Dr. Lisa Piazza came to UTC in 2018 with a goal to help more students see themselves as researchers. As a first-generation college student, Piazza learned much of higher education as she went, often with the help of mentors who took the time to guide her. That perspective carries over into her work at UTC, where she aims to make research feel approachable rather than intimidating.
Master’s student April (A.P.) Horn turns undergraduate research into a future in teaching
With the start of the spring semester, December 2025 UTC graduate April Horn is now enrolled in Graduate School thanks to the Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship, a competitive National Science Foundation-funded fellowship that provides STEM graduates with a fully funded pathway to earn a master’s degree in secondary education from UTC in just 14 months.
A summer of social change: UTC student Erin Yenawine tackles big issues as part of research experience
A UTC rising junior is making beneficial change in Dallas neighborhoods. Erin Yenawine, a double major in political science and economics and Brock Scholar in the UTC Honors College, is participating in an eight-week Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program called “Data Science for the Social Good” at Southern Methodist University in University Park, Texas.