Dr. Michael Mauk named Chair of Neuroscience Department
Dr. Michael Mauk has been named Chairman of the Department of Neuroscience. Following accepting the position, Dr. Mauk penned a letter from the Chair:
Dear alumni, parents and friends of UT neuroscience,
It was my honor to take over as chair of the Department of Neuroscience this January. Thanks to my predecessors Rick Aldrich, and more recently Dan Johnston, the department has grown to be one of the more respected neuroscience programs in the country.
Through this growth we have hired some of the very best young neuroscience faculty available, setting us up nicely for a long tenure as a top-notch program. Among our 26 faculty we have many distinguished scientists, including a member of the National Academy of Sciences, and again, a host of the very best young faculty.
Our faculty members span the entire gamut of neuroscience research, ranging from those who work on molecules important for brain function, to the physiology of neurons and neuronal systems, and all the way to human performance and functional imaging. These faculty members are highly collaborative – one of the many ways that they are pushing back the boundaries of modern neuroscience inquiry.
Our research endeavors are enhanced greatly by our associated research Centers. These include the Waggoner Center for Alcohol and Addiction Research, the Center for Learning and Memory, the Center for Perceptual Systems and a new Center for Theoretical Neuroscience.
My goal as chair represents that of our entire faculty: to continue our ascent as a great research and teaching neuroscience department. We are constantly discussing and exploring better ways to define UT Austin as the premier neuroscience department in the world. We would most certainly value suggestions and ideas. Please feel free to contact me with either.
I have been associated with the University of Texas for 28 years. For the first 19 I was a faculty member at the University of Texas Medical School in Houston. I joined the Center for Learning and Memory and the UT Austin neuroscience community in 2007. Before coming to UT I received my PhD from Stanford University in 1985 and did post-doctoral training at the Stanford Medical School. The University of Texas has been my only employer throughout my academic career. I am deeply devoted to doing all that I can to make neuroscience at UT first rate in every way.
