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Cougars look to continue hot streak against Golden Eagles STUDENTS
UH research day accepting undergraduate applications Undergraduate Research Day is fast approaching, and the office of Undergraduate Research is accepting applications The event, scheduled for Oct. 13, will showcase the work of UH’s undergraduate research students through poster presentations. Students who are interested can visit http://uh.edu/honors/ undergraduate-research/uhresearch/urday2011/index for an application. The deadline to apply is Monday. — Jennifer Postel
CAMPUS
Trivia, pictures to get Cougars excited about University Every Friday is Cougar Red Friday at UH as a part of the Keep Houston Red Initiative encouraging the community to show support for the University. Twitter Red Trivia is one way to keep that red spirit alive. Every Friday, UH will release a trivia question via Twitter at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. The first person to tweet the correct answer with a picture of themselves wearing red to #UHRedFriday will win a gift certificate to the UH Bookstore. Students who spot Shasta can win a prize instantly by taking a picture with the mascot and tweeting the image to #UHRedFriday. For more information visit the Cougar Red Fridays page at http://www.uh.edu/features/oncampus/red-friday/index.php. — Jennifer Postel
FACULTY
Bowling league accepting members of all skill levels UH Faculty, staff and friends are invited to join in the university’s bowling league, meeting every Thursday at 6 p.m. in the University Center Games Room. A 9-pin no tap format, titled “Fast & Furious,” is also available and meets every Friday at 2 p.m. A weekly fee of $6 is required. For more information contact Tommy at 713-743-5321 or tamohwinkel@central.uh.edu. — Jennifer Postel
CORRECTIONS In Wednesday’s paper, we ran a feature photo saying UH’s entrepreneurship program was number one in the nation by Entrepreneurship Magazine. The magazine is actually Entrepreneur Magazine.
You are what you eat, so don’t eat this
September 22, 2011 Issue 19, Volume 77
BAUER
Business program top in nation Entrepreneurship at UH ranked number one in country by magazines Deisy Enriquez
THE DAILY COUGAR The audience rejoiced as the Bauer College of Business and the Greater Houston Partnership announced that the school’s undergraduate entrepreneurship program has been ranked first in the nation by The Princeton Review and Entrepreneur
Magazine at an event honoring the distinction on Tuesday. Founded in 1993, the Cyvia and Melvyn Wolff Center for Entrepreneurship, which offers the undergraduate program, also topped the list in 2008, and came second in both the 2007 and 2009 rankings. “We hoped something like this would happen, but I had no expectations,” said Bill Sherrill founder of the WCE. “This is the fifth year to be first or second, and we’re just very pleased to see that it’s
fundamentally a sound program — well taught and very useful to students. We’ve established enough years at that top that we clearly have a quality program. It really says that we weren’t just a flash in the pan, we’re really teaching something very basic that’s incredibly valued.” The Princeton Review, which ranked the 50 best graduate and undergraduate schools for entrepreneurs in the country from a pool of over 2,000, based their numbers on criteria such as academics and requirements,
students, faculty and partnership involvement outside the classroom. “The rankings are kind of a nice accolade on the whole thing. The real value actually comes from what we get working outside the classroom,” said WCE student Sol Richey. “We’re interacting with members of the Houston business community. We have a mentorship program that puts us in connection with someone that helps BAUER continues on page 10
STUDENTS
Alumna receives writing award Journalism graduate wins for religion coverage Zahra Ahmed
THE DAILY COUGAR Anam Ghias, a UH alumna with a bachelor’s in journalism, placed third in the Religion Newswriters Association’s 2011 national contest for her work covering Islam. The RNA is a non-profit organization that seeks to improve reporting of religion by the media. Ghias, who graduated in May, attended the annual RNA Conference in Durham, N.C., this past weekend where she received an award and $150 cash prize. “I still can’t believe it,” said Ghias. “Hundreds of people entered and I honestly didn’t expect to win.” Ghias began covering religion in journalism when she took professor David McHam’s reporting class, where student reporters choose a beat, or subject, to cover throughout the semester. Hoping to shed light on other religions as well as her own Islamic faith, she chose the religion beat. “The reason I started writing GHIAS continues on page 10
The materials lab in the architecture building gives students hundreds of samples to study, offering insight and helping them compare building materials for various construction projects they need to work on. | Paul Crespo/The Daily Cougar
GERALD D. HINES
University opens materials research library
College offers architecture students rare opportunity to access tools of the trade Imelda Vera
THE DAILY COUGAR This fall, the Gerald D. Hines College of Architecture opened the doors of the Materials Research Collaborative, which is an outlet of Material Connexion, a database that has physical collection libraries in only eight other locations throughout the world.
The MRC was founded with educational value in mind, allowing free access to all University students. It provides a tangible, out-of-classroom experience for architecture students who are used to seeing just pictures of materials. The library includes over 100 materials that allow students to find materials by visual preferences or by criteria. They are able to feel the texture and how light or how heavy an object is. Materials are labeled in a way that makes it easy for them to find in the database, including even a
QR code that you can scan with a specialized phone app. Director and Associate Professor Donna Kacmar worked with the dean to bring the collection to the University. Together, they worked out a collaboration with area professionals that includes Page Sotherland Page, Kendall/Heaton Associates, Censler and Ziegler Cooper. “They are helping support the education of students who will come to the workforce with more ARCHITECTURE continues on page 10