Audrey Gray

Communications & Marketing Strategist

Writing for Web & Print

I have years of experience writing news articles, press releases, brochures, web pages and other copy. I've done extensive writing and content management for the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA), the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT), and The New School.

JoAnn Browning pivots to a leadership role in natural hazards research network

UTSA research has been on an upward trajectory for several years, with expenditures exceeding $100 million for four consecutive years. Under Browning’s leadership, the UTSA research enterprise grew to $152.3 million in expenditures in FY 2023, up 7.5% from $141.7 million the previous year ($158.5 million counting unrecovered indirect funds). Research expenditures are on track to reach record highs again in FY 2024.
Browning spearheaded several key initiatives during her time as interim vice pre...

UTSA receives $2.8 million grant to train bilingual teachers

“We heard from multiple stakeholders and there was a resounding demand for this type of career preparation,” said Lorena Claeys, director of the UTSA Academy for Teacher Excellence (ATE) Research Center and principal investigator on the project. “District representatives expressed a great need for certified bilingual teachers and the need for a pathway for paraprofessionals to enter those roles.”
The San Antonio Independent School District (SAISD) began an initiative in 2016 to expand bilingual...

APLU Place Award recognizes UTSA’s growing economic and community impact

Former HUD Secretary, San Antonio Mayor and City Councilman Henry Cisneros spoke to SURE participants at the program’s first graduation.

NOVEMBER 21, 2024 — UTSA was named a winner of the Innovation & Economic Prosperity (IEP) Place Award by the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU) at its annual meeting in Orlando last week. The award recognizes the university’s exemplary initiatives...

Students will get their hands dirty in real-world STEM research module

Students participating in the module will collect soil samples from the San Antonio area and analyze soil data to potentially find new antibiotics. Students will then contribute their findings to a global database managed by the Tiny Earth Initiative, an organization that supports student research in pursuit of more effective antibiotics.
“Over 60% of clinically used antibiotics come from soil bacteria, but as soil erodes, so does the opportunity to discover new antibiotics,” explained Shields-...

Cybersecure manufacturing summit highlights fast-tracked technology transfer solutions

Established by the U.S. Department of Energy in 2020 to combat attacks in manufacturing and advance innovation and research in industrial security, CyManII is a national research institute that leads a consortium of industry partners, DOE National Laboratories and universities across the nation.
As a member of Manufacturing USA and as a part of UTSA’s National Security Collaboration Center, CyManII is dedicated to supporting the operational security needs of U.S. manufacturers by developing and...

UTSA’s MATRIX AI Consortium convenes national AI leaders for inaugural NSF workshop

EXAIL organizers from left to right: Stacy Cantu Pawlik, Jules Henry, Dhireesha Kudithipudi, Steve Brown, Vibhuti Gupta and Panos Markopoulos.

OCTOBER 17, 2024 — Researchers at MATRIX: The UTSA AI Consortium for Human Well-Being organized a two-day workshop in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, bringing together 100 national leaders in artificial intelligence from the National Science Foundation (NSF) AI Institu...

At UTSA, undergraduate research opportunities are key workforce entry points

Troutman was also mentored by M. Neal Guentzel, and he collaborated with Karl E. Klose and his lab. His primary focus was studying how innate components of the immune system protect against Vibrio cholerae, the bacterium responsible for cholera.
“My conversations and experiences with the research faculty at UTSA and my colleagues within their labs solidified my desire to attain graduate education and pursue research as a career,” said Troutman. “I learned how to think critically about experimen...

UTSA researcher launches software to help navigate statistics

“Coming from the humanities as an undergraduate, I struggled with learning statistics as a graduate student,” said LeBlanc. “Most difficult for me was connecting the statistical procedures needed for the particular research questions and hypotheses developed within my discipline. When I started teaching undergraduate research methods at UTSA in 2001, I was motivated to show students how to more directly connect theory and methodology to their particular application. My first attempt was a two-pa...

UTSA’s SBDC network continues a 40-year track record helping Texas businesses thrive

This expedited growth is enabled by a combination of one-on-one business advising, which is at no cost, and training workshops that deliver key skills and information needed to overcome common barriers to growth. The network aids businesses in clearing major hurdles such as developing a business plan, obtaining financing, exporting products and securing government contracts. For a business owner, cultivating these skills can determine whether a business survives, grows, or shutters its doors.
T...

UTSA Academy of Distinguished Researchers recognizes innovators

SEPTEMBER 19, 2024 — The UTSA Academy of Distinguished Researchers (ADR) has recognized the accomplishments of 12 faculty, including four new inductees and eight award winners.

Michael Cepek, UTSA College of Liberal and Fine Arts
Ruyan Guo, Klesse College of Engineering and Integrated Design
Harry Millwater, Klesse College of Engineering and Integrated Design
Sandra B. Morissette, UTSA College for Health, Community and Policy

Chaired by Hamid Beladi, the Janey S. Briscoe Endowed Chair i...

UTSA to support new DARPA-funded microelectronics manufacturing center

The UTSA-based lead on the project is Dhireesha Kudithipudi, the Robert F. McDermott Endowed Chair in Engineering and founding director of MATRIX: The UTSA AI Consortium for Human Well-Being. MATRIX AI is a research consortium engaging 85 faculty in the research and development of AI for applications that support human wellbeing. The center conducts research in four research thrusts, including the design of neuromorphic computing systems for improved functionality and energy efficiency in edge c...

FROM NEURONS TO POLICY: INVESTING IN BRAIN HEALTH RESEARCH FOR TEXAS FROM NEURONS TO POLICY: INVESTING IN BRAIN HEALTH RESEARCH FOR TEXAS

The Brain Health Consortium (BHC) is a multidisciplinary and collaborative research powerhouse dedicated to unveiling the inner workings of the brain to identify novel strategies to prevent disorders, promote development and restore and improve brain function. The center utilizes cutting-edge technologies to find answers to fundamental questions regarding the mechanisms of the brain and diseases such as Alzheimer’s and epilepsy.

Center for Dialogue & Deliberation promotes civil discourse in tumultuous times

“There is a lot of self-silencing,” Lewis said. “Students tell me that they avoid controversial topics with friends and family because the conversation can turn ugly quickly.”
Part of what makes disagreements increasingly challenging is that the U.S. is becoming more polarized, and this trend is happening faster than in other democratic nations, according to one study at Brown University. A common tactic in negotiation is to try to find common ground, but that becomes harder when two people — o...

UTSA named a finalist for two 2024 APLU Innovation & Economic Prosperity awards

“The Carlos Alvarez College of Business strives to build connections within our community that contribute to the San Antonio business ecosystem,” said Jonathon Halbesleben, dean of the College of Business. “Our SURE program provides a valuable service to both small business owners as well as our students who benefit from the experiential learning opportunity. We look forward to growing the program in the future.”
UTSA's Valdez Institute for Economic Development coordinates 10 public service cen...

Small businesses in Paraguay grow with support of UTSA economic development group

SBDCs increase the formalization, competitiveness and development of small and medium-sized businesses by providing technical assistance and training, which helps them obtain financing, identify new buyers and enter new markets. This boosts the quantity and quality of production, creating a positive feedback loop in which market demand can be met and, in turn, increased.
This mission will complement other programs and initiatives designed to boost the Paraguayan economy, which has been on an up...

UTSA among 11 universities tackling research security threats in new NSF-backed SECURE Center

The project leads hope that the center will shed light on a component of research that has historically been murky and hard to navigate.
"Currently, information is siloed, inconsistent, and changing all the time,” said Lori Schultz, UTSA senior associate vice president for research administration. “The research community needs access to real-time information, resources to ask questions and a place to connect with other institutions doing similar work. NSF calls upon us to conduct 'principled, i...

Through artificial intelligence, UTSA researchers build community resilience

“As urbanization accelerates, urban communities — particularly those predominantly comprised of racial and ethnic minorities — face unique and complex challenges, weakening the resilience of the community," Zhai said. “These include increased poverty rates, displacement, relocation, limited access to quality education, disparities in healthcare access, and substandard housing conditions.”
The project aims to alleviate these challenges by using responsible, foundational AI models and tools to cr...

UTSA researchers win nearly $800,000 from UT System to improve trauma care

Gonzalez Porras will serve as the principal investigator (PI) on a project to better control how fat cells in the body respond to cold temperatures. This method could be key to reducing injuries caused by cold exposure. Her hypothesis is that cold-induced injuries can be reduced or treated by increasing the body’s ability to produce heat. She and her research team will use a targeted nanomedicine capable of increasing heat-producing activity in white fat to prevent or treat frostbite injuries....

New leaders to further catalyze UTSA’s growth in research and development

Research expenditures at UTSA reached an all-time high in 2023, with the Cybersecurity Manufacturing Innovation Institute, Brain Health Consortium, South Texas Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases, and Texas Sustainable Energy Research Institute collectively accounting for 50.7% of that spending. UTSA houses 30 centers and institutes dedicated to research, innovation and economic development.
UTSA has also received numerous prestigious inductions and recognitions in the past year, including...
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