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Texas A&M University is home to many of the best scholars in the world. To celebrate and share the impact of our faculty, we are hosting a half-day program that includes networking opportunities for high impact faculty to build community, enhance career success and amplify the reputation of Texas A&M University. Attendees will include Texas A&M's current prestigious award winning faculty members along with faculty identified by their academic units and colleagues as 'rising stars' in academia, research and service.

Join us at IMPACT - Innovation, Mentoring, Purpose, Aspiration and Community at Texas A&M

Why IMPACT is Important

Visibility

Elevating campuswide visibility and awareness of innovative work being done by early-to-mid-career faculty members.

Community Building

Creating an environment for cross-campus networking and foundations for interdisciplinary collaborations.

Professional Development

Enhancing the resources and development program made available to Texas A&M faculty.

Driving the Texas A&M Mission

Providing faculty the platform to set the standards of academic rigor and developing new knowledge.

IMPACT 2025 Facilitated Networking
IMPACT 2025 Facilitated Networking

IMPACT 2025 Schedule of Events

Wednesday, October 29
AgriLife Center and Pavilion
11:30 a.m.-12:40 p.m. - Lunch and Keynote Speaker Dr. Mark Benden
12:40-1:00 p.m. - Break and Gather
1:00-2:10 p.m. - Facilitated Networking for Excellence
2:10-2:30 p.m. - Break
2:30-4:30 p.m. - Research Flashtalks
4:30-5:00 p.m. - Debriefing
5:00-6:00 p.m. - Reception at the Pavilion
6:00-8:00 p.m. - Prestigious Awards Ceremony (View 2025 Honoree List)
IMPACT 2025 Flash Talks
IMPACT 2025 Flash Talks

2025 IMPACT Keynote Speaker

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Dr. Mark Benden
Department of Environmental & Occupational Health
School of Public Health

Dr. Mark Benden serves as the director of the Texas A&M University Center for Worker Health, as a professor and the head of the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health in the Texas A&M School of Public Health. He is also a faculty fellow with four other health-based centers as well as an affiliated professor in departments of Multidisciplinary and Industrial & Systems Engineering. Dr. Benden's research interests are office worker obesity, classroom ergonomics and childhood obesity, medical device development and testing, and sedentary behavior and intervention.

Dr. Benden holds 26 U.S. patents with more pending, and he has licensed five products to four companies during his time at Texas A&M University. He led and sold two faculty startups and is currently working on his third, Humanate Digital, Inc. Dr. Benden has authored many articles, books and book chapters on ergonomics and has lectured for multiple professional groups throughout the United States, Canada, Europe, the Caribbean and Central and South America. He has received numerous awards and recognitions for his academic work, most recently being named a fellow of the National Academy of Inventors.

IMPACT 2025 Awards Ceremony
IMPACT 2025 Awards Ceremony