Engineering Student Crowned ‘UH Homecoming King’
(November 23, 2004) For the second consecutive year, an engineering student was crowned UH Homecoming King. Senior mechanical engineering student Okechukwu Ofili was recognized with the honor at halftime of the UH-East Carolina football game at Robertson Stadium. Last year, Xavier Cano received the same honor. Cano, who graduated last spring, majored in industrial engineering.

Engineering Leadership & Entrepreneurism Program Students Receive Jackets at Investiture
(November 11, 2004) The third team of students to enter the new Engineering Leadership and Entrepreneurism Program received their jackets last night at a special Jacket Investiture Dinner. Karl R. Rábago, Energy Group Director of the Houston Advanced Research Center (HARC) gave the keynote address to the students on The Three Disciplines of Sustainable Technology Business Development (pdf file). The program prepares engineering graduates to be more successful when assuming leadership roles in their companies and facing real-world business challenges.

BP Check Presentation
(November 10, 2004) Gabe Cuadra (center), general manager of strategy and integration at BP, presents a check to Vita Como, director of the Engineering Career Center, and Raymond Flumerfelt, dean of the UH Cullen College of Engineering. The check was a gift for PROMES, equipment in chemical engineering and mechanical engineering, and for a Teaching Excellence Award. Photo by Jeff Shaw.

U.S. Dept. of Justice Taps UH Cullen College of Engineering to Improve Law Enforcement Technology
(November 4, 2004) The Batmobile and KITT have nothing on the “smart” police cars coming to UH. These special law enforcement vehicles are about to get a high-tech makeover courtesy of a $1 million National Institute of Justice (NIJ) grant. Highlighting the growing partnership between academia, industry and the law enforcement community in fighting crime across the country, UH engineering researchers are developing advanced technologies to equip these vehicles – known as “smart” cars – with the latest law enforcement technologies to further enhance officers’ crime-fighting capabilities. The state-of-the-art police car and SUV coming to campus will serve as test beds for mobile command centers. Pictured: A test vehicle prototype that Visteon brought to UH last summer.

UH Cullen College of Engineering Hosted 40 Highly Qualified High School Students to an Honor E Day
(November 2, 2004) Over 40 high school juniors and seniors from around the state had the opportunity to meet world-class faculty and discover the advantages of earning an engineering degree from UH at the Cullen College of Engineering's Honor E Day Oct. 30. Students participated in three lab demonstrations, campus tours and discussions with faculty. The day was concluded with tailgating activities with the Engineering Alumni Association and watching UH beat Tulane.

UH Alumna Embraces Diversity of Engineering Background to Solve Real-World Problems
(November 2, 2004) Applying background knowledge to solve current problems is a forte of UH chemical engineering graduate Judith Oppenheim (1983 PhD ChE) at Solutia Inc. in Pensacola, Florida, where she serves as a senior research specialist with an emphasis in environmental concerns. “I used my background in air pollution control to come up with a new gas purification process,” Oppenheim said. “We have an adipic acid process, and the vent from the adipic acid process has a lot of NOx—nitric oxide and nitrogen dioxide. This is an ozone depleting gas, so it needs to be controlled. Solutia had the technology so that if they were able to purify the gas, they could make a value added product.”