A team of undergraduate students from the University of Houston Cullen College of Engineering took first place in the Texas/Mexico regional Concrete Canoe Competition, giving them the right to represent the area at the national competition on June 14 in Seattle, Wash.

University of Houston Cullen College of Engineering alumna Siddika Demir (1993 BSCE) received the Society of Women Engineers’ 2006 Emerging Leaders Award for her work with Bechtel Corp, an engineering, construction and project management firm based in San Francisco, Calif.

The award, which was presented at the SWE’s annual conference last month, honors women engineers who have demonstrated outstanding technical excellence resulting in significant accomplishments.

Cullen College of Engineering alumnus Daniel Wong, Ph.D., P.E., has been elected the First Vice President of the Texas Municipal League (TML), Region 14.

Jerry Rogers, associate professor of civil engineering with the University of Houston Cullen College of Engineering, has been named a Life Member of the American Society of Civil Engineers. The organization extends life membership to those who reach the age of 65 and have held membership in the organization for 30 years.

Cullen College of Engineering alumnus Daniel Wong, Ph.D., P.E., was recently appointed by Governor Rick Perry to serve on the Texas Board of Professional Engineers. The Board is responsible for licensing qualified engineers, enforcing the Texas Engineering Practice Act and regulating the practice of professional engineering in Texas.

Three University of Houston Cullen College of Engineering professors claimed top research innovation awards from the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), the state agency has announced.

Joseph Joubert said, “To teach is to learn twice,” and civil engineering senior Kimani Augustine has lived by that principle. From his teaching career in the Caribbean to the various tutorial programs he participates in at the UH Cullen College of Engineering, Augustine has fed his passion for math and science by sharing it with others.

C. Rick Coneway (1973 BSCE, 1976 MSCE) always wanted to fly. After receiving his first bachelor’s degree, the native Houstonian joined the U.S. Navy and used that time to launch a now 31-year dual career in the U.S. Navy and Air Force, and in engineering.

“I volunteered to become an officer and learn to fly fighters,” Coneway said. “I was able to take care of my military commitment and decide what I really wanted to do.”

After 20 years of distinguished service with the Cullen College of Engineering, Laboratory Supervisor Martin Kowis has retired.

Kowis, who spent 21 years with the FMC Corporation before coming to the University of Houston, came to work for the university in 1984 along with his wife Diana.