The College of Natural Sciences welcomes a number of new tenured and tenure-track faculty members to campus this fall. Whether determining the best ways to help disadvantaged families become stronger or examining prevention-based interventions that help communities, these industrious and trailblazing scientists build on the college's reputation for cutting-edge research and research-based teaching.


The Department of Human Development and Family Sciences has two new tenure-track faculty:

Elma Lorenzo-Blanco
Assistant Professor

Lorenzo-Blanco's research investigates how issues related to culture, ethnicity, gender, family, and media influence the health and well-being of Latinx youth and families in the United States and Latin American countries. The long-term goal of her work is to develop social justice-oriented preventive interventions to improve Latinx health and well-being. Lorenzo-Blanco earned her Ph.D. in clinical psychology and women's studies from the University of Michigan. She then spent time as an assistant professor in clinical/community psychology at the University of South Carolina, before joining the faculty at UT Austin.


Hannah Williamson
Assistant Professor

Williamson's research focuses on strengthening families, particularly among under-served groups, including low-income and ethnic minority couples. She conducts basic and applied studies that examine relationship processes and test various theoretically-derived intervention strategies for disadvantaged couples. Williamson received her B.A. in psychology from the University of Rochester in 2008 and her Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the University of California, Los Angeles in 2017. Her work has been funded by the National Science Foundation and the Administration for Children and Families, and recognized by various organizations, including the American Psychological Association, Psi Chi, APA Division 1 (General Psychology), APA Division 12 (Society of Clinical Psychology) and the Society for a Science of Clinical Psychology.