College of Natural Sciences

The College, which celebrated its 20th anniversary during the 1989-90 academic year, was part of the College of Arts and Sciences until 1970. However, some components of the College -- mathematics, physics and chemistry -- existed since UT-Austin's inception.

The College has grown into 11 academic departments, one teaching division, 29 organized research centers, and three central user facilities. Students and faculty take advantage of this rich intellectual environment to investigate the full spectrum of modern natural sciences.

• Departments.

  Academic departments and research centers are clustered into five general categories: Life Sciences, including the Division of Biological Sciences and the Departments of Botany, Microbiology and Zoology; Physical Sciences, including the Departments of Astronomy, Chemistry and Biochemistry, and Physics; Mathematical Sciences, including the Departments of Computer Sciences and Mathematics; Earth Sciences, including the Departments of Geological Sciences and Marine Science; and Human Ecology, encompassing Nutrition and Child Development.

• Faculty

  The College's faculty is a distinguished group whose excellence is amply demonstrated by their success in obtaining research support from local, state and federal agencies. Consistently, faculty members in the College garner fully one-third of research funds granted to UT-Austin.

  Within the College, a leading role in the CAM graduate program is taken by the Mathematics Department which has more than one-quarter of the CAM faculty in its ranks. Its entire faculty is composed of 70 full-time members who are recognized nationally for their strength in teaching and research, including two MacArthur Award winners and past recipients of the Cole, Salem and Wiener Prizes. The department has strong programs in Algebra, Analysis, Topology, and Mathematical Physics. It also has one of the best department computer networks on campus, featuring an extensive array of mathematical software.