NSM Pride: Awards and Honors
Share News of Your Achievements
NSM is proud of the achievements of our outstanding alumni, students, staff and faculty. Submit news of your awards, new jobs and honors to uhnsm@uh.edu or contact Kathy Major at ksmajor@uh.edu or 713-743-4023.
Alumni
Azie Aziz (Ph.D. ’16, Geophysics) was honored with the Houston Intellectual Property Law Association’s 2023-24 Excellence in Diversity Award. The award recognizes an outstanding Houston-area attorney, corporation, IP professional, or law firm making an impact in the areas of diversity and inclusion in intellectual property law. Aziz, a Patent Agent for Womble Bond Dickinson (US) LLP, imagined and curated one of the most innovative diversity projects the firm has ever done—the Art & Diversity Initiative. This annual initiative, which launched in December 2023, is a series of rotating art exhibitions organized to engage with local artists and create visibility for them. Aziz also leads WBD’s participation in Advancing Diversity Across Patent Teams (ADAPT), an industry-wide effort to increase diversity, equity, and inclusion within the intellectual property profession.
John D. Weete (Ph.D. ’70, Biology) is the latest recipient of the NSM Distinguished Alumni Award. The award is bestowed upon NSM alumni for exceptional achievement in their professional field, involvement in the community, and demonstrated innovative change to improve the lives of others through their work. His honor was announced at the da Vinci Society & Distinguished Alumni Recognition Dinner. Read More
Students
Dan E. Wells Outstanding Dissertation Award
Ritu Bohat (Ph.D. graduate, Biology) was the Fall 2023 recipient of the Dan E. Wells Outstanding Dissertation Award for her dissertation, “Targeting PI3K Isoforms to Improve Effectiveness of T cells Mediated Immunotherapy.” Bohat’s research examined how our body’s immune system can be taught to fight against cancerous cells that have an overactive form of the protein PI3K. By targeting the divergent forms of this protein, it reduces the activity of the cancer cells without hurting immune cells, where these proteins are also present. This work provides a deeper understanding of this protein in cancer and immune cells and provides a novel therapeutic approach to improve the effectiveness of cancer immunotherapy. Her work is now proceeding toward a clinical trial. Beyond cancer research, she also contributed to the development of a lupus mouse model, offering researchers a valuable tool to unravel the complexities of this autoimmune disorder and potentially advance therapeutic solutions. Her advisor was Weiyi Peng. See Photo
Dissertation Honorable Mention: Chenggang Jiang (Ph.D. graduate, Chemistry) received Honorable Mention for his dissertation, “Strategies to Optimize Photophysical Properties in Cyclometalated Iridium Complexes.” Jiang’s research focuses on fundamental discoveries in organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs), which have huge advantages over other lighting technologies. He concentrated on developing synthetic methods to create molecules with unique photophysical qualities for further study. This work will provide greater flexibility in light-generating efficiency, thermal stability, and controlling the color spectrum. Jiang’s research was supervised by Thomas Teets.
Earth & Atmospheric Sciences Student Research Grants Program
Four EAS students received funding through the department’s Student Research Grants Program. Now in its sixth semester, the program awards funds to students to carry out and publish research. Each semester, $5,000 is available, with up to $2,500 awarded per student. Spring 2024 winners included:
- Amna Afzal (Advisor: Qi Fu): “Quantification and Primary Source Analysis of Per- and Poly fluoroalkyl (PFAS) Substances in Soil Using LC-MS/MS, Edwards Aquifer, South Central Texas,” $2,000
- Lucille Baker-Stahl (Advisor: Brandee Carlson): “Quantifying Delta Lip Responses to Flow Dynamics to Inform Morphodynamic Models,” $1,250
- Shawn Fields (Advisor: Tom Lapen): “Provenance of the Vantage member of the Ellensburg Formation and evolution of the Columbia River Basin system after the initiation of Miocene flood basalt volcanism,” $1,000
- Karissa Vermillion (Advisor: Pete Copeland): “The role of extension in the transition from subduction to strike-slip faulting in the tectonic reconfiguration of southern California,” $750
Sameer Dambal and Rutik Manikandhan (Physics Ph.D. students) organized a three-day Quantum Computing Fall Fest at UH in November. The festival, held for the first time at UH, was open to undergraduate and graduate students. It featured talks from quantum computing experts from around the country. Participants were introduced to IBM’s Qiskit quantum software development kit, which gave students opportunities to compete by building algorithms. UH was the only Houston-area university chosen by IBM as a partner institution for the 2023 Qiskit Fall Fest and one of only three Texas universities organizing Qiskit events. Support for the festival was made possible through funding from NSM and the Departments of Computer Science, Mathematics and Physics. The American Physical Society chapter at UH, Code Coogs and the Women in Physics Society at UH also contributed to the event’s success.
