After leaving their native countries with their parents, three University of Houston students have been pursuing the American dream.

As recipients of three prestigious national scholarships and fellowships, Phuc Huynh, Azim Karim and Hassan A. Khalil are getting closer to making that dream a reality.

Huynh, an electrical engineering junior, received a Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship. Azim Karim, a graduating senior who majored in biology, received a Merage Foundation for the American Dream Fellowship. Hassan A. Khalil, a graduating senior who majored in biomedical engineering, received an Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi Fellowship and Award of Excellence.

“We are tremendously pleased that these students have received such national recognition for their outstanding work and creativity. I am delighted for them and for their families,” said Donald J. Foss, senior vice president for academic affairs and provost. “The University of Houston has many opportunities for undergraduates to obtain hands-on, individualized learning experiences. The success of these students is a testimony to them, primarily, but also to the faculty members who worked with them.”

Huynh, who immigrated from South Vietnam with his family, thought his chances of winning the Goldwater scholarship “was very slim because it’s a national competition,” he said.

The Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Foundation, established by the U.S. Congress to honor the late Sen. Barry M. Goldwater, selected Huynh and 322 other students to receive scholarships from 1,081 applicants.

Huynh credits his research experience with Ji Chen, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering, as one of the primary reasons he received a scholarship. The two are modeling an infrared bandpass filter that can be used to increase the efficiency of converting thermal energy to electrical energy.

“Huynh’s commitment and love of research make him a more-than-deserving recipient who will go on to represent the college well as he pursues his goals,” said Cullen College of Engineering Dean Ray Flumerfelt.

In addition to the $7,500 Goldwater scholarship, Huynh also was awarded the Provost’s Undergraduate Research Scholarship. After graduation, he plans to earn a Ph.D. in electrical engineering. He hopes then to attain a position at a university where he can teach and conduct research.

Karim, on the other hand, dreams of becoming a medical doctor, specializing in cardiovascular sciences, and performing clinical investigations into treatments for cardiovascular and metabolic disorders. His two-year, $20,000 Merage fellowship, which is given to promising immigrants, will bring him a step closer.

“Azim is an outstanding student, and he has given much of himself to the community,” said John Bear, College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics dean. “He is very deserving of this award, and we are proud that he is one our students.”

A native of Pakistan, Karim moved to Houston when he was an infant with his family. During his freshman year at UH, he volunteered for a medical relief mission in Costa Rica and Nicaragua.

That experience “taught me many things about practicing medicine that cannot be found in textbooks,” Karim said. “The task of providing medical relief to the villages is what I now believe to be the true essence of medical care: a community of physicians working alongside a volunteer staff to combat disease and partner with families to provide service to patients.”

While attending UH, his research experience included roles as research assistant with Baylor College of Medicine, Methodist Hospital’s DeBakey Heart Center and The University of Texas Health Science Center.

“Mr. Karim’s American dream is truly compelling,” said Marshall Kaplan, Merage Foundation for the American Dream executive director. “His record of academic success and his commitment to the community are outstanding.”

This is the second consecutive year that a UH student has received the Merage fellowship. In 2005, Mohamad Halawi, a native of Lebanon, was awarded the fellowship along with numerous other scholarships.

Karim’s fellow graduating senior, Khalil also has dreams of excelling in the medical profession. His $5,000 Phi Kappa Phi fellowship will fund his first year at The University of Texas Medical School of Houston. He was among 100 students nationwide to receive the fellowship and award.

“Receiving this fellowship is an honor for me personally, but it is also great to represent UH and the biomedical engineering program in this way,” Khalil said.

Khalil, who came to the Untied States from Iraq at the age of 16 with his family, is an award-winning researcher.

His research on the human vascular system allows for new experimentation in artificial organ control that aims to maintain important physiological parameters and makes experiments more flexible, easier, more predictable and less expensive. In 2005, his model of the circulatory system earned him a professional engineer’s fellowship from the American Society of Artificial Internal Organs.

“Hassan has been an outstanding student in our biomedical engineering program and, as the first person to receive an undergraduate degree from the program, is an excellent model for other students to follow,” Flumerfelt said. “What he has accomplished with his research into artificial hearts and circulation is of significant value and shows his strong potential for the future.”

Francine Parker
fparker@central.uh.edu