Boston Chapter Explores Computational Science with ‘Game Changers’

By Rose Cahalan in Chapters, TXEX on June 14, 2012 at 9:27 am | No Comments

If you can’t bring the Exes to Texas, bring Texas to the Exes.

That’s the premise behind Game Changers on the Road, a lecture series that brings some of UT’s most dynamic researchers—along with UT President Bill Powers—to alumni in the cities where they live.

Inspired by the Longhorn Network’s Game Changers TV show, the series headed to Boston last week for a talk by Tinsley Oden, founding director of UT’s Institute for Computational Engineering and Sciences.

About 30 Boston-area alumni attended the June 8 event at the Boston Park Plaza Hotel & Towers. Oden spoke about the fundamentals of computational science, a field that harnesses computer power to revolutionize everything from heart disease treatments to applied math.

Valerie Pronio-Stelluto, BS ’78, especially enjoyed hearing the news that the UT regents have funded a new medical school for Austin.

“Here in Boston, there are four medical schools in the city alone,” says Pronio-Stelluto, who is on the faculty of Harvard Medical School. “And nationwide there is a need for more primary care doctors. So I think Austin is really due for this, and it’s very exciting news.”

Boston Chapter president Laura Cuthbert, BS ’83, Life Member, says the Game Changers event drew many new faces to the chapter.

“This event brought out a new group of people,” Cuthbert says. “It was great to meet alumni who are new to the area, as well as those who’ve been around for a while but weren’t as interested in attending football game-day watches.”

Cuthbert says Oden’s passion for research and scholarship was infectious. “It made many of us want to go back to school,” she says.

Game Changers on the Road heads to New York on Oct. 4, and a Houston event is in the works.

From left: Valerie Pronio-Stelluto, Bill Powers, Francis Cruz, Laura Cuthbert, and Tinsley Oden.

Photo courtesy Valerie Pronio-Stelluto.

Tags: boston chapter, Game Changers, game changers on the road, ices, tinsley oden