AAPG Imperial Barrel Award Program Competition
A team of five Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences students won first place in the Imperial Barrel Award Program of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists Gulf Coast Section. Team members are Michael Daniel (Ph.D., Team Captain), Daniel Maya (Ph.D.), Gabriel Lopez (M.S.), Edgar Moreno (M.S.). and Josh Miller (M.S.). The UH team will advance to the final, global competition to be held online May 17. The global competition includes all first-place teams from the sectional competitions. In this competition, teams analyze a dataset (geology, geophysics, land, production infrastructure, and other relevant materials) in the eight weeks prior to their local competition. Each team delivers their results in a 25-minute presentation to a panel of industry experts. The dataset the UH team presented was the Bristol Basin along the southern margin of Alaska.
Rosemarie Le (Honors Biomedical Sciences major) was featured in the February edition of Provost Profiles. The segments showcase outstanding students in conversation with UH Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost Diane Z. Chase. Le has been active in UH’s Houston Early Research Experience and Honors in Community Health initiatives. She also served as a summer undergraduate research intern for Houston Methodist, contributed to several research projects on campus, and won first place in UH’s exCITE Talks competition last fall with a presentation about her summer in Geneva, Switzerland, conducting neuroscience research.
Seyedali “Ali” Mousavinezhad (recent Atmospheric Sciences Ph.D. graduate) published an article in Science of the Total Environment with his advisor Yunsoo Choi and three other UH EAS Ph.D. graduates and students—Nima Khorshidian, Masoud Ghahremanloo, and Mahmoudreza Momeni. The paper, “Air quality and health co-benefits of vehicle electrification and emission controls in the most populated United States urban hubs: Insights from New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Houston,” examines the advantages that urban residents, including those in Houston, may experience from a greater use of electric vehicles in the future. The authors found a decrease in air pollutant levels and a reduction in negative health impacts in the four cities.
Fatima Zahra Qachfar and Bryan Tuck (Computer Science Ph.D. students) earned first place in a competition focused on identifying Arabic and Turkish hate speech and offensive language on social media. The competition was part of the Workshop on Challenges and Applications of Automated Extraction of Socio-political Events from Text (CASE 2024), co-located with the 18th Conference for the European Chapter of the Association for Computational Linguistics held in Malta. They were under the direction of their mentor Rakesh Verma.
Lorissa Saiz (Biology Ph.D. student) was elected to serve as the new Student Board Member for the SACNAS (Society for Advancement of Chicanos/Hispanics & Native Americans in Science) national Board of Directors. Her term (2024-2026) began in January.
Ahmed Khan Salman (Atmospheric Sciences Ph.D. student) published as first author the article, “Deep learning based emulator for simulating CMAQ surface NO2 levels over the CONUS,” in the journal Atmospheric Environment. Also on the paper was Salman’s mentor Yunsoo Choi. This research introduces a high-speed emulator that mirrors the Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) model, adeptly simulating surface NO2 levels across the U.S. using the same inputs. It accurately estimates NO2 concentrations and aligns with CMAQ’s NOx emission sensitivity. Validated in 15 major U.S. cities, the emulator outperforms CMAQ in speed, being over 400 times faster on a CPU and 600 times faster with a CPU and GPU, promising more efficient air quality modeling and emission reduction planning. All authors on the paper are from UH: Jincheol Park, Seyedali Mousavinezhad, Mahsa Payami, Mahmoudreza Momeni, and Masoud Ghahremanloo.
Larkin Spires (Geophysics Ph.D. student) was the lead author of research findings published in Scientific Reports that focus on refining mathematical models to better capture the behavior of organic-rich shales that lie underground. The work addresses how organic-rich shales behave with different fluids as part of the hydraulic fraction process. Spires used a 3-D print material so she could control the porosity and flow of fluid through it. She then created a rock physics model that allows for testing of the artificial rocks. Other authors on the paper were John Castagna, who is Spire’s mentor, and Ph.D. Geophysics graduate Sheyore John Omovie.
