In the News
Researchers at Texas A&M University, led by professor Elaine Oran, constructed a 16-foot experimental setup at a fire training facility in Texas to test whether fire tornadoes could clean oil spills more effectively than conventional methods.
For a presidential administration, a White House app is “another way to communicate directly with the public — something that presidents never did prior to Teddy Roosevelt, but has become expected today,” said Jennifer Mercieca, a professor of communication at Texas A&M University and a historian of American political rhetoric. She noted that President Bill Clinton launched the WhiteHouse.gov website, which the new White House app draws on for content, while Obama created a portal for Americans to post petitions about issues they cared about.
Stopgap measures aren’t enough to halt rising gas prices as the world scrambles for more oil
The Associated Press • Apr 1, 2026“They’re all incremental,” said Mark Barteau, professor of chemical engineering and chemistry at Texas A&M University. “You’re talking about these different patches being at the level of maybe 1 to 2 million barrels a day each, and you’ve got to get to 20, so it’s hard to see those actually adding up to the numbers that are needed. And then the question is, how long can you sustain those?”
FuturityA rare group of neurons can reconnect broken spinal circuits and trigger leg muscle activity after spinal cord injury, according to new research.
AI dangerously close to solving test that only the brightest minds on Earth could: ‘Human expertise still matters’
The New York Post • Mar 30, 2026“Humanity’s Last Exam stands as one of the clearest assessments of the gap between AI and human intelligence,” declared Dr. Tung Nguyen, a computer science and engineering professor at Texas A&M who contributed 73 of the questions (the second most).
Aggie astronaut Fossum discusses his space days
The Eagle • Mar 30, 2026Several hundred people packed into one of the lecture halls in the Mitchell Physics Building on Saturday afternoon to hear Aggie astronaut Col. Mike Fossum talk about his experiences in space as well as his current job as chief operating officer of Texas A&M’s Galveston campus and superintendent of the Texas A&M Maritime Academy.
Researchers have discovered how intensely people react to making mistakes may be a predictor of anxiety-driven avoidance.
Iran’s Hormuz toll booth points toward an L-shaped price plateau, not the V-shaped recovery traders want
Fortune • Mar 28, 2026As a petroleum engineer, I am watching two ticking clocks that no amount of diplomatic pauses can reset. The first is a 25-day tank top threatening to freeze Middle Eastern production. The second is a 100-day sludge line that will poison the reserves oil-hungry nations are racing to drain. Beyond these thresholds, the global economy does not just slow down — it hits an engineering dead-end.
Dr. Elaine Oran, a professor of aerospace engineering at Texas A&M University, joined FOX Weather to discuss a groundbreaking approach researchers are developing to combat fires. Known as “fire whirls,” this innovative method offers a cleaner, safer way to burn off oil, presenting a promising solution for more efficient and environmentally responsible oil spill cleanup.
‘Big concern’: How the Iran war and Strait of Hormuz closure could drive up prices for helium, fertilizer and other goods
ABC News • Mar 23, 2026"The big concern is that petrochemicals are the foundation for a huge range of things we take for granted in everyday life. They have consequences for the entire supply chain,” Raymond Robertson, professor for trade, economics and public policy at Texas A&M University, told ABC News.