NSM Newsletter - Spring 2005

	Contact editor via e-mail at:
momentum@nsm.uh.edu

The spring semester is now in full swing, and the university community is buzzing with excitement as the new Science and Engineering Research and Classroom Complex, or the SERCC, actually begins to look like Cesar Pelli’s architectural drawings. While we dodge bulldozers and watch the cranes hoist concrete panels, we are reminded that the time will soon come when the building can be occupied by scientists working in the fields of bionanotechnology and nanohealth. Among them will be Professor Xiaolian Gao, featured in this issue, whose scientific breakthrough made the pages of the Houston Chronicle and the New York Times in January. More

	Clarina de la Cruz: PhD Student Nears Her Goal Dedicated and devoted to her career path in physics, fourth-semester NSM PhD student Clarina de la Cruz knew she wanted to be a physicist while she was still quite young. At the age of 13, Clarina was already imagining the route she would follow to attain the goals she had set for herself. More
	Xiaolian Gao: Breakthrough in Synthetic Biology Understanding the regulation of gene function and, at a fundamental level, improving healthcare, medicine, and the environment are the goals of UH researchers working in the emerging field of synthetic biology—specifying every bit of DNA that goes into an organism to determine its form and function in a controlled, predictable way. More
	Fostering Education and Research in Geosciences Professor Emeritus of Geosciences Robert E. Sheriff and his wife Margaret are passionate about education. As the parents of six children, all college educated with careers ranging from geology to health and law, the Sheriffs are interested in fostering educational and research opportunities for other young people. More
	Physicist and Photographer: Kevin Bassler Focuses on Complexities As a scientist, Kevin Bassler studies nonlinear complex systems, looking for underlying order in apparently random data. As an artist, he photographs stunning landscapes, capturing nature’s complexity in a camera’s lens. More

	Shell Oil Company gave a $50,000 gift to NSM to support scholarships for graduate students in geosciences and geophysics.
	Mamie Moy, chemistry professor and director of the UH Center for Science and Mathematics Applied Resources, was recently awarded the Helen M. Free Award for Public Outreach by the American Chemical Society. Moy was recognized for a lifetime achievement in outreach to students and teachers.
	On February 19th, a math contest to multiply scholarship chances for Houston-area high school students was held on the UH campus. The Department of Mathematics, led by Chairman Jeffrey Morgan, hosted the event.
	John Bear, Dean of NSM and Hassain Fahmy, Vice Dean of the Modern Academy in Egypt, signed an agreement of understanding in February to develop joint training and graduate programs in geosciences, computer science, and technology between UH and the Modern Academy, a private English-speaking university in Cairo.
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