Kacie D. Waiters (Biochemistry Ph.D. student) was one of the few graduate students to receive the inaugural Susan G. Komen ASPIRE (A Supplement to Promote Inclusion for Research Excellence) award which supports her salary, travel, and manuscript publication. Her ASPIRE project is titled Targeting Druggable Protein Modifications in HR+ Breast Cancer. The ASPIRE project stems from the ongoing focus of the lab of Tasneem Bawa-Khalfe on the impact of ubiquitin and ubiquitin-like peptide tags on cancer development and treatment. Waiters joined the Bawa-Khalfe lab after an 11-year career in forensic sciences as a DNA analyst with Harris County. Her ASPIRE project will identify biomarkers to predict endocrine therapy response and present alternative targeted approaches for endocrine-resistant breast cancer patients.
Adeel Zafar (Computer Science Ph.D. student) was first author of the paper, “Extract and Characterize Hairpin Vortices in Turbulent Flows,” presented at IEEE VIS 2023 in Melbourne, Australia. The paper received a Best Paper Honorable Mention Award. Other authors were Di Yang (Engineering) and Zafar’s advisor Guoning Chen (Computer Science). Hairpin vortices are one of the most important vortical structures in turbulent flows. Extracting and characterizing hairpin vortices provides useful insight into many behaviors in turbulent flows. However, hairpin vortices have complex configurations and might be entangled with other vortices, making their extraction difficult. The paper outlines the work to introduce a framework to extract and separate hairpin vortices in shear driven turbulent flows, allowing for their study. The paper also presents additional use cases of the proposed system for the analysis and study of general vortices in other types of flows.
Faculty/Staff
Dinler Amaral Antunes (Biology & Biochemistry, CNRCS) and Biochemistry Ph.D. student Jaila Lewis designed a promising new HEALTH-Research Centers in Minority Institutions (HEALTH- RCMI) Pilot Program study which explores a more personalized approach to developing immunotherapies specifically for underrepresented minorities. With support from HEALTH-RCMI, Antunes and Lewis have launched the study entitled, Improving the Design of Immunotherapies for Underrepresented Minorities. This initiative was funded $50,000 by the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities and HEALTH-RCMI. In this study, Antunes uses a computational design to study human leukocyte antigen receptors and assesses their binding with T-cell lymphocytes. The T-cell lymphocytes can potentially trigger the elimination of a tumor.
Ashley Askew and Eduardo Cerna (Student Success/Academic Affairs) presented at the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators in Seattle, March 9-13. Their presentation, “An Intensive Calculus-Focused Summer Bridge Program for Closing Readiness Gaps for Freshman STEM Majors,” focused on how the TC Energy Summer Scholars Academy and the Scholar Enrichment Program close readiness gaps for prospective and current STEM majors.
Michael Antonelli (Earth & Atmospheric Sciences) published in Geochemical Perspectives Letters with colleagues from ETH Zurich, UCLA, and University of Bern. Throughout Earth history, calcium has been intimately linked to the carbon cycle through the precipitation of marine carbonates [e.g., limestone (CaCO3)] in seawater. Calcium isotope signatures have been used to suggest that a rare class of carbonate-bearing magmas, known as carbonatites, represent the return of subducted oceanic carbon back to Earth’s surface after long-term storage in Earth’s mantle. Using new models based on theoretical constraints, natural samples, and high-temperature two-magma experiments, the authors show these calcium isotope signatures can be fully generated through magmatic processes alone. This suggests carbonatite magmas do not bear the trace of recycled marine carbonates at any point in geologic history. Instead, the results indicate the calcium in these magmas comes directly from the mantle. This suggests the carbon contained within these magmas is also mantle-derived and likely represents a net addition to Earth’s surface carbon budget, rather than the return of ancient marine components back to the surface.
Jakoah Brgoch (Chemistry) has been named a Fellow Member of the Royal Society of Chemistry. Persons named as Fellow Members have been in a senior position more than five years and have made an impact in any field of the chemical sciences. As the highest category of membership, Fellows have invaluable experience, expertise, and commitment to promoting the value of Chemical science.
