OU Engineering

OM STAFF REPORTS Oklahoman Published: July 15, 2010 NORMAN — Forty-eight high school students and 11 teachers explored space this week from the University of Oklahoma campus, and it was free of charge. OU: Katrina Hammonds puts data from an experiment into a computer as high school students participate in an engineering workshop at the University of Oklahoma's Devon Energy Hall in Norman. Photo by Steve Sisney, The Oklahoman The Summer Engineering Academy, a National Science Foundation education program organized locally by the OU College of Engineering, was Monday through Wednesday, primarily in the various laboratories of the new Devon Energy Hall. Students participated in workshops relating to aerospace engineering, solar energy and the greenhouse effect. The first part for teachers only was last week at OU. Teachers then applied their new methods for teaching science, math and engineering this week with the students. Students gained hands-on learning experiences with the

Contact: Jana Smith, Director of Strategic Communications for R&D University of Oklahoma 405-325-1322 or jana.smith@ou.edu Norman, Okla.—A University of Oklahoma researcher is developing a novel therapy for Alzheimer’s disease using “biopharmaceutical proteases” to attack the toxic plaque that builds up in the brain of an Alzheimer’s patient—an approach that he predicts will be lower in cost and higher in effectiveness than current therapies. Peter J. Heinzelman, an associate professor in the Department of Chemical, Biological and Mechanical Engineering, recently received a $75,000 grant from the Oklahoma Center for the Advancement of Science and Technology to pursue this research, which includes the development of a library of biopharmaceutical proteases for public use. Heinzelman’s previous research led to the idea that proteases, or proteins that degrade other proteins, would be more effective as a therapy for Alzheimer’s disease than existing approaches. The brain is surrounde