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SDCT's Top 10: Year in Review

Relive standout events, inspiring student work, and key milestones from the 2024–2025 academic year.

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Dozens of drones line a grassy hillside on the University of Texas at Austin campus at night, with more drones ascending into the sky above university buildings and the Tower glowing in the distance.

Drone Show Design Course Takes AET Students to New Heights

April 6, 2026

A new AET course is turning first-time drone pilots into confident visual storytellers, just in time for the Amplify showcase.

An aerial view of a winding river cutting through lush, terraced vineyards and rolling green hills. A white villa with red-tiled roofs sits among the vines, overlooking the valley, suggesting an international landscape connected to global research and collaboration.

AET Faculty Awarded Texas Global Grants to Advance International Creative Research

February 24, 2026

Texas Global

Michael Baker and Yuliya Lanina receive Texas Global grants supporting international creative research and collaboration.

A graphic podcast thumbnail featuring the text “Jessie Contour” and “The Third Space: Why Arcades Matter.” Two people are pictured on the left against a collage-style background, while bold black and yellow typography highlights the episode title. The design includes “Splitting Hairs Podcast with Tab Salsman” and episode number 56.

AET's Jessie Contour Explores Creative Technology in New Podcast Conversation

February 9, 2026

Splitting Hairs with Tab Salsman

Jessie Contour joins a new podcast episode to discuss creative technology, performance, and experimental practice.

A large crowd gathers in a dark performance space illuminated by vivid green, blue, and magenta laser beams that stretch across the room. DJs perform at tables along the wall while animated projections wash the walls in circular patterns, creating an immersive audiovisual experience that blends music, light, and digital art.

Students’ Work Set to Premiere at Upcoming On-Campus Rave

November 20, 2025

The Daily Texan

The Daily Texan spotlights Audio Pixel Collider, where AET student-built light, sound, and visuals take over campus in a rave-style showcase.

Two smiling speakers stand arm-in-arm in front of a large digital display with the words “Stay open to the magic” and medieval-style illustrations of gesturing figures.

Wordplay, the Medieval Way: The Origins of Dropcaps

October 29, 2025

What happens when a designer with a love of medieval studies meets a game developer who thrives on creative collaboration? You get Dropcaps: a mobile word game that combines ornate typography, clever gameplay, and a touch of history.

A person performs motion capture movements inside a circular boundary in a high-tech lab space. A bright pink digital skeleton overlay tracks their posture in real-time. Seated observers watch from the edge of the room, while cameras and sensors are mounted along the walls and ceiling.

Lab for Immersive Media Technology to help support more efficient, cost-effective ways of tracking human movement

October 8, 2025

UT College of Fine Arts

The Lab for Immersive Media is developing new tech to track human movement more efficiently—without the need for body sensors.

The UT Austin Tower at night lit with a projection mapping display of a retro-style video game, featuring blocks, ladders, and characters.

10 Iconic Tower Lightings Include AET Projection Project

September 19, 2025

UT News

UT highlights AET’s projection project among 10 iconic Tower lightings.

Student in western attire with braided hair and a white cowboy hat being interviewed live on TV about the University of Texas Marching Band. A bulletin board with Longhorn-themed photos and memorabilia appears behind her.

KVUE Features Arts and Entertainment Technologies Student Leading in the Longhorn Band

September 4, 2025

KVUE

AET student Hailey Hickerson shares how she balances her love for game design with her role as drum major for The University of Texas Longhorn Band.

Interior view of Verdant Gallery showing landscape and cloudscape paintings by AET faculty member Karen Maness. The room features cream-colored walls, wood floors, and exposed ceiling beams with track lighting.

New Austin Contemporary Art Space Showcases Work by AET’s Karen Maness

September 2, 2025

Tribeza

AET faculty member Karen Maness is among the featured artists at Verdant, Austin’s newest contemporary art gallery.

A mockup of two UT Austin coloring book pages against a burnt orange background

SDCT Students Bring UT to Life with Coloring Pages for National Coloring Book Day

August 1, 2025

UT News

Celebrate National Coloring Book Day with campus-inspired pages designed by UT students, including AET and Design seniors.