Xiaojia Chen (Physics, TcSUH) is corresponding author of “Synthesis and superconductivity in yttrium-cerium hydrides at high pressures” in Nature Communications. The research addresses the synthesis, phonon and structural properties, and superconductivity in hydrides. To date, only a few hydrides were found to exhibit superconductivity at relatively high temperatures – above liquid nitrogen boiling temperature of 77 K and near room temperature of 300 K. YH9 and LaH10 were recognized as two high-temperature superconducting hydrides. However, their superconductivity needs the application of pressure near 300 GPa; the pressure level near the inner core of the Earth. This is far beyond the capabilities of general laboratories. This paper reports the discoveries of the synthesis and superconductivity in Y0.5Ce0.5H9, revealing this hydride can hold relatively high superconducting transition temperature at modest pressures. The work involved colleagues at the Center for High Pressure Science and Technology Advanced Research, Harbin Institute of Technology, Shanghai Advanced Research Institute, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, and Zhejiang University in China, Italy’s National Institute of Optics and European Laboratory for Non-Linear Spectroscopy, and Sungkyunkwan University in Korea.
Robert Comito (Chemistry) received a five-year, $732,168 NSF CAREER Award to support his development of a novel platform of catalysts that can efficiently produce environmentally friendly materials. His work is focused on synthesis for the purpose of creating better ways of making biodegradable and biocompatible polymers. Studies by Comito and his team are focused on finding new catalysts that can be tuned to prepare biodegradable polymers with novel structures, new physical properties, and improved performance. Read More
Pete Copeland (Earth & Atmospheric Sciences) received a four-year, $1M grant from the National Science Foundation to support enhanced field trip opportunities for undergraduates to study geologic formations in their actual setting. The program is called FIELDGeo – Field Investigations and Education Leading to Degrees in Geoscience. The program, funded through mid-2027, will involve up to a total of 200 students taking eight-day field trips to west Texas and southeast New Mexico in the first week of each year. The program also includes participation from teachHOUSTON and Wharton County Junior College students. Pre-trip student seminars describe the rocks and formation types to be encountered in person. After the field trip, advanced students can follow up with deeper research. All student expenses are covered in the program, even necessary gear for novice campers. Other EAS faculty involved include Rob Stewart, Mike Murphy, Brandee Carlson, and Jinny Sisson. Read More
Mini Das (Physics) and Physics Ph.D. graduate student Jingcheng Yuan published research findings that were also featured on the cover of the journal Optica. The group designed and constructed a single-mask phase imaging setup that offers a simplified, yet effective, approach for capturing differential phase contrast images. This setup enhances the visibility of the edges of soft tissues, making it easier to distinguish them from surrounding materials. They show the derivation of a novel light transport model, which simplifies understanding how the image is formed in such a single mask x-ray imaging system. It allows for the efficient retrieval of absorption and differential phase contrast images in a single X-ray exposure (like a single shot in a mammogram), potentially reducing the X-ray dose while yielding multiple contrast features and images at once. The absorption image obtained is similar to what would be yielded in a conventional x-ray imaging system. The model and differential phase retrieval are validated with experiments on a benchtop imaging setup in Das’s lab. This work is a significant step toward making X-ray phase contrast imaging more accessible and practical for a wide range of applications, particularly in medical diagnostics where it can lead to earlier and more accurate detection of diseases. Other applications are in materials imaging, defense, and security imaging.
Paige Evans (teachHOUSTON/Mathematics), Donna Stokes (Physics/NSM Associate Dean), Cheryl J. Craig (corresponding author) and Gayle A. Curtis (both Texas A&M), and Leah McAlister-Shields (NSF) received the 2024 American Educational Research Association Narrative Research SIG, Outstanding Publication Award for their paper “Multi-layered mentoring: Exemplars from a U.S. STEM teacher education program.” The paper was published in the journal Teachers and Teaching: Theory and Practice, one of the three top teaching and teacher education journals in the world. The article presents a multi-layered approach to mentoring within an urban secondary STEM teacher education program. This narrative inquiry research captures preservice teachers’ experiences of multi-layered mentoring in the form of exemplars. In the spotlighted case, 88% of those who graduated from the secondary STEM preservice education program were retained over a 5-year period, which exceeds the retention rates of the participating urban school districts.
James Flynn, Fangzhou Guo, Subin Yoon, Sergio Alvarez, and Matthew Erickson (Earth & Atmospheric Sciences) published “Airmass history, night-time particulate organonitrates, and meteorology impact urban SOA formation rate,” in Atmospheric Environment with colleagues from Rice University and Baylor University. The project included both field measurement and chemistry modeling to improve our understanding of air pollution (especially secondary organic aerosols, more generally referred to as PM) in the San Antonio region. It was funded by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality and utilized the UH EAS Mobile Air Quality Laboratory. The researchers identified distinct pathways and key parameters that govern day- and night-time secondary organic aerosol formation, bettering our understanding of urban aerosol from a rate perspective and providing scientific guidance to improve the air quality in Texas.
