Biotech program gets a $372K boost from the governor

A $1 million grant from the Texas Workforce Commission, coupled with a $372,000 grant from the Office of the Governor’s Wagner-Peyser Program, will fund a new curriculum to train tomorrow’s biotechnologists at the UH Center for Life Sciences Technology. Emerging concepts like bioprocessing, biosecurity, and nanobiotechnology will frame the coursework leading to professional positions in the biotech industry and the Texas Medical Center. The UH courses will reflect cutting-edge technology so that students can meet future needs. The baccalaureate program may be ready to roll out of the College of Technology by fall 2007.

Gift makes college dreams a reality for Hispanic students

Getting a college education is the bottom line for students in the Center for Mexican American Studies (CMAS). Thanks to a $150,000 gift from longtime CMAS supporter Bank of America, sixteen students can make their dreams of earning a degree a reality. The Bank of America Fellows, most of whom are the first in their families to attend college, were chosen for their high academic performance, leadership qualities, and study habits. The gift also went toward tutoring and academic workshops.

Communication major named “Most Promising Minority”

You’re going to hear a lot more from Mahjabeen Kamal. She’s one of the American Advertising Federation’s Most Promising Minority Students—the first UH student to receive this honor. The communication major has been honing her craft throughout her undergraduate years and earned the AAF’s distinction for her creativity and experience. Before coming to the United States, Kamal was a news anchor for a Bangladesh radio station and an account executive for McCann Erickson Bangladesh. In Houston, she took advantage of internships at local advertising and television stations, and she even directed the development of a marketing campaign for the Recording Industry Association of America.

Undergrads NAB tree of nation’s top academic honors

These guys will never get lost in the crowd. They’re Cougar standouts who’ve distinguished themselves as rising stars in the medical and research fields—each garnering one of the most prestigious undergraduate honors in the nation.

Goldwater Scholar
Phuc Huynh’s research in the area of electricity and oil conservation earned him the title of Goldwater Scholar—one of the most highly competitive national honors available to undergraduates. Named for the late Sen. Barry Goldwater, the award provides $7,500 to sophomore or junior students who are majoring in math, the natural sciences, or engineering and who are planning to pursue a career in research.

Huynh’s modeling of an infrared filter that efficiently converts thermal energy to electrical energy earned him national acclaim. Next up for this South Vietnam native is his “true research love”—building effective hybrid engines to help conserve oil.

Merage Foundation for the American Dream Fellowship
Azim Karim, biology major and Pakistan native, received the two-year, $20,000 Foundation for the American Dream Fellowship—given to promising immigrant students. Karim is the second consecutive UH student to earn this national honor.

Karim served as a research assistant at The Methodist Hospital’s DeBakey Heart Center and at The University of Texas Health Science Center. He plans to pursue his dream of becoming a doctor, specializing in cardiovascular sciences.

Phi Kappa Phi Fellowship
Hassan Khalil, recent graduate, also looks forward to a career in medicine. He was honored with a Phi Kappa Phi fellowship, which he’ll use to attend medical school.

Born in Iraq, the UH biomedical engineering graduate is already an award-winning researcher. He collaborated with doctors at the Texas Heart Institute to research the human vascular system—earning recognition from the American Society for Artificial Internal Organs. Khalil is a first-year medical student at The University of Texas Medical School at Houston.

Students lend vision to urban bayous

Architecture and graphic communications students want to change the city’s perception of Brays Bayou. Instead of mud, muck, and mosquitoes, think bike trails, rainwater recycling ponds, and environmental centers.

The students lent their vision to “Project Brays Bayou” in Houston’s East End and its multimillion-dollar bayou-widening venture to make the bayou more beautiful and user-friendly. The result: student ideas for grooming the weed-strewn bayou shores near the UH campus into an enticing recreational space.

Under the direction of Associate Professor of Graphic Communications Cheryl Beckett and Associate Professor of Architecture Patrick Peters, one student designed an environmental center with information on recycling, the history of the bayou, and an observation tower. Another student added an area with a garden of native plants and a basketball court, along with details on alternative forms of energy. Another designed a cistern to demonstrate rainwater harvesting through ecological poetry.

The students presented their projects to the Harris County Commissioners Court and later displayed their models and designs at One Houston Center downtown.

Top: Wetlands Ecological Overlook, Caleb Joyce, Senior,
Graphic Communications, School of Art
Middle: Cistern as Rainwater Retention Kiosk, Linda Hoffman, Senior,
Graphic Communications, School of Art
Bottom: Amphitheater on Brady’s Island, Mickey Sommerfield, Senior,
Gerald D. Hines College of Architecture

Cougar returns from White House internship

Tyler Nelson earned a spot in the second most powerful office in the nation this spring. The political science and economics major was selected for a coveted White House internship, working in Vice President Dick Cheney’s office. The opportunity placed him in a position to work with the White House Advance, Political Affairs, and Internal Affairs teams and to have frequent interaction with the vice president. About 100 undergraduate and graduate students nationwide are awarded White House internships each year.

Technology, engineering revive art of the racecar

They have the need for speed and the skill to do it. UH engineering and technology students formed a chapter of the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE). Their mission:
to design and build a Formula-style racecar that will burn rubber against more than 100 international entries at the Formula SAE competition in the Motor City, Detroit.
More than an excuse to build a car, the privately funded project brings book lessons into the open garage to meld computer fabrication and design elements with the aerodynamic and aesthetic aspects of automotive engineering. The race for the checkered flag is planned for May 2007.

Student “Iron Chefs” converge on Hilton stage

The finest student chefs in the region converged on UH for an “Iron Chef-style” competition. The challenge: a gourmet masterpiece in four hours. Thirteen young Competition—an event sponsored by the prestigious Chaine des Rottisseurs, an international organization that promotes the culinary arts. With a mystery basket of groceries and spices, chefs were challenged to whip up dinner for four, complete with dessert. The Hilton College’s own Justin Yu placed fifth in the competition.

Papa’s gift boosts future business leaders

Leaders aren’t born; they’re developed—usually in outstanding academic programs. Leadership is not only taught in C.T. Bauer College of Business classrooms, it’s also learned through interaction with alumni who have achieved success in their careers. EOG Resources CEO Mark Papa (M.B.A. ’80) recently gifted $100,000 to create the Mark Papa Leadership Excellence Endowment. EOG Resources is matching his gift. Papa also committed his personal involvement to inspire Bauer students to fully develop their leadership potential.

UH, Introgen Therapeutics team to grow biotech professionals

Growing cells under glass will put UH on the fast track to growing new biotechnology professionals. The program began with a $130,000 donation of research equipment from Houston’s Introgen Therapeutics, Inc. Researchers with the UH Department of Engineering Technology will use the machinery to construct a bioreactor, which will allow students to grow and cultivate cells. This hands-on approach to biotechnology study is part of a two-year certification program at UH. At the end, students will be ready for careers in the biotech industry.

Cougar named Texas’ student teacher of the year

Although her young students respectfully call her Miss Khawaja, Fatyn Khawaja also is known as the Texas Student Teacher of the Year. The spring 2006 College of Education graduate received the honor from the Texas Directors of Field Experiences, a professional organization that supervises the placement of future teachers in hands-on experiences in classrooms. Khawaja was a student teacher in the Galena Park Independent School District during the spring semester. She was judged on her planning and preparation of lessons, knowledge and presentation of materials, communication to students, interaction with and inclusion of students, and class management.

Biomed students team with Med Center mentors

Students, alongside a mentor in their chosen field, developed research papers, presentations, and posters—some of which were presented at national meetings and published in peer-reviewed journals. Matthew Franchek, director of the UH biomedical engineering program, calls the internship “just-in-time” learning—a reinforcement of the theory learned during the year, coupled with the application of the research during the summer.

Ralph Metcalfe, mechanical engineering professor, explains how medical technology can be used to identify brain aneurysms before they cause strokes.