November
2007 e
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Homecoming is officially underway and the
University of Houston is celebrating 80 years of Cougar Spirit with
an action packed week of fun-filled events. Unleash the Cougar that
lies deep within all of us and join UH alumni, students, faculty and
staff for Roarin’ 07—a week of fun, food, friends, family
and football. Begin to experience the roar on Friday as the “Spirit of Houston” Marching Band hosts its 4th Annual Concert, Dinner and Silent Auction at the Moores School of Music Opera House. Proceeds from the event will support the Cougar Marching Band Scholarship and Program Fund. On Saturday, make your way to campus for Brunch and All That Jazz, sponsored by the Houston Alumni Organization. Enjoy delicious food and the delightful jazz sounds of the Moores School of Music students, honor the classes of 1957 and 1982, meet the Homecoming court, and mingle with many of your fellow Cougars. Immediately afterwards, make the trek toward Robinson Stadium and Hofheinz Pavilion to watch the annual Golf Cart Parade and tailgate with several UH colleges and student organizations. Then, get those vocal cords ready to be a part of the huge Homecoming roar when the Cougars take the field to battle the Marshall Thundering Herd. Fans are encouraged to bring canned and non-perishable food items to Robertson Stadium for the “A Ton of Food for A Ton of Hope” Food Drive. During the Homecoming game, all the collected food will be presented to the Star of Hope Mission. Stay after the game for the explosive fireworks finish. Roarin’ 07 truly has something for Cougars of all ages. For details on all Homecoming events, please visit www.myCougarConnection.com/homecoming Come on Home and experience the Roar. After a year of research, testing, consulting and hard work, the University of Houston recently deployed a new and improved Web site that is structured according to the needs and expectations of visitors, rather than by an organizational boundary line, according to Darcie Champagne, director of the Office of University Marketing.“Our first priority was to enable prospective students to find the information they want, therefore, the architecture and language of the primary sections of the site are geared to the prospective student,” Champagne said. “We interviewed and surveyed hundreds of prospective students and tested our progress with them along the way.” A notable enhancement of the new site is audience gateways. Through these gateways, many of the university’s diverse audiences will find the information most important to them right at their fingertips. The Web site also shows visitors a glimpse of campus life at UH by offering abundant photography and a series of features on almost every page. Check out the new www.uh.edu or visit www.uh.edu/evolvinguh/ to learn more about the new UH Web site and review the research. DNA Sequencer to Boost Genetic Research at UH Not too long ago, deconstructing and analyzing DNA codes took scientists several years and enough chemistry and computer hardware to fill the entire floor of a building. Now, a genetic sequencer the size of a washing machine can do the work in a couple of days.Thanks to a $750,000 grant from the Cullen Foundation awarded to the University of Houston’s Institute for Molecular Design (IMD), researchers will be among the first in the region to use this cutting-edge device. Set to arrive by December, the $500,000 DNA sequencer will help make UH a major player in genetic science by allowing the analysis not only of whole organisms, but also of sampling with many organisms mixed together. “An organism’s genome can contain the equivalent of millions of pages of data,” said B. Montgomery Pettitt (’75, Ph.D. ’80), Hugh Roy and Lillie Cranz Cullen Distinguished Professor in Chemistry, professor of computer science, physics, biology and biochemistry, and associate dean of research for the UH College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics. “Breaking up the astonishingly complex genome into smaller chunks for study and then piecing it back together is an arduous task, but this high-powered sequencer can perform large, rapid scans of genetic material. Scientists can have the initial data in couple of days with this technology as opposed to years.” The sequencer will be only the second installation of its kind in Houston. There are also plans for the UH sequencer to be used for stem cell research, Pettitt said. For the latest news from UH, visit www.uh.edu/news-events/. |
