Paul A. Navrátil Young Researcher Award

Submissions are now closed for the inaugural selection and presentation of The Paul A. Navrátil Young Researcher Award.

This award honors the life and work of Paul A. Navrátil by recognizing University of Texas at Austin researchers who exemplify a passion for advancing knowledge, demonstrate innovative use of TACC resources, and excel across multiple disciplines.

About the Award

$2,500 award to be presented at the 2025 TACCSTER Symposium

The application requires the following:

  • Status (undergraduate or graduate)
  • Class (Sophomore, Junior, Senior, etc., or 1st year, 2nd year, 3rd year, etc.)
  • Major / Department / School
  • PI on Research Project
  • Link to published project
  • Letter of recommendation from a senior author on the published project
  • Short research statement (1000 words max)
     

    Your research statement should be used to describe your role in the published project. Please address the following areas:

    • Your research objective(s)
    • Your application of TACC’s high performance computing systems and their role in achieving your research objective(s)
    • Innovative aspects of the work (especially pertaining to the approach)
    • How the research will advance knowledge and understanding within the field of study
    • How this work has helped support your academic and career development

    Any graphs or charts included in your research statement will not be included in the word count. Please upload your research statement as a single PDF named LastName_FirstName_RS (EX: Smith_John_RS.pdf).

Application must be completed by August 15, 2025 to be considered for selection.

Application Now Closed

Eligibility

  • The applicant must currently be enrolled full-time at The University of Texas at Austin, either as an undergraduate or graduate student
  • The applicant must have made substantial contributions to the design and implementation of a research project that has led to a peer-reviewed publication (published or accepted-for-publication journal article or conference proceeding) within the previous two years. The applicant must be listed as an author on the publication, and their role in the project must reflect intellectual leadership, technical innovation, and interdisciplinary expertise.
  • The applicant must have actively used TACC’s high performance computing systems to achieve the research objectives described in the publication. The work should involve large-scale computation or advanced technologies in a manner that would not have been possible without access to TACC’s resources.
  • The applicant must be able to attend the 2025 TACCSTER Symposium in-person at the J.J. Pickle Research Campus to receive the award during a short ceremony on September 24th, 2025.

In Remembrance of Paul A. Navrátil

Paul A. Navrátil earned dual degrees from The University of Texas at Austin—a B.A. with honors in Plan II and a B.S. with honors in Computer Science—before continuing on to complete both his M.S. and Ph.D. in Computer Science at UT Austin. As a student, Paul was deeply involved in campus life, earning multiple awards and contributing to numerous organizations. Among these, his membership in the Tejas Club held particular significance. He remained actively engaged with the club as an alumnus, eventually serving as President of the Tejas Foundation.

While still pursuing his graduate studies, Paul joined the Texas Advanced Computing Center (TACC), where he built a distinguished career. Over the years, he rose through the ranks to become Director of Visualization and later Director of Strategic Technologies. In addition to his role as a Research Scientist at UT, Paul also served as adjunct faculty in the Plan II Honors Program and worked independently as a consultant in intellectual property—bringing technical expertise and strategic insight to every endeavor.