Recognition & Honors
Three NSM Staff Receive Cougar Cudos
Congratulations to the following NSM staff who were recognized with Cougar Cudos. Cougar Cudos, a recognition program of UH Staff Council, celebrates exceptional UH staff through peer nominations.
- Ray Ali (NSM-IT)
- Orlando Dona (NSM-IT)
- Tristan Sims (NSM Academic Affairs)
Randy Lee (Chemistry and NSM Associate Dean) was a keynote speaker at the Second International Conference on Chemical Sciences (ICCS 2024) in Ninh Binh, Vietnam. His presentation was “Photonic Nanoparticles for Hydrogen Production and Biosensing.” The theme of the conference was Chemical Sciences – For A Better Life.
Lee was also selected as a 2024 Tokyo Institute of Technology World Research Hub International Scholar.
Fred McGhee (NSM Business Office) served as a panelist for the Public Sector, Education and Government Industry Roundtable at Slalom R4, an invitation-only, multi-day customer summit. The session addressed the rapidly changing workforce that is creating historic gaps in the labor market and how government, business, and education can work together to create ‘learner-to-worker’ pathways that create economic growth and social mobility.
Martin Nuñez (Biology & Biochemistry) and Greg Morrison (Physics) were on a panel moderated by Jennifer Ruiz (Biology Ph.D. student and Vice President/Outreach Chair of SACNAS-UH) for the “Latinos in STEM Higher Education – Adelante!” session at the Houston Holocaust Museum’s Latinx Heritage Month – Day of Action. The event was organized by the museum’s Latinx Initiatives Advisory Committee. UH members of that committee are Ruiz, Lorissa Saiz (Biology Ph.D. student and President of SACNAS-UH), and Mark Goldberg (UH History). In addition to the panel discussion, five students and Morrison did physics, chemistry, and biology demos for elementary and middle school students. Nuñez and Morrison are SACNAS-UH faculty advisors.
Donna Pattison (Biology & Biochemistry and NSM Assistant Dean) will be recognized on October 17 as one of Houston Business Journal’s Women Who Mean Business. She was nominated in the Outstanding Business Leader in Government and Education category. The Women Who Mean Business Awards recognize women in leadership roles who demonstrate excellence in their careers and community. Pattison is one of 90 women recognized. The awards honor women across nine industry categories plus the Woman to Watch category.
Dawnelle Prince (NSM Career Center) was recognized by the U.S. Army for her sustained collaborations between the Army and the UH student body at the Stop the Bleed! Event. Army representatives have provided support for several NSM events, including Block Party and the Career Fair. The team is coordinating an Emergency Preparedness Day for March 2025 where students will receive training in emergency medicine and practice in a staged mass casualty scenario. Prince is an avid advocate presenting all possible career pathways to students, and for students concerned about the high costs of medical school, the military path to medical, dental, and veterinary school may be a solid choice.
Xin Shi (Physics) was awarded the 2024 Outstanding Student Researcher Award from the Energy Materials and Systems Division of the American Ceramic Society. The award recognizes exemplary student research related to the division’s mission, and each year, one winner is selected from applicants around the globe. Xin, currently a postdoctoral fellow working with Zhifeng Ren, delivered an invited lecture, “Advancing Nontoxic, Antimony-based 1-2-2-type Thermoelectric Zintls,” at the annual conference.
Art Weglein (Physics) will give a technical presentation to the Geophysical Society of Houston on October 16. His topic is “Why multiples must be removed in every seismic processing method—there is no exception.”
Yingcai Zheng (Earth & Atmospheric Sciences) spoke at the Geophysical Society of Houston Fall Forum: Unveiling Earth’s Treasures. He was part of a panel discussion on “AI and Tech in Data Science, Optimization, and Digital Sustainability.”