Texas A&M: Hagler Institute Inducts 18 Fellows And One Lecturer During 2022 Gala
The Hagler Institute for Advanced Study celebrated 10 years of bringing Hagler Fellows to Texas A&M University during its annual gala in The Zone at Kyle Field.
This year’s gala formally inducted 18 new Hagler Fellows representing the classes of 2020-21 and 2021-22, plus one Distinguished Lecturer. (Last year’s gala was combined with this year’s due to the pandemic.)
“These two classes represent the very best in international scholarship,” said Founding Director John L. Junkins of the Hagler Institute. “Each of these Hagler Fellows will have a positive and permanent impact on our faculty, our students and on the culture of the Texas A&M campus.”
The institute selects its fellows from among the world’s top scientists, engineers and scholars. Each fellow belongs to the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine, or holds recognitions of equal stature in their fields.
Each collaborates with faculty members and students in one or more of Texas A&M’s colleges or schools.
“The Hagler Institute attracts an astounding variety of world-class scholars to our campus,” said Chancellor John Sharp of The Texas A&M University System. “In combination with the Chancellor’s Research Initiative, the Hagler Institute continues to attract many of these Hagler Fellows to our permanent faculty. By any measure, the Hagler Institute is one of Texas A&M’s great success stories.”
Between 20% and 25% of Hagler Fellows eventually join Texas A&M’s permanent faculty, Sharp said during his gala address.
“You honor us with your presence,” Sharp said to the newly inducted fellows. “When Dr. Junkins first mentioned his idea, he told me how this institute would inspire our students and faculty. That has been true from day one. There’s no institute like this anywhere in America and I am so proud to be a part of it.”
The May 20, 2022, induction brings the total number of past and present Hagler Fellows to 88.
“For more than a decade, the Hagler Institute has served as a beacon for attracting the world’s top scholars to collaborate with our outstanding faculty, researchers and students,” Texas A&M University President M. Katherine Banks said. “Congratulations to our newest Hagler Fellows and to Director Junkins for 10 years of outstanding leadership of the institute.”
Previous classes of Hagler Fellows have included two Nobel laureates, a Wolf Prize recipient, a recipient of the Hubble Medal in Literature for Lifetime Achievement, a recipient of the National Medal of Science, an awardee of the National Medal of Technology and Innovation, a two-time recipient of the State Prize of Russia and a recipient of both the National Humanities Medal and the Johan Skytte Prize, the most prestigious award in political science.
In addition, Junkins presented the first Dr. Frank J. Malina ’34 Renaissance Medallion Award to entrepreneur Paul Haskell Motheral, Class of 1952, for his contributions to economic development, music and philanthropy.
Junkins also presented the first Thunderbolt Award to Chancellor Sharp for his long-standing support of the Hagler Institute.
The gala attracted more than 280 attendees.