Texas A&M at Work: Nov. 17, 2025

Texas A&M at Work is a biweekly email designed to keep employees up to date on the most vital and relevant information, news and events across all Texas A&M University campuses.

Texas A&M prepares students to help others, even in the face of danger

Nicole (Mancuso) Castellano ’14 didn’t expect her experience in emergency medical training to be put to the test so soon after graduating from Texas A&M University’s nursing program in 2016. And especially not during such a devastating event: the 2017 mass shooting in Las Vegas.

“My heart was racing. I didn’t know what I was going to walk into,” Castellano recalled. “That was the scariest part, because you had no clue how bad it was going to be, what you were going to see and if it’s going to change you for what you see that night.”

Castellano was on duty the night of the shooting and was the only nurse on the emergency department floor who had received mass casualty training. Due to her experience as an undergraduate nursing student at Texas A&M, and despite having graduated only months before, she was placed in charge of fellow nurses to triage patients as they entered the emergency room. She treated nearly half of the 53 victims of the shooting who were rushed into the hospital that night.

READ MORE ABOUT Castellano’s experience

Texas A&M research team begins search for missing crew of WWII bomber

For some families, the end of World War II brought long-awaited reunions with returning soldiers. For others, it marked the traumatic realization that their loved ones were among the many still lost or missing.

Among those unaccounted for are the crew of a four-engined heavy bomber aircraft, B-17 Flying Fortress, that crashed into the depths of the Baltic Sea in 1943, sometime during the height of battle against the Nazis. Eight decades later, that same bomber was recently discovered by researchers from Texas A&M in an investigative project to help identify the aircraft and its occupants, in hopes of bringing closure to the descendants of the missing soldiers.

Led by Texas A&M nautical archaeologist Dr. Piotr Bojakowski, in collaboration with the U.S. Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA), the team traveled to Denmark in July for a mission launched from Kiel Bay, Germany, to identify and document the remains of the combat aircraft.

The effort is part of the DPAA’s global effort to locate and identify the remains of approximately 81,000 American service members still unaccounted for from past wars and marks yet another milestone in Texas A&M’s longstanding reputation as a leader in underwater archaeology.

READ MORE ABOUT THE Expedition

Texas A&M Hagler Institute announces 2025-26 Hagler Fellows and Distinguished Lecturers

The Hagler Institute for Advanced Study at Texas A&M announced 11 Hagler Fellows and two Distinguished Lecturers for its 2025-26 class. The institute will induct its Hagler Fellows for 2025-26 during its annual gala in February.

All Hagler Fellows and Distinguished Lecturers are recognized for outstanding achievements in their fields and are members of the National Academies or hold recognitions of equal stature. The newest class includes scholars recognized internationally for their achievements and scholarship, along with a four-time Grammy Award winner.

“This 14th class of Hagler Fellows continues the tradition of bringing world-class excellence, in all of her guises, to the university,” said John L. Junkins, founding director of the Hagler Institute. “This class brings 13 remarkable individuals with the highest levels of expertise in their very diverse fields who are proven difference-makers in elevating those they have worked with historically. We are delighted to welcome these stellar individuals to Texas A&M University.”

The fellows and lecturers will work closely with Texas A&M faculty and students during their appointments, which generally last up to one year for fellows and shorter periods for lecturers.

Since its inception, the Hagler Institute has attracted 161 world-class researchers to the Texas A&M campus: 146 Hagler Fellows and 15 Distinguished Lecturers. Of these, 16 have joined Texas A&M’s permanent faculty.

READ MORE ABOUT THE Hagler Fellows