Samaneh Karami (Biology & Biochemistry, CNRCS) received a HEALTH-Research Centers in Minority Institutions (HEALTH-RCMI) Pilot Program Award. Karami will explore human models for early detection of postpartum breast cancer in at-risk minorities. Her overarching objective is to develop a new targeted breast cancer therapy specifically tailored to a woman’s genetic variations. She was awarded $50,000 by the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities and HEALTH-RCMI. Tasneem Bawa-Khalfe (Biology & Biochemistry, CNRCS) and Fatima Merchant (Engineering Technology) are her mentors and advisors.
Lisa Koerner and Daniel Cherdack (Physics) were awarded a $1.5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science to study neutrino oscillations over the course of three years. The UH physicists work with collaborators around the world on experiments hosted at Fermilab, CERN, and J-PARC, particle physics and accelerator laboratories in the U.S., Europe, and Japan, respectively. The main goal of this work is to understand the behavior of neutrinos, which behave differently when they traverse time and space independently, and when they interact with matter. Koerner, Cherdack, and their team will investigate neutrino oscillations, specifically comparing the oscillations for both neutrinos and their antimatter counterpart, antineutrinos.
Mariam Manuel (teachHOUSTON, Mathematics) was featured on UH’s Scholars Walk digital screens located between the Student Center South and the back side of M.D. Anderson Library. The Scholars Walk saluted her achievements in student success stating that she “draws from her experience as a teacher and first-generation student to champion culturally responsive STEM education. She recently secured a $1.6 million NSF Racial Equity in STEM grant, dedicated to expanding underserved students’ access to STEM education.”
Martin Nuñez (Biology & Biochemistry) published “A single range-expanding species reshapes alpine ecosystems and their belowground diversity” in the journal Oikos with colleagues from Concordia University, McGill University, Université du Québec à Montréal, and Dawson College. The paper looks at pine invasions in high Andean treeless ecosystems and the huge negative impacts. The upslope spread of novel trees is quickly transforming vulnerable unforested alpine ecosystems. Starting only a few years after establishment, novel trees impact soil conditions, creating distinct “islands” of microhabitat with altered soil chemistry and wetter soils. In turn, these abiotic changes are associated with deterministic shifts in communities of fungi interacting with the roots of native plants. These findings fill an important gap in the understanding of the initiation and structuring of novel ecosystems in the context of global change.
Martin Nuñez (Biology & Biochemistry) was a corresponding author on a review paper, “Unintended consequences of planting native and non-native trees in treeless ecosystems to mitigate climate change” published in Journal of Ecology. Other UH authors included Kerri Crawford, Romina Dimarco, and second-year graduate student Tess Peterson. The paper addresses the problem of using trees in naturally treeless ecosystems to fight climate change. Planting trees in treeless areas (grasslands and shrublands) is a widely used tool around the world aimed at sequestering CO2 from the atmosphere. At issue is the fact that while trees capture carbon, they may not be ideal to keep it stored since they can burn or sequester less than the preexisting plants. Other authors on the paper were from Universidad Nacional del Comahue (Argentina), Manaaki Whenua Landcare Research (New Zealand), Universidad de Concepción (Chile), Rice University, and the Missoula Fire Sciences Laboratory-USDA Forest Service.
Daniel Onofrei (Mathematics), David Jackson, and Zhu Han (both UH Engineering) are part of the Spectrum Management with Adaptive and Reconfigurable Technology (SMART) Hub – a Department of Defense Spectrum Innovation Center to conduct multifaceted spectrum research to meet national defense needs. The $5 million research consortium, led by Baylor University, is a collection of researchers, engineers, and economic and policy experts looking to enact a paradigm shift in the use and management of the wireless spectrum. SMART Hub will develop next-generation technologies for unprecedented spectrum agility, to revolutionize the increasingly crowded communication spectrum used by both U.S. defense efforts and the population at large. Onofrei, Jackson, and Han will produce strategies for enhanced communication in complex environments, like forests, inner city environments, mountainous terrains, or regions having electromagnetic interference.
