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...

Big 12 javelin champion is Oklahoma's first ever three-time Academic All-American. June 24, 2010 http://www.soonersports.com NORMAN, Okla. — Amy Backel placed her name on a distinctive list in Oklahoma athletics history Thursday. So distinctive, Backel is the only name on the list as she became Oklahoma’s first ever, male or female, three-time ESPN The Magazine’s Academic All-American as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). The announcement comes just under two weeks after Backel, a civil engineering major, earned her second All-America honor in the javelin, an event she captured the 2010 Big 12 Championship in. The Academic All-America honor is the latest in a long line of accomplishments for Backel, both on and off the competitive field. The senior from Dillsburg, Pa., was named the 2010 OU College of Engineering Outstanding Senior in Civil Engineering and has been named to the Academic All-Big 12 first team all four years of her athletic care...

OU civil engineering students weather delays to build a 270-foot pedestrian bridge and pier at Norman's Morgan Park, OU's largest student-led project of its kind. By James S. Tyree | Newsok.com | Published: June 1, 2010 NORMAN — The University of Oklahoma's school year ended two weeks ago, but several civil engineering students continued working on a project this week that will enhance a Norman neighborhood. University of Oklahoma civil engineering students build a 270-foot pedestrian bridge and fishing pier at Morgan Park on Thursday. The students completed a 270-foot pedestrian bridge and fishing pier over a large pond at William Morgan Park on Thursday, just in time for the Memorial Day weekend. The park is in a neighborhood just east of 36th Avenue NW and north of Robinson Street. Chris Ramseyer, an OU assistant professor of civil engineering, said the project's planning and construction was unprecedented for the students involved. "This is the largest project...

View video of Dr. David Sabatini, University of Oklahoma 2010 Oklahoma Medal for Excellence in College/University Teaching. OKLAHOMA CITY – The Oklahoma Foundation for Excellence announced today the winners of its Oklahoma Medal for Excellence awards honoring five outstanding educators in Oklahoma’s public schools. The prestigious awards were presented at the foundation’s 24th annual Academic Awards Banquet on May 22 at the Renaissance Tulsa Hotel and Convention Center. Each of the five winners received a $5,000 cash prize and a glass “Roots and Wings” sculpture, designed by the late Oklahoma artist Ron Roberts and produced by Jim Triffo of Oklahoma City. Medals are awarded annually to outstanding Oklahoma teachers, one each at the elementary, secondary, community college/regional university and research university levels. In addition, the foundation will present a Medal for Excellence to an exceptional administrator from the elementary or secondary level. This year’s recipients of the...

Published March 11, 2010 Dionne Buxton/The Daily Give a Bolivian family a pack of water — $5. Clean their entire irrigation system from 800 years of silver contamination — priceless. The OU Engineers Without Borders chapter is planning a trip to Potosi, Bolivia, to help improve the region’s water system, said Robert Knox, adviser to the organization. “Engineers Without Borders is a nationwide organization,” Knox said. “Our purpose is to take knowledge to these under-developed counties, and help with problems of water and sanitation.” Engineers Without Borders is an organization that partners with disadvantaged communities to improve quality of life, while at the same time developing internationally responsible engineering students. “We apply engineering skills first hand to innovative projects,” said Diana Lucero, architectural engineering junior and organization president. The group will travel to Bolivia to install open limestone channels, which will remove iron ...

Published February 16, 2010 Casey Wilson/The Daily Representatives from OU and ExxonMobil dedicated the ExxonMobil Lawrence G. Rawl Engineering Practice Facility on Monday. OU President David Boren said the new facility will only reach its full potential with students’ innovation and inventions. “As great as the physical faculties may be, it will not greatly add to the benefit of our society; it’s what goes on inside it,” Boren said. “It’s the vitality of what goes on inside it.” Donald Humphreys, senior vice president and treasurer of ExxonMobil Corporation, said the company has a long history of a great partnership with OU, and it relies on engineers for almost every part of its business. “Today, I think it’s clear that our highly technological society depends enormously on good engineering and good engineers for prosperity and progress,” Humphreys said. With a facility that is the first of its kind, OU is serious about prepari...