UTSA Faculty Members Recognized by World Renowned Scientific Council | UTSA today | UTSA

James Chambers, Ph.D., is a professor in the Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology. A long-established biochemist with recognized national and international expertise, he specializes in the enzymology of inherited lysosomal storage diseases, the characterization of glycoconjugates, the function of receptor-mediated channels and the development of biosensor detection elements. . He is a member of the South Texas Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases. In 1992 Chambers established the first independent Ph.D. program at UTSA and trained its first two students. Chambers is honored for “the remarkable development of threat agent detection, his innovative contributions to the understanding of Francisella tularensisand the promotion of scholarship and scientific discovery in education and public awareness.


Aimin Liu

Aimin Liu, Ph.D., holds the Lutcher Brown Distinguished Chair in Biochemistry in the Department of Chemistry. His research group studies biological processes and chemical mechanisms based on metalloproteins. Liu has contributed to the understanding of oxygen activation by metalloenzymes and protein-based free radicals in electron/radical transfer processes in chemistry and biology. The chemistry, biochemistry, and biophysics communities value its interdisciplinary and highly productive research program, which has been well supported by the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation. Liu is honored for his “distinguished contributions to the fields of structural and mechanistic enzymology, particularly the chemistry of tryptophan metabolism, the biosynthesis of protein-derived cofactors, and the stabilization of charge resonance in the generation of protein radicals.


Angela Speck, Ph.D., is a professor of astrophysics and chair of the Department of Physics and Astronomy. She specializes in infrared astronomy and the study of space dust, including many aspects of the material ejected by dying stars. She is co-chair of the National Total Solar Eclipse Task Force, and has served as chair of the National Observatory for Optical Astronomy Users Committee and as a member of the American Astronomical Society Council. Speck is honored for his “distinguished contributions to the interdisciplinary understanding of the effects of stardust in our cosmos, as well as for his extensive services to the astronomical community and his outstanding public outreach.

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