UH Engineering Alumnus Networked First ATMs, Developed Automated Fuel Dispensing System
(October 21, 2004) In engineering, many discoveries that improve the quality of life do so in unseen ways, but alumnus Fred Gentile’s (1961 BSEE) development is in everyday use across the world—ATM, Automated Teller Machine. He was the development manager for Docutel Corporation, where he developed the networks that tie the ATMs together. Gentile has a patent in networked automatic banking systems with networks. His interest in ATMs grew from a personal desire for expediency.

UH Students Reap Academic Benefits, Entertainment at Shell Campus Pit Stop Challenge
(October 19, 2004) In a new recruitment and awareness effort, Shell brought their Pit Stop Challenge to UH in front of the Y building, and more than 100 students came to participate in the event. Students had the opportunity to change a tire on a Ferrari Formula One racecar, in teams of three, to compete for the lowest time. “We had 40 teams of three people each participate, and they were not all students,” Shell Attraction and Recruitment Coordinator Julie Hur Pascoe said. “We didn’t have an official count, but through the day there were also always students just observing.”

UH Engineering Doctoral Candidate Brings Home Four Medals from World Kickboxing Championships
(October 18, 2004) While the student body was settling into the rhythm of the semester, UH engineering doctoral candidate Sandra Geffert (2003 MSME, 2001 BSME) was competing for international titles at the World Kickboxing Championships in Basle, Switzerland. During the six-day trip, Geffert competed in seven events. In Chinese soft style kata and open forms, Geffert took the gold, and she won silver in tae kwon do forms and a bronze in team forms.

Homecoming Activities for Engineering Alumni Nov. 6
(October 12, 2004) The UH Cullen College of Engineering will honor the Classes of 1954 and 1979 at a special Homecoming Brunch at 11:30am on Saturday, Nov. 6 in the Commons area of Engineering Building 1. The reception is free, but requires an RSVP. All engineering alumni and their families are welcome! Following the reception, the Engineering Alumni Association will host its annual tailgate party for engineering alumni, faculty, staff and students.

UH System, Methodist Working on Affiliation Agreement
(October 11, 2004) The University of Houston System and The Methodist Hospital have taken the first step in forming a long-term affiliation, expanding health science and medical education programs as well as enhancing health care for the community. The collaboration also will enhance research under way by the Cullen College of Engineering and psychology, vision science and biology/biochemistry departments at UH, which have extensive programs to study the neurosciences. By affiliating with Methodist, UH will have ready access to some of the most advanced technology available in the country.

Shell Campus Pit Stop Challenge to Visit UH Next Thursday
(October 7, 2004) Shell will bring some of the excitement of a real race car competition to UH when the “Shell Campus Pit Stop Challenge” visits campus from 12-5 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 14, outside of the Y building and Engineering Bldg 1. Students will compete in teams of three to perform the fastest pit stop-style duty of changing the tires on a 2001 Ferrari, the same car used for formula one races, but with no motor. As a memento of the event, Shell will take a photograph of each team to be sent to the team at a later date.

UH Technology Holds Promise for Multibillion Dollar Data Storage Industry
(October 6, 2004) Storing the entire Library of Congress on a Palm Pilot or putting 1,000 movies on a two-inch disk may sound like incredibly futuristic goals, but UH engineers are working swiftly toward making them a reality. These remarkable achievements could become feasible if researchers in UH's Cullen College of Engineering are successful in their bid to create the first nanopatterned medium recording (N-PMR) at the scale of one terabyte per square inch and explore the physical limits of magnetic data storage in units only four nanometers in size. Dmitri Litvinov, associate professor of electrical engineering at UH, is the principal investigator of a new research project that recently received funding of $1.1 million from the National Science Foundation. He is working closely with co-principal investigator Jack Wolfe, professor of electrical engineering.

UH Civil Engineering Alumnus Develops Technology for New Offshore Structure
(October 5, 2004) Residents across the nation will feel the effects of Jose Vazquez's (1989 BSCE, 1990 MSCE, 1995 PhD CE) latest project, a deep water liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal using the Soft Berth™ system, developed by Bennett and Associates and Freeport McMoRan Energy LLC, that has been in development for the last year and a half. The system has the potential of affecting heating and cooling systems by stabilizing the supply of natural gas.

UH Engineering Professor Kishore Mohanty Gives Sigma Xi Lecture Sept. 30
(October 1, 2004) Chemical Engineering Professor Kishore Mohanty gives the Sigma Xi lecture to the UH community Sept. 30 on improved oil recovery meeting the near-term energy challenge.

Engineering Alumni Build Flourishing Business, Recognize UH as Driving Factor
(October 1, 2004) UH Cullen College of Engineering alumni Bill Fendley (1971 BSCE) and Odis Cobb (1971 BSCE, 1979 MSCE) are featured in the Parameters magazine.