OU Engineering

Industrial Engineering student Kaycee Wilson was selected on April 5th to become one of only seven recipients for the 2011 National Science Foundation's Graduate Research Fellowship which supports outstanding graduate students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics disciplines. This fellowship program was designed to help the vitality of the human resource base of science and engineering in the United States and reinforce its diversity. The ranks of fellows include individuals who have made transformative breakthroughs in science and engineering research and have become leaders in their chosen careers. Each fellow receives three years of support from the NSF as well as international research and professional development opportunities and TeraGrid supercomputer access. The program will also help fellows to establish collaborations with counterparts at Norwegian, Finnish, Danish and Swedish research institutions. The National Science Foundation, the Research Council of

May 16, 2011 A University of Oklahoma civil engineering and environmental science graduate student recently was awarded a 2011 National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program Fellowship to research flash flood prediction. Gina Hodges, OU graduate and Atmospheric Radar Research Center student, will receive $30,000 a year for the next three years to investigate her proposed research topic, Prototyping a Flash Flood Prediction System Using Next Generation Radar Observations and Stormscale Rainfall Forecasts. "It is my goal to improve the current methods used for flash flood prediction to protect lives and property of the public," said Hodges. "In order to accomplish this goal, I will use an interdisciplinary approach combining my background in meteorology, hydrology and social sciences." This interdisciplinary method will be applied to recent flash floods that occurred during the spring of 2010 - specifically, the Nashville, Tenn., flood that inundated

By Jana Smith, Director, Strategic Communications for R&D University of Oklahoma A University of Oklahoma environmental science graduate student will travel to Ethiopia in June to test materials she has been investigating as possible solutions to fluorosis—a widespread problem in the Rift Valley, where high levels of fluoride in the drinking water result in dental and skeletal disease. Laura Brunson, graduate student in the OU College of Civil Engineering and Environmental Science, works with researchers in the OU Water Center on global water challenges, specifically fluorosis. Left untreated, fluorosis causes darkening of the teeth and bone deformities. In Ethiopia, the side effects of fluorosis are clearly health related, but have a cultural aspect as well. Novel approaches to this problem are needed to produce effective solutions—solutions not readily available in rural, impoverished areas of countries like Ethiopia. Brunson has been investigating inexpensive, sustainable and

Robert R. McCall was born in Norman, Oklahoma in 1926. The Great Depression of the 30’s caused great hardship for the family. As a teenager, Bob made the decision to move to Oklahoma City to go to High School, so that he could work the night shift at Tinker Air Force Base. These were the War Years. Following graduation from Central High, Bob enlisted in the Navy. He spent several months training to be an electronic technician and going to submarine school. He then volunteered for submarine duty. Bob was sent to the Navy base at Midway Island in the Pacific. While there, he was assigned to the USS Hawkbill. The war was nearing the end and Bob was subsequently discharged from the Navy. The year was 1946. After his discharge, Bob moved to Denver, worked for a large dry cleaning plant for a few months and then opened a small dry cleaning business of his own. Two years later, Bob returned to Norman where his fathr strongly urged him to take advantage of the GI Bill and enroll at O

On April 22, the United Way and Junior League of Norman hosted the 2011 Volunteers of the Year luncheon at Journey Church. This event recognizes volunteers in Norman who are committed to giving back to the community. A faculty member and his wife from the University of Oklahoma College of Engineering, were congratulated for making a difference in their community. It was a special day for Dr. Robert Nairn and his wife Amanda, as the United Way of Norman recognized them as Volunteers of the Year in the Service to Youth/Education category. Dr. and Mrs. Nairn’s daughter is a student at Jefferson Elementary School. The couple have spent many hours volunteering at the school working on an outdoor classroom for the students. The Nairns’ expressed their many thanks to everyone involved and noted that it was a team effort to complete the outdoor classroom. “You don’t do anything like this as an individual,” Bob Nairn said. “This certainly has been a team effort. Not only the folks at Jefferso