LIFE AND ARTS
ORGANIZATIONS
FOOTBALL
City council member speaks to students
Former Cougar comes back
UH-D grad motivates Cougars to get active in local government. SEE PAGE 8
Oakland Raiders DJ Hayden comes back to Houston for a game against the Texans. SEE PAGE 7 OCTOBER
CALENDAR CHECK: 16
Actress Eva Longoria will visit campus for a banquet as a key note speaker
THE DAILY COUGAR
T H E
O F F I C I A L
S T U D E N T
Issue 47, Volume 79
N E W S PA P E R
O F
T H E
U N I V E R S I T Y
O F
Thursday, November 14, 2013
H O U S T O N
S I N C E
1 9 3 4
ONLINE EXCLUSIVES AT THEDAILYCOUGAR.COM
RESEARCH
Information hub to put cork in oil spills Olivia Schultze Staff writer
UH is establishing a virtual research center in collaboration with two other Texas universities in order to prevent another oil spill like BP’s 2010 Deepwater Horizon incident. The Ocean Energy Research Institute will act as an information-sharing
liaison between government, science, academic and industry organizations, as outlined by the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, and will be a joint project between the University, Texas A&M University and the University of Texas. A $5 million federal grant will enable these three universities to
research and implement offshore drilling safety and environmental protection during their five-year contract, according to BSEE in its grant proposal. Ramanan Krishnamoorti, chief energy officer and professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering, is one of the co-principal investigators
who came up with the idea, drafted the plan and compiled researchers for the OER Institute, which will be virtual. He emphasized that all three universities are entering into this project equally and will serve key functions, though their specific roles are still being defined. “This is a huge task; not any one
Against the odds
The Student Government Association commemorated the memory of those who have served in continuation of the spirit of Veterans Day on Wednesday in the Campus Recreation and Wellness Center. Student service members and campus officials enjoyed lunch and listened to a special keynote speaker, the Veterans Education Coordinator at Texas Veterans Commission, Ralph B. DeVaul.
Former Cougar with disability shatters expectations, becomes entrepreneur Daniela Di Napoli Contributing writer
“The opportunity costs of export are too high. The one thing John and I can agree on: if you export, prices will go up. No matter what study you look at, they all agree on that,” Morrison said. “We’re four, five years into this energy revolution. Why are we so quick to now export this to our economic competitors?” Environmental science sophomore Margarita Reza said the debate
Alumnus Justin Farley came to UH with one thing in mind: He wanted to become an entrepreneur. His education at the C.T. Bauer College of Business led him to become the founder and CEO of his own company. Farley, who was born with cerebral palsy, said he was tired of people telling him he couldn’t do things because of his disability. When he saw that the domain name for UNlimiters. com was available, he and his father purchased it. “The name came from me not liking anyone to tell me I’m limited. I thought it was the perfect name for a store. I think people would like buying things that un-limit,” Farley said. UNlimiters is an Internet start-up that sells products such as assistive technology and wheelchair accessories to people with disabilities. These products are designed to help those who have limited mobility lead a more independent life.
DEBATE continues on page 3
LIMITS continues on page 3
Estaban Portillo/The Daily Cougar
SCIENCE
Liquefying debate stirs up concerns Staff writer
Exploration of liquefied natural gas was the main topic covered in a debate held by the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics as part of the Energy Symposium Series at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday. The debate was between chief economist of the American Petroleum Institute John Felmy, who has 30 years of experience in energy, economic and environmental analysis,
OIL continues on page 3
ALUMNI
Lunch with heroes
Lesley Saenz
institute or individual could do this. Together, we’re better at being able to communicate,” Krishnamoorti said. UT Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering Department Chair and professor Tad Patzek sees a bright future for the OER Institute.
and Scott Morrison, the government affairs manager for the American Public Gas Association. Felmy and Morrison discussed the main concern with exporting LNG, which is natural gas that has been temporarily converted into a liquid, generally for storage and transportation purposes. Felmy debated that LNG exporting is a good idea for the United States He argued that exporting will increase supply and demand.
“If you look at the statistics and studies, they are supportive of this. It will help the whole economy, expand the natural gas export facilities and develop more natural gas and oil supplies,” Felmy said. “The key plea we have is to approve the projects and let the market work.” Scott Morrison and APGA opposed the export of LNG. He said digging a little deeper will help people understand why they choose to oppose the export.