Three Hagler Fellows to collaborate with Texas A&M AgriLife agencies

Three of the 14 Hagler Fellows selected from the largest class to date for the Hagler Institute for Advanced Study at Texas A&M University will be collaborating with Texas A&M AgriLife entities.

The institute selects its Hagler Fellows from among top scholars who have distinguished themselves through outstanding professional accomplishments and significant recognition. Hagler Fellows will collaborate with faculty, researchers and students across multiple campuses, colleges, schools, institutes, units and agencies within the Texas A&M research enterprise.

The Class of 2022-23 includes a Nobel Prize laureate as well as a Hagler Distinguished Lecturer. This 11th class includes scientists, engineers and scholars who are recognized internationally for their achievements. Each belongs to the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine, or holds recognitions of equal stature in their field.

“Entering its second decade, the Hagler Institute continues to have an extraordinary impact on the Texas A&M research community by attracting yet another class of outstanding new Fellows,” said John Sharp, chancellor of The Texas A&M University System. “Working in tandem with the Chancellor’s Research Initiative, the institute continues to shape the future of Texas A&M by attracting the world’s brightest minds to our campus and—in many cases—adding them to the ranks of our exceptional permanent faculty.”

Hagler Fellows collaborating with Texas A&M AgriLife

The three Hagler Fellows working in collaboration with Texas A&M AgriLife entities are:

— David Zilberman, Distinguished Professor in the Agricultural and Resource Economics Department of the University of California at Berkeley.

Zilberman, who will be in the Department of Agricultural Economics, will collaborate with faculty, researchers and students as well as with colleagues at the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, and across the Texas A&M campus.    

Zilberman is holder of the Robinson Chair at U.C. Berkeley and is best known for his work in agricultural and environmental policy and the economics of innovation and risk management. He is also noted for his work on water, biotechnology and climate change.

He is a Wolf Prize laureate and member of the National Academy of Sciences and European Academy of Sciences and Art. Zilberman is also a fellow of the Agricultural and Applied Economics Association and a fellow of the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists. 

Zilberman said he is especially committed to expanding his research on supply chains and applying it to industries in Texas and elsewhere. His research through the Hagler Institute will include studying the supply chain of Texas’ agricultural products, particularly cattle, cotton and vegetables, as well as its water supply.

“I have always admired Texas A&M’s diverse strengths in most areas of applied economics and have been intrigued by Texas’ agriculture and economy, so coming to College Station will enrich my work and help me start new partnerships,” he said. “I am looking forward to making new friendships and partnerships and enjoying this new adventure for years to come.”

— Lawrence Que Jr., Regents Professor in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Minnesota.

Que will collaborate with faculty and students in the Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics. He will also collaborate with faculty and students in the College of Arts and Sciences. 

Que is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and a fellow in the American Chemical Society. He has received the American Chemical Society’s Alfred Bader Award in Bioorganic or Bioinorganic Chemistry and the Royal Society of Chemistry’s Inorganic Reaction Mechanisms Award. He also has received the International Award from the Japan Society for Coordination Chemistry, the American Chemical Society’s Award in Inorganic Chemistry and the National Institutes of Health MERIT award.  

He is known for his work in understanding how non-heme iron centers activate oxygen to carry out a diverse array of metabolically important reactions.

“I expect to be spending most of my time at Texas A&M during my visit in January and February interacting with colleagues and students in the Department of Chemistry,” Que said. “I have also chosen to mentor one of the students in that department.”

Que said he sees many possibilities in the intellectual exchanges with other researchers through the Hagler Institute and is excited about being in residence at Texas A&M.

“This visit will be my first stint at spending an extended period in residence at a university other than the University of Minnesota, where I have been for the last 40 years,” he said. “I look forward to this wonderful opportunity.”

— Donald Sparks, Unidel S. Hancock du Pont Chair in Soil and Environmental Chemistry and the Francis Alison Professor in the Department of Soil and Crop Sciences at the University of Delaware. 

Sparks will collaborate with researchers and students in the Texas A&M Department of Soil and Crop Sciences. 

His cross-disciplinary research has contributed not only to the field of soil science, but also to the fields of geochemistry, environmental chemistry and environmental engineering.

Sparks is a fellow of the American Association for the advancement of Science, Soil Science Society of America, American Society of Agronomy, Geochemical Society of America and European Association of Geochemistry.

He received the Geochemistry Medal from the American Chemical Society, the Liebig Medal from the International Union of Soil Sciences, the Einstein Professor from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the Sterling B. Hendricks Memorial Lecturer and Medal from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service, the Environmental Quality Research Award from the American Society of Agronomy, and the Pioneer in Clay Science Award from the Clay Minerals Society.   

Sparks’ research focuses on how toxic metals and plant nutrients are bound in soil to help accurately predict how easily contaminants can leach into the water supply and to determine the toxicity and bioavailability to plants, animals and humans.

His research while a Hagler Fellow will include investigations using advanced molecular scale tools, especially synchrotron-based approaches, to explore phosphorus cycling in soils under varying climatic conditions, soil rhizosphere and exudate chemistry. It will also involve studying novel approaches to remediate contaminated soils.   

“The opportunity to explore research frontiers in the soil science area with Dr. Julie Howe and other faculty in the Department of Soil and Crop Sciences is an exciting opportunity,” Sparks said. “I am also thrilled to help mentor bright graduate students in the department and to offer lectures on cutting-edge soil and environmental science research, and to offer a workshop on professional and career development to students.”

The remaining 2022-23 Hagler Fellows

— John Michael Cullen, Distinguished Professor, associate in the toxicology faculty and adjunct senior researcher, College of Veterinary Medicine, North Carolina State University.  Cullen will collaborate with faculty, researchers and residents in the School of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences.

— Guy Bertrand, Distinguished Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California San Diego. Bertrand will collaborate with faculty and students in the College of Arts and Sciences.

— Hui Cao, John C. Malone Professor of Applied Physics, Yale University. Cao will collaborate with researchers in the Institute of Quantum Science and Engineering.

— Odile Eisenstein, director de Recherche CNRS Emeritus at the Institut Charles Gerhardt Montpellier, CTMM group Universite de Montpellier and Hylleraas Center for Quantum Molecular Science, University of Oslo. Eisenstein will collaborate with faculty, researchers and students in the College of Arts and Sciences, the Laboratory of Molecular Simulation, High Performance Research Computing and Advanced Computing Enablement.

— Dimitar Filev, Henry Ford Technical Fellow, Ford Research and Innovation Center. He will collaborate with faculty, researchers and students in the College of Engineering and across the university.

— Howard Frumkin, senior vice president, the Trust for Public Land and professor emeritus of Environmental and Occupational Sciences, University of Washington School of Public Health. Frumkin will collaborate with faculty, researchers and students in the School of Public Health.

— Sebastian “Bas” Jonkman, professor and holder of the Integral Hydraulic Engineering Chair, Delft University of Technology, Netherlands. He will collaborate with faculty, researchers and students at Texas A&M University at Galveston and the Institute for a Disaster Resilient Texas.

— Mark O’Malley, Leverhulme Professor of Power Systems, Imperial College London.. He will collaborate with faculty, researchers and students in the College of Engineering.

— Jean-Paul Rodrigue, professor, Department of Global Studies and Geography, Hofstra University. He will collaborate with faculty, researchers and students at TAMUG and the College of Engineering.

— Madhavi Sunder, Frank Sherry Professor of Intellectual Property, Georgetown Law Center. Sunder will collaborate with faculty and students at the School of Law and the College of Arts and Sciences.

— Michael Young, Richard and Jeanne Fisher Professor and head of the Laboratory of Genetics, Rockefeller University. Young received the 2017 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. He will collaborate with researchers in the College of Arts & Sciences as well as other disciplines across the university.

About the Hagler Institute for Advanced Study

The Hagler Institute for Advanced Study was established in December 2010 by The Texas A&M University System Board of Regents to build on the growing academic reputation of Texas A&M and to provide a framework to attract top scholars throughout the nation and abroad for appointments of up to a year. The selection of Hagler Fellows initiates with faculty nominations of National Academies and Nobel Prize-caliber scholars who align with the existing strengths and ambitions of the university. To learn more, visit hias.tamu.edu.

Adapted from a story by Texas A&M Today.