Tuesday, November 20, 2012 // Issue 49, Volume 78 /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
THE DAILY COUGAR
T H E
O F F I C I A L
S T U D E N T
N E W S P A P E R
O F T H E
U N I V E R S I T Y
O F
H O U S T O N
ERP recharged by completed renovations Laura Gillespie Staff writer
Building 1 in the Energy Research Park has received $7 million in renovations. Construction took 13 months to complete. | Bethel Glumac/The Daily Cougar
After about $7 million and 13 months of work, renovations on Building 1 at the Energy Research Park are completed. The original building was built in the 1950s when it was owned by Schlumberger Ltd, the world’s largest provider of oil and gas technology. With the renovations, the building has upgraded the roof, windows, mechanical systems, flooring, ceiling and electronics, and the outside has also been altered to display the UH colors. “Prior to the renovations, we really needed to update the mechanical systems. We had some old issues through the duct work, so all of that was replaced. The new finish brings it all up to a standard that we try to create here at the Energy Research Park,” said Sean York, UH Real Estate Services director.
“The reason why we try to keep the building without a lot of modifications really has to do with the historical significance of this building and the visibility off of I-45.” The building houses advancement, finance, purchasing and assorted accounting staff for the ERP. The funding for the project came through the UH Board of Regents. In the months to come, further renovations will be taking place throughout the ERP. “We are going to be doing a renovated lobby and exterior work to 14A, which is the Texas Diesel Testing and Research Center,” York said. “We are also going to move forward in the future with renovating the lower level of Building 19 for future office space. We’re also about ready to kick of Phase 2 Redevelopment plan, which would include renovations to Buildings 1A, 2 and 3.”
S I N C E
1 9 3 4
OPINION
Don’t distribute the wealth LIFE+ARTS
Student walks in fashion show
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SPORTS COMPETITION
Chem-E car team drives into fifth place Alfred Mendez Contributing writer
A UH team of chemical engineering students took fifth place in the 2012 American Institute of Chemical Engineers National Competition, for their “Zombie Cougalac,” a 29-pound pressure-powered car that was designed with only domestically produced supplies and parts. This year marks the most success the UH team has seen in the competition. “There is a regional conference competition around March every year, from where top teams are selected to go into the National Conference in Pittsburgh. This year top schools like Cornell University, John Hopkins, Rutgers, Purdue and many others participated. We not only beat top schools but also every other Texas school,” said team member Rishabh Mahajan. To win the competition, teams were tasked with constructing a sizelimited car that operated via a controlled chemical reaction. Each car would then be judged based on its ability to perform certain functions, said An Dinh, the team’s leader. “The competition involved two segments, the poster competition
and the performance competition,” Dinh said. “For the performance aspect, the car must travel a specified distance and carry a specified load. Each team has two runs, and the car that comes closest to the designated line wins.” Though the Zombie Cougalac presented some minor technical difficulties in its initial run, they were quickly resolved, and the car managed a second run that saw it stop just 0.41 meters short of the line, good enough for fifth place, Dinh said. The car ran off of a chemical reaction between manganese dioxide and hydrogen peroxide, Mahajan said. “We added Manganese dioxide pellets to a precalculated amount of hydrogen peroxide, resulting into production of oxygen and water. The pressure builds up and goes into a second tank. The oxygen then travels through a regulator and into an air motor. The air motor is connected to a drive train, which drives the car,” Mahajan said. The members said they hope to use the recent success to eventually turn the Chem-E car team into an organization so projects can continue between years. “This year, we essentially had an
all new team. Many of us were inexperienced, but our collective desire to do well was a major driving force in how hard we pushed to quickly set up our team to be competitive,” Dinh said. “A staggeringly large amount of work over the year goes into a car that competes for just a few minutes. Our main goal for UH Chem-E-Car is to produce a level of work that does us, the school and our sponsors and supporters proud, year after year.”
CHEM-E The team of chemical engineering students representing UH: •
Edward McDowell
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Joshua Dillon
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Rishabh Mahajan
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Tanya Rogers
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Stephen Havard
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Sheli Wilson
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An Dinh
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Photo gallery: Robertson GET SOME DAILY
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ONLINE XTRA How to be fiscally responsible through the holidays.
NEXT WEEK Sixty-four percent of students with mental illness drop out.
COUNTDOWN
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“Zombie Cougalac” being operated during its run at the national competition in Pittsburgh. | Image courtesy of the Chem-E team
Days until Thanksgiving.
This is the last issue we’ll print this week. You’re devestated, we know.