Carlos Ordonez (Physics) published a review article, “Quantum Computing with Trapped Ions: A Beginner’s Guide,” in the European Journal of Physics. Co-authors were former Physics graduate student Abhijit Chakraborty and Francesco Bernardini (UH Engineering). Quantum computing is undergoing transformative growth, and trapped ions are at the center of this evolution. The article explains the fundamentals of trapped-ion quantum computing, which is one of the potential platforms for constructing a scalable quantum computer. The evaluation of a trapped-ion system’s viability for quantum computing is conducted in accordance with DiVincenzo’s criteria. The paper addresses the challenge of scalability in ion chains and highlights that as ion chains extend to about 100 ions, coherence times tend to shorten. This insight is crucial for designing quantum computing systems. This review is aimed at upper-division/first-year graduate students, with a pedagogical emphasis.
Mary Ann Ottinger (Biology & Biochemistry) and Donna Holmes of University of Idaho published an article in GeroScience focusing on the comparative biology and evolution of aging and longevity and looking at non‑traditional approaches for basic aging research for facilitating translational studies. The paper addresses the animal models currently available for aging and translational geroscience; barriers for studies of healthy aging and how specific animal models might be useful; which vertebrate animal models can specifically address targeted questions in human aging processes; and whether information can be synthesized for a range of vertebrate species to identify suitable animal models for questions relative to basic physiological function, timing and trajectory of disease progression, effects of environmental stressors, and potential for regenerative medicine.
IEEE Fellows
Gopal Pandurangan and Ioannis Pavlidis (Computer Science) were elevated from senior member status of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) to IEEE Fellow, a prestigious accomplishment in the world of technology and engineering. The designation reflects not only their significant contributions and ongoing impact, but also UH’s commitment to fostering a culture of innovation and excellence. In elevating Pandurangan to fellow status, IEEE cited his “contributions to theory and algorithms for distributed computing and networks.” His research has not only expanded our understanding of fundamental algorithms but also has paved the way for practical applications in distributed systems, network protocols, and data management. Pavlidis’ elevation to IEEE Fellow cited his “contributions to contact-free physiological measurements and affective computing.” Affective computing can recognize, interpret, process, and simulate human emotions. In the 2000s, Pavlidis was the first to conceive and develop contactless measurement methods for stress-induced instantaneous perspiration, breathing, and pulsation. The methods were based on models driven by thermal facial imaging data.
Weiyi Peng and Jiakai Hou (Biology & Biochemistry, CNRCS) published “Integrated multi-omics analyses identify anti-viral host factors and pathways controlling SARS-CoV-2 infection” in Nature Communications with colleagues from UT M.D. Anderson, UTMB, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, University of Texas, and Cleveland Clinic. The COVID-19 pandemic underscored an urgent need to develop effective anti-SARS-CoV-2 therapy. However, limited knowledge about the role of host factors in SARS-COV-2 infection impedes the development of effective host-targeted therapy. The research team performed genome-wide CRISPR/Cas9 screens and conducted in silico approaches to identify host factors essential for SARS-CoV-2 infection. Their study uncovers a set of host factors that are currently underappreciated, including the components for transporting protons, protein modifications, and controlling chromosome segregations. Additionally, all three identified anti-viral host factors were shown to regulate expression of genes in the coagulation pathway, highlighting the involvement of the coagulation system in determining the severity of COVID-19. Collectively, this study provides a rich resource for understanding the host anti-SARS-CoV-2 network. This resource is expected to facilitate the development of new countermeasure strategies of COVID-19. Additional authors on the paper from UH included postdoctoral fellow Ningbo Zheng, former graduate students Nicholas A. Egan and Ritu Bohat, and current graduate students Roshni Jaffery, Si Chen, and Ashley M. Guerrero.
Minako Righter (Earth & Atmospheric Sciences) returned from her second trip with the Antarctic Search for Meteorites (ANSMET). The expedition ran from late November to early February. Righter was part of an eight-person team that recovered more than 200 meteorites. ANSMET is a U.S.-led field-based science project that recovers meteorite specimens from Antarctica. Since 1976, more than 23,000 specimens have been recovered from meteorite stranding surfaces along the Transantarctic Mountains. These specimens are a reliable, continuous source of new, non-microscopic extraterrestrial material and support thousands of scientists from around the globe as they seek essential “ground-truth” concerning the materials that make up the asteroids, planets, and other bodies of our solar system. ANSMET, funded by NASA and run by Case Western Reserve University, has been operating since 1976. After each field season, the newly recovered specimens are shipped (still frozen) to the Antarctic Meteorite laboratory at NASA’s Johnson Space Center.
Madhan Tirumalai (Biology & Biochemistry) published “Education and public outreach: communicating science through storytelling” in the Journal of Microbiology & Biology Education (an American Society for Microbiology journal). In the article, he describes his experience in what began as a one-off participation at an outreach event and led to a series of public speaking events at several astronomy clubs/societies, observatories, and other locations in Texas, Louisiana, New Mexico, and Colorado. His talks have often involved the use of motifs and characters from popular science fiction, literature, and movies to explain microbiology, extremophiles, and astrobiology. This approach has led to audience involvement. His paper addresses how innovative means of communication in science, when used effectively, can make an impact in the STEM fields.
Oomman Varghese (Physics) and Flavio L. Souza edited the book, Conversion of Water and CO2 to Fuels using Solar Energy: Science, Technology and Materials. This book provides researchers interested in solar fuel generation a comprehensive understanding of the emerging solar technologies for hydrogen generation via water splitting and carbon-based fuel production via CO2 recycling. The book presents the fundamental science, technologies, techno-economic analysis, and most importantly, the materials that are being explored to establish artificial methods of fuel production using solar energy.
Quentin Vicens (Biology & Biochemistry) published “Z‑Form Adoption of Nucleic Acid is a Multi-Step Process Which Proceeds through a Melted Intermediate” in the Journal of the American Chemical Society with Beat Vögeli and others from the University of Colorado Denver School of Medicine. The paper was highlighted in Spotlights on Recent JACS Publications. When bound and stabilized by Zα domains within a variety of innate immune response proteins, both DNA and RNA can adopt unstable Z-conformation of nucleic acids. The authors used a combination of NMR and biophysical measurements to reveal that the adoption of the Z-form by nucleic acids is a multi-step process proceeding through melted intermediates, validating a previously proposed “zipper model.” This mechanistic insight into the conformation changes of nucleic acids is likely to facilitate future understanding and control over a variety of innate immune responses and viral proteins.
Vicens’ work was also reported on in the Royal Chemistry Society’s Chemistry World, “More than a mirror-image: left-handed nucleic acids,” by reporter Rachel Brazil.
Quentin Vicens (Biology & Biochemistry, CNRCS) published “Zα Domain of ADAR1 Binds to an A-Form-like Nucleic Acid Duplex with Low Micromolar Affinity” in the journal Biochemistry with colleagues from the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus. Z-RNA biology is an emerging area of research with implications in auto-immune diseases and cancer. The team’s experimental evidence reveals that a protein domain known to stabilize left-handed Z-RNA double helices also binds to the more common right-handed double helix, only somewhat more loosely. This work helps address some aspects of our mechanistic understanding of the right-to-left transition of RNA double helices. These findings also illuminate approaches that aim to identify Z-RNA in cells.
Guoquan (Bob) Wang (Earth & Atmospheric Sciences), Geophysics Ph.D. student Jennifer Welch, and four collaborators from China published findings in Geophysical Research Letters. The work highlights a significant, yet often overlooked, environmental concern – permanent losses in land surface elevation due to inelastic compaction of expansive soils during prolonged droughts. The study’s authors used a decade of GPS data from the UH Coastal Center. The team observed notable land elevation loss during dry summers. This phenomenon is primarily attributed to the inelastic compaction of expansive soils, widely distributed along the Texas coastal area. The research underscores the urgent necessity to incorporate this factor into coastal infrastructure planning, wetland conservation efforts, and climate adaptation strategies.
Wang, Geology Ph.D. student Kuan Wang, and colleagues in China published in the journal Groundwater research concerning a shift in land subsidence patterns observed in Tianjin, China since 2019, largely due to the South-to-North Water Diversion Project. Analysis using Sentinel-1A InSAR data from 2014 to 2023 indicates a stabilization or rebound in a third of the Tianjin plain. This study introduces a new framework for understanding and preventing subsidence by establishing new preconsolidation heads in the deep aquifer system. Identifying these heads and the safe pumping buffer is key to sustainable groundwater management. The findings from Tianjin offer valuable insights for addressing similar subsidence issues in the greater Houston area. Given the shared challenges of land subsidence in urban and coastal settings, this study’s successful strategies and technologies, particularly the innovative use of surface water