The University of Texas’ fingerprints are all over the rise in competitive videogaming, aka esports, as a college sport. Texas has one of the oldest esports communities in academia — its flagship group Longhorn Gaming has won more than $100,000 in scholarship funds and recently celebrated its 10th anniversary.

Two years ago, in fall 2018, there were close to 3.2 million students in the U.S. enrolled in fully remote post-high school classes, representing roughly 17 percent of all students at that level. The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic flipped this ratio, forcing the vast majority of students into virtual classrooms and bringing remote learning to the mainstream of traditional education.

From humble beginnings to running the nation’s top pet destination, Cockrell School alumnus Sumit Singh has enjoyed an exceptional career marked by perseverance and integrity — two important characteristics of a leader. In early fall, Sumit sat down with us to share his thoughts on leadership, business and what it really means to be a Texas Engineer.

Engineers across all disciplines in the Cockrell School are applying their expertise to the problem in any way possible. Nearly eight months since the pandemic took hold in the U.S., an ever-growing cadre of research projects have been funded and are on track to produce something to improve the quality of care and life during this COVID era.