SECME Students Compete in Mousetrap Car Races
(June 29, 2004) Nisarg Patel, Michael Lieder and Nickolaus Schlegel from Basha Elementary School in Arizona participate in a Mousetrap Competition June 28 at the 28th Annual SECME Summer Institute hosted by the UH Cullen College of Engineering. SECME events runs through July 1 and have brought together 650 or so teachers, advisers, educational specialists, parents and students to participate in an array of hands-on workshops, classes and exciting special presentations.

Girls Make the Grade at Weeklong Engineering Camp
(June 29, 2004) In 1979, only about 12 percent of women in the United States enrolled in engineering courses. Today, about 20 percent of them enroll in engineering courses and go on to receive their bachelor’s degrees. At UH, the trend toward more women enrolling in engineering courses has been similar, but according to Stuart Long, associate dean of the Cullen College of Engineering, the numbers have slacked off a bit.

UH Diesel Vehicle Research and Testing Facility Unveiled
(June 28, 2004) UH’s Diesel Vehicle Research and Testing Facility was unveiled to the public during a ribbon-cutting ceremony with Houston Mayor Bill White June 28.

Trucks on Treadmills - Air Quality Studies Top Priority for Engineers at UH
(June 25, 2004) UH’s Diesel Vehicle Research and Testing Facility, initiated in advance of the Bush administration’s Clean Air Nonroad Diesel Rule signed by the EPA in May, will be unveiled to the public during a ribbon-cutting ceremony with Houston Mayor Bill White at 3 p.m., Monday, June 28. In an effort to improve the region’s air quality, the City of Houston is providing $3.8 million to the University of Houston to test new technologies that will help reduce emissions from the city’s diesel fleet of 2,800 vehicles. The focus of the five-year project, headed by UH’s Department of Chemical Engineering, is to conduct diesel testing and data analysis, emission research and technology development. Cash and in-kind contributions from the university bring the total project cost to nearly $5 million.

Electrifying: Teachers Learn How Semiconductors Are Produced At High Tech Educational Symposium
(June 23, 2004) Ethel Woodley from Shelby, MS displays a chip circuit on a glass plate during the Sketch and Etch class at the SEMI "High Tech U, Teacher Edition" June 23 at the 28th Annual SECME Summer Institute hosted by the UH Cullen College of Engineering.

UH Engineering Communicators Receive Over a Dozen Awards
(June 22, 2004) The UH Cullen College of Engineering's Office of Communications recently added 14 awards to its list of accolades this year from local, regional and national professional organizations.

SEMI “High Tech U” Program Hopes to Offset Decline of Technology Workers in the U.S.
(June 21, 2004) Middle and high school math and science educators from across the country will learn how semiconductors are produced so they can motivate students to pursue high tech careers during a training program held at UH June 23-24. The two-day “High Tech U, Teacher Edition” program produced by the global industry association Semiconductor Equipment and Manufacturers International (SEMI®) and sponsored by the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) is offered as a mini-institute within the 28th Annual SECME Summer Institute. This year’s program is hosted by the UH Cullen College of Engineering.

Daughters Follow Fathers' Footsteps as UH Employees
(June 17, 2004) On June 20, fathers and their children everywhere will have dinner, exchange presents and visit with each other in honor of Father’s Day. For some, it has been weeks — even months or years — since they have seen each other. For others, like UH’s James Andress and Mary Reed, it has been since only yesterday. Reed can’t help but scream, “Hi Daddy!” when she sees her father walking around campus. Andress, a supervisor in the Electronics Shop in the Cullen College of Engineering, feels equally elated when he sees his daughter hard at work. To him, it seems like yesterday that he was teaching her to ride a bike in their South Park neighborhood.

SECME Summer Institute at UH Will Be Engineering a Brighter Future
(June 14, 2004) UH is hosting the 28th Annual Summer Institute of SECME June 14-July 1, bringing together 650 or so teachers, advisers, educational specialists, parents and students to participate in an array of hands-on workshops, classes and exciting special presentations. Events range from a water rocket competition and a demonstration about the physics of bobble head dolls to mousetrap car races and a lecture about changes the human body undergoes in space. Guest speakers include representatives from NASA, Lockheed Martin, DuPont and Disney Design & Engineering.

UH Engineers Use Newest Superconductor to Fabricate Wires and Coils
(June 8, 2004) UH engineers became one of the first few in the world to fabricate wires and coils from magnesium diboride (MgB2), the most recent superconductor yet to be discovered, and their success may ultimately lead to better and less expensive electrical devices, lower energy consumption and lower consumer costs on electrical power. Their accomplishments were featured on the cover of the journal “Superconductor Science and Technology” in February and April 2004. UH Mechanical Engineer Kamel Salama and his team at the Texas Center for Superconductivity and Advanced Materials (TcSAM) say the fabrication process is very promising because it may lead to less expensive and more efficient real-world applications such as power lines, magnetic resonance imaging devices, motors, generators and much more.