The University of Texas High-Resolution X-ray Computed Tomography Facility

01/24/2024

The University of Texas High-Resolution X-ray CT Facility (UTCT) will host a short course on the fundamentals of acquisition, visualization, and analysis of high-resolution X-ray CT (HRXCT) data for biological and paleontological specimens April 17-19, 2024 in Austin, TX.

This short course will present an overview of the acquisition, interpretation, 3D visualization and analysis of HRXCT data. This will be followed by hands-on training focused on 3D visualization, surface extraction, and segmentation (e.g., endocasts, digital dissection) including deep learning. Covered programs include ImageJ, Avizo, and Dragonfly.

This course is sponsored in part by NSF and funds are available to help cover the cost of attending. There is no charge to attend. Due to high interest in the course we will not be able to accept all applicants. Preference will be given to applicants who have or will have HRXCT data and have a demonstrated need for immediate application of the skills learned. Students and early career researchers receive priority. Participants are invited to bring their own HRXCT data, or to have specimens scanned (at a significant discount) at UTCT prior to the course.

To apply please email an application statement (limit of ~300 words) to Jessie Maisano ([email protected]) no later than Friday, February 16 that briefly outlines:
1. Relevant biographical information (including your academic affiliations and your status as student or faculty/staff);
2. The type of sample(s) that you plan to analyze and your research objectives;
3. Whether you have sample(s) that you would like to have scanned at UTCT, or already have HRXCT data ready to analyze.

11/20/2023

Ep. #76 of Ethan Baxter's "Every Rock has a Story" is out! This episode is titled: "Dino Egg X-Ray" and features our own Dr. Jessie Maisano! Watch while her and Dr. Baxter explore what they found inside a dinosaur egg - if it's really an egg at all!

Want to know what's inside? Think there might be a baby dinosaur in there? Let's dive in to the real fossil egg by using powerful X-rays!

This is part of Season Four of "Every Rock Has A Story". This season is all about “Life’s Relationship with the Earth”. Hosted by Dr. Ethan Baxter, Boston College Professor of Earth and Environmental Sciences, each 10-15 minute episode conveys the story of a rock with topics spanning oceans, volcanoes, fossils, outer space, climate change and more.

Want to know what's inside a dinosaur egg? Think there might be a baby dinosaur in there? Let's dive in to the real fossil egg by using powerful X-rays! E...

07/29/2023

This week we hosted our third and final short course for the summer. We welcomed 13 participants, from undergraduate to professor, from 11 institutions and 2 countries, for 3 days of intense instruction on the acquisition, visualization, and analysis of CT data for biological and paleontological specimens. We also managed to fit in some Indian cuisine and the best bat viewing EVER on Lady Bird Lake! Thank you, National Science Foundation, for funding these opportunities. Last one for the summer -- we're pooped!

07/18/2023

Had a blast hosting both Geology and 'Research Traineeship Experience' short courses here at The University of Texas Jackson School of Geosciences. It's always great to teach others the ins and outs of µCT analysis. We're looking forward to our Biology and Paleontology focused course next week!

05/31/2023

What a week! Last week UTCT successfully hosted the 4th ToScANA (Tomography for Scientific Advancement North America) symposium, with more than 110 delegates (first pic), as well as the first NoCTURN (Non-clinical Tomography Users Research Network) All-Network In-person meeting, with more than 60 attendees (second pic), right here in the Jackson School of Geosciences. The former brought the science and the latter brought the nuts and bolts of helping a larger, more diverse audience do that science. Thanks again to the ToScANA sponsors (Zeiss, ORS, Nikon, Thermo Fisher, syGlass, Reactiv'IP, Volume Graphics and Tescan) and the National Science Foundation for making it all possible!

03/07/2023

Last week Anne Weil from Oklahoma State University VertPaleo visited with the skull of a Cretaceous mammal ( ) to image. These data will reveal information about the nose, ears, and cranial giving more insight into this extinct group of early mammals.

02/23/2023

NASA selected a UT lab as an inaugural facility for planetary science research, providing funding to the lab and promoting collaboration between scientists across the United States. The UT High-Resolution X-ray Computed Tomography Facility hosts two powerful X-ray scanners used to capture images of....

01/26/2023

A variety of facilities are available to support investigators conducting planetary science research. The listed facilities are now, or have been in the past, supported by the Planetary Science Division (PSD) following peer review. Information on each facility including types of access, fee structur...

01/26/2023

Earlier this week, Yara Haridy from The University of Chicago was visiting the lab and she brought a wide selection of Devonian and Cambrian fossils to scan. Yara’s samples ranged from tiny ~1mm fragments up to 15-cm-wide blocks, including a beautifully prepared Bothriolepis canadensis specimen that she’s holding in these pictures. Yara’s focus is using uCT to look for evidence on the origin of ossification in the Cambrian Period.

08/02/2022

The remains of two mammoths discovered in New Mexico show that humans lived in North America much earlier than thought.…

07/21/2022

Analysis suggests that the cold-blooded ancestors of mammals evolved faster metabolisms in the Late Triassic period, roughly 230 million to 200 million years ago.

07/18/2022

We just wrapped up the latest oUTCT 3-day short course, a collaboration between UTCT, , , and . It was so great to have this in person and see everyone face-to-face! Eleven participants from three countries joined us to learn about scanning, data processing, and visualization in and , and how to use as a data source/repository. We learn almost as much from our short course participants and their research as they do from us! Our next oUTCT short course will take place August 8-10th; looking forward to meeting the class!