Shasta’s Story Round-Up: March 2016

Coogs are getting ready to kick off one of the University’s most beloved traditions: Frontier Fiesta! Alumni are welcome during these student-run festivities March 24 to 26, and can find more information on the UHAA website. Our story round-up didn’t require a lasso — it’s easy to find stories about Coogs who are using their UH education to make a difference.

Emily LeProust (’01) was named one of Foreign Policy magazine’s Top 100 Global Thinkers and Fast Company’s 100 Most Creative People of 2015 for her innovative work in DNA manufacturing;

Paul and Barbara Frison have provided scholarships to College of Technology students for years, and every single recipient attended a luncheon to thank them recently;

For a comprehensive, beautifully designed run-down of UH’s accomplishments in the past year, check out President Renu Khator’s 2015 Report;

For Parviz Memari, who is both a junior at the Jack J. Valenti School of Communication and professional wrestler, a perfect way to unwind from his studies is body-slamming opponents in a wrestling ring and antagonizing audiences;

Toni Worden (’15) has been named the Outstanding Teacher of the Year by the Science Teachers Association of Texas (STAT);

A UH researcher and his team have discovered an important link between alcohol and breast cancer by identifying a cancer-causing gene triggered by alcohol;

C.T. Bauer College of Business M.B.A. students representing the United States as one of six teams Capgemini’s Innovators Race Competition have been named finalists in the competition.  Their team, “Bauer Power,” is competing with a proposal to help the Boys & Girls Club of America (BCGA) attract future members and retain current members and to increase their public presence;

Meanwhile, four Bauer entrepreneurship students won first place and $10,000 earlier this month at San Diego State University’s Lean Model Competition, besting teams from universities across the globe;

A professor and three graduate students in the Cullen College of Engineering published the most downloaded paper of 2015 in a major scientific journal — the paper is about smartphone microscopy;

And, last but not least, construction of the Health and Biomedical Sciences Building II has officially begun! At the groundbreaking ceremony on February 29, attendees celebrated the future health care innovation that will occur inside its walls.

Have a student or alumni story you’d like to see linked on the round-up, or know a Cougar we should profile in one of our weekly interviews? Contact us at lunarcougar@uh.edu. To read more great alumni and donor profiles, or to make a gift to UH, visit the University Advancement home page.