Etienne Vouga, an associate professor in the Department of Computer Science at the University of Texas at Austin, has received a 2024 Regents’ Outstanding Teaching Award for demonstrating outstanding classroom performance and innovative teaching. Vouga is one of 12 recipients this year from across the University of Texas system.
“Professor Vouga’s extraordinary dedication to his students and their academic success is inspiring,” said Rachel Mersey, interim executive vice president and provost. “There is no greater or better commitment that our faculty members can have than to their students. This award exemplifies the University’s commitment to teaching excellence and innovation, and I am delighted that Professor Vouga has been recognized for his efforts.”
Vouga constantly seeks to understand the learning experience from the perspective of his students. He is dedicated to furthering education, welcoming everyone to his courses and setting high expectations, but also teaching students the hard-wired and intangible skills necessary for success in the classroom and career. For example, he encourages his graduate students to relearn how to research resources and really understand and apply the work, themselves.
Given since 2008, the Regents’ Outstanding Teaching Award marks the UT System’s highest honor for teaching. It is presented annually to faculty members at each of the system’s academic and health institutions. Each recipient receives a certificate, a medallion and $25,000 in recognition of their positive impact on students and their institutions.
“Outstanding teaching is at the heart of our mission, and these award winners represent the highest ideals of education,” said UT System Board of Regents Chair Kevin P. Eltife. “By honoring these 12 educators, we are not only celebrating their achievements, but also strengthening the UT System’s role in preparing students to excel in and out of the classroom.”
Vouga joined the College of Natural Sciences at UT Austin in 2014, after earning her Ph.D. from Columbia University and completing his postdoctoral studies at Harvard University.
His research focuses on simulating the geometry and physics of thin elastic materials – such as cloth, hair and paper – as they are wrinkled, folded or squeezed. Combining his expertise in computer science, applied physics, geometry and numerical methods, Vouga develops more accurate, practical algorithms for simulating materials and interactively designing objects built from them. Special effects studios such as Disney and Weta Digital have used his work to create realistic motion and simulations in films such as Tangled and The Hobbit.
Vouga engages students in the classroom through energy and interactivity. His classes are known as places where students can ask questions, and he invites them to do so. This passionate commitment to the success of his students in the classroom often leads undergraduate and graduate students to join Vouga in his research pursuits. As a mentor, Vouga encourages intellectual curiosity and academic growth—guiding students how to approach and overcome problems and reassuring them when the research is difficult. It hosts academic reading groups within the department, offers graduate program advice, and promotes research opportunities on campus.
In addition to teaching each semester, he is the lead coach for the UT Austin chapter of the International Collegiate Programming Competition (ICPC)—a student organization that competes in teams of three against other universities to solve real-world problems using algorithmic programming.
“Professor Vouga has earned a reputation for inspiring students to continually deepen their learning while meaningfully engaging and exploring how best to get what they learn out into the world,” said David Vanden Bout, dean of the College. of Natural Sciences. “His respectful approach to students challenges them to stretch and deepen in computer graphics, while providing support along the way. I am thrilled to see this well-deserved recognition of his outstanding work in the classroom.”