoming events include the Joint Center for Computational Oncology annual retreat to be hosted at TACC on Oct. 22-23. In December, we're excited to partner with Dell Medical School and Dell Children's Ascension Hospital for the 2026 Pediatric to Adult Cardio AI Conference: Digital Twins. 

We encourage you to stay engaged with the Oden Institute through our upcoming events and seminars posted here. 

New Funded Projects from Joint Center for Computational Oncology Integrate Predictive Digital Twins to Improve Patient Outcomes

Since its founding in 2020, the JCCO has funded 29 projects that pair UT Austin and MD Anderson researchers with resources at the Texas Advanced Computing Center.

Testing Treatments Before the Trials: Oden Researchers Build Virtual Clinical Trials for Breast Cancer

Researchers in the Center for Computational Oncology are devising virtual clinical trials with a goal in cutting delays and high failure rates that plague real-world trials today.

UT Wins Award from Google.org to Apply AI in Fusion Energy Research

UT Austin was selected as one of just 17 recipients worldwide for Google.org support to build AI models that speed up fusion reactor design.

Building Safer Encounters Between Humans and Autonomous Systems - Profile Jingqi Li

Jingqi is a second year Peter O'Donnell Jr. Postdoc Fellow working with the Center for Autonomy, building algorithms that help autonomous systems predict what the humans and machines around them will do next.

Stumbling Into a Calling - Profile Lynnlee Harrell

Lynnlee, Oden’s Senior Human Resource Coordinator, brings a people-first approach for the Institute’s faculty and staff.

Beyond the Numbers: UT Student Builds a Future in Computational Research - Profile Fiona Romanoschi

Fiona is a former Oden Institute Moncrief Intern who works with the Willcox Research Group on ice sheet research. Learn about her determination and focus that won her two major scholarships.

Pioneering the Future of Heart Health: Cardio AI Conference

The Pediatric to Adult Cardio AI Conference: Digital Twins will be held Dec. 10-12. Co-organized by Charley Taylor, director of the Center for Computational Medicine, Dell Medical School and Dell Children's hospital.

JTO Visitors

Alexey Onufriev, professor of computational biophysics and computer science at Virginia Tech, will be visiting Oct. 19 - Nov. 3, 2026. He is hosted by Dima Kozakov, Oden Institute principal faculty.

Finbar Argus, research fellow at the Auckland Bioengineering Institute at the University of Auckland, will be visiting Oct. 26 - Nov. 6, 2026. He is hosted by Charley Taylor, Oden Institute principal faculty and Karen Willcox, Oden Institute director.

Learn more about the J.T. Oden Faculty Fellowship Research Program here.

Media Mentions

The Center for Autonomy was featured on the Korean Broadcasting System (KBS), South Korea’s national public broadcaster, on October 17, 2026. The segment featured Ufuk Topcu, director of the Center for Autonomy at the Oden Institute, and researchers Michal Podolinsky, Pranay Samineni, and Jaehan Im.

During the visit, the KBS crew interviewed Professor Topcu and filmed demonstrations of autonomous robotic platforms, highlighting ongoing research, supported by the Office of Naval Research, into the dynamic certification for autonomous systems. The segment is available on YouTube, beginning at 26:48.

Translation of image caption: "We should keep in mind that autonomous systems will also evolve in response to people’s expectations and changes in their surroundings."