John Foster

Professor - @ut_pge, @UTAerospace, @OdenInstitute Co-founder and CTO - @daytum_io, developer of @equalsmathapp. Views my own.

[John Foster @johntfoster]

I'm teaching a graduate course in "Theoretical and Computational Geomechanics" this semester. I'll plan on posting my lectures here on 𝕩. As new lectures are available, I'll post them to this 🧵.

This is the first time I've taught the course since 2015, so I'm taking the opportunity to remake and post new video lectures that update the ones I've previously posted on YouTube.

[Michael Pyrcz🌻 @GeostatsGuy]

Today, Professor @johntfoster and I paddled 38 miles from the Gonzales Gravel Bar to Hochheim on the #Guadalupe River. It was my first long trip on the Guadalupe — a beautiful river full of life and constantly changing scenery.

With today’s paddle, we’ve now covered roughly 120 miles from San Marcos Springs on our journey toward the Gulf of Mexico/America. #Texas is amazing!

[Michael Pyrcz🌻 @GeostatsGuy]

Yesterday, Professors @GeostatsGuy and @johntfoster hosted the DIRECT Consortium annual meeting on the Forty Acres.

We had 18 technical talks delivered by 13 outstanding #Longhorn #PhD students, showcasing exciting work in #Energy #DataScience #AI #MachineLearning #Geostatistics and #DataAnalytics. I’m incredibly proud of this amazing graduate student team!

We welcome additional companies interested in joining DIRECT and partnering with us on impactful R&D. I’d be happy to discuss. #WhatStartsHere

[Michael Pyrcz🌻 @GeostatsGuy]

Over the past month, Professors @johntfoster and @GeostatsGuy (@UTAustin, @UT_PGE) paddled the entirety of Texas’ San Marcos River — 75 miles of incredible natural beauty and many serious challenges!

We covered it in four trips, including sections up to 25 miles long, battling rain, wind, log jams, rocks, and downed trees! Texas is amazing!

We followed the #Texas Canoe and Kayak Racing Association MAC1–MAC4 race routes, finishing by participating in the MAC4 night race this past weekend!

#paddling #Kayaking #Canoeing #SanMarcosRiver #TexasRivers #TexasPaddling #TCKRA #MACRac

[John Foster @johntfoster]

Just launched my handwritten calculus solver 📐

Write math naturally (no LaTeX, no typing) → instant symbolic answers

Free tier: 5 solves/day
Pro: $20/year (vs Photomath's $70)

https://t.co/iWIzYOHpeZ

#math #calculus #edtech @equalsmathapp

[Michael Pyrcz🌻 @GeostatsGuy]

9 PM on a Saturday at UT Austin—and the Energy AI Hackathon 2026 is still going strong! ⚡🤘

I’m incredibly grateful to co-host this inspiring event with @johntfoster.
With 300+ students signed up, it’s amazing to see so many #Longhorns spending their weekend learning, collaborating, and applying #DataScience to tackle an important subsurface energy challenge.

So proud of their curiosity, grit, and drive to solve real-world problems. #HookEm

[Michael Pyrcz🌻 @GeostatsGuy]

Prof. @johntfoster and I are excited to host the 6th Annual Energy AI Hackathon open to all @UTAustin students in @UT_PGE! Appreciation to hackathon architects Dr. Nataly Chacon-Buitrago and Dinghan Wang, and our departmental staff!

Over 300 #Longhorns have registered for a weekend packed with #DataScience workshops, creative problem solving, and real-world energy challenges.

One of my favorite moments: our Saturday afternoon mentor shift features many of my former PhD and undergraduate students, now successful engineers, returning to give back, mentor students.

[Michael Pyrcz🌻 @GeostatsGuy]

Today at 5 PM (ETC 2.136) on the @UTAustin campus, we’re hosting our first information session for the Energy AI 2026 Hackathon, co-hosted by @GeostatsGuy & @johntfoster.

The event is open to all current UT Austin students—both undergraduate and graduate!

This will be our 6th annual hackathon, which typically brings together 150+ Longhorns from across campus, 20+ industry mentors, and 6 executive judges from industry. The event is proudly supported by @UT_PGE Chair Matt Balhoff and our amazing staff.

This year, we’re excited to welcome our hackathon architects, Dr. Nataly Chacon Buitrago and Dinghan Wang!

Are you a current #Longhorn interested in learning and applying #DataScience to a challenging spatiotemporal, multivariate problem?

Come by today to learn more! 🧠⚡️

[Michael Pyrcz🌻 @GeostatsGuy]

Professor @johntfoster and Professor Michael Pyrcz (@GeostatsGuy) just completed their 2nd summer 5-half day high school hackathon with @CockrellSchool MITE program supported by @UT_PGE!

15 student teams took on an engineering energy #DataScience challenge! Appreciation to Kiersten Fernandez, senior program coordinator, and the many #Longhorn undergraduate councilors! #WhatStartsHere

[Michael Pyrcz🌻 @GeostatsGuy]

Excited to be co-hosting the @CockrellSchool High School Hackathon this week alongside Professor @johntfoster, with incredible support from our @UT_PGE department!

We’ve welcomed 56 high school students from across Texas and beyond to tackle a tough, real-world subsurface energy #DataScience challenge. Huge shoutout to Kiersten Fernandez (Program Coordinator) and her amazing team of undergraduate engineering counselors — true #Longhorns spirit in action!

Last night wrapped up at 9:30 PM, and the energy was still high. I’m seriously impressed by the dedication of everyone involved — from the high school students pushing their limits to the undergraduate engineering mentors guiding them through it all. It’s an honor to help promote engineering and, especially, the power of data science!

[Michael Pyrcz🌻 @GeostatsGuy]

Yesterday morning, I joined Professor @johntfoster from @UT_PGE & @UTAerospace for a paddle. A strong headwind made it even more challenging — and rewarding! Thanks for the great outing, John! #paddle #kayak

[John Foster @johntfoster]

Topic: 2nd Piola-Kirchoff stress

[John Foster @johntfoster]

I'm teaching a graduate course in "Theoretical and Computational Geomechanics" this semester. I'll plan on posting my lectures here on 𝕩. As new lectures are available, I'll post them to this 🧵.

This is the first time I've taught the course since 2015, so I'm taking the opportunity to remake and post new video lectures that update the ones I've previously posted on YouTube.

[John Foster @johntfoster]

Topic: Momentum conservation in the reference (Lagrangian) configuration

[Michael Pyrcz🌻 @GeostatsGuy]

Had an incredible time at the Data to Decisions #DataScience Workshop at @KFUPM @KFUPM_ENG, surrounded by brilliant professors and talented students!

Here’s some of the amazing visiting professors, Matti Lassas (University of Helsinki), Youssef M. Marzouk (MIT), Maarten de Hoop (Rice University), and John Foster (UT Austin). Truly an inspiring experience!