HRM Conference has Global Reach

What will a warm welcome look like in the future? To find out, the Hilton College of Hotel and Restaurant Management (HRM) hosted graduate students and faculty members from around the world at the
12^th annual Graduate Education and Graduate Student Research Conference
in Hospitality and Tourism Jan. 4-6.

The conference included an academic career fair and a graduate student social in addition to poster and oral presentations.

Conference research extended well beyond the ivory tower, exploring issues that have real impact on the average person’s dining and accommodation experience. Topics ranged from marketing strategies for small wineries to the effects of background music on diners’ likelihood to linger at the table, to how Hurricane Katrina has affected New Orleans’ image as a destination.

“The Hilton College has a great reputation, and so does this conference,” Neha Singh, doctoral student at Temple University, remarked. “I’ve met some great people with great ideas. The chance to present your own work to such a thoughtful audience is what research is all about.”

Hong Kong Polytechnic University’s School of Hotel and Tourism Management co-sponsored the event. Its dean, Kaye Chon, is a former faculty member at the Hilton College.

Experience for yourself what the Conrad N. Hilton College of Hotel and Restaurant Management has to offer hotel guests and students at www.hrm.uh.edu.

Professor's Research May Cut Travel Delays

Gridlock on airport runways is a common part of holiday travel, but one UH engineering professor is researching ways to reduce airport delays by making runways usable more quickly.

Planes stir up the air considerably when they take off and land, so the air has to settle down before another plane can move safely through the space. The process can take minutes, consuming valuable time on airport runways both for takeoffs and landings.

Working from a $300,000 grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF), Fazle Hussain, the Hugh Roy & Lillie Cranz Cullen Distinguished Professor of Mehanical Engineering at UH, is researching ways to reduce such delays by saving time between aircrafts during takeoffs and landings.

A fluid dynamicist who specializes in aerodynamics, vortex dynamics and turbulence, Hussain has focused on the search for ‘order within disorder’ in fluid turbulence. As director of UH’s Institute of Fluid Dynamics and Turbulence, he is one of the leading experts in the field, having published more than 250 scientific papers on this and related topics.

New Program Helps Working Adults Become Paralegals

In just 10 weekends, students looking for a career change can learn to become paralegals, thanks to a University of Houston program designed with working adults in mind.

The course is offered by UH's Continuing Education Program in the fall, spring, and summer.

Offered only on weekends, the course allows those with full-time jobs to participate. The $3,699 fee includes expert instruction from lawyers, law professors and paralegals; access to online research databases; and training using document production software. UH offers a multi-payment plan for those who cannot pay the entire fee in advance.

"This paralegal certificate program employs a skills-based curriculum that provides hands-on opportunities to learn the skills that most paralegals perform in entry-level positions," said attorney Jac Brennan, director of the Paralegal Certificate Program.

For more information about the UH Paralegal Certificate Program, or to register, go to www.uh.edu/continuingeducation/prog/par.html, or contact Guy Felder at 713-743-1060 or grfelder@uh.edu.

For the latest news from UH, visit www.uh.edu/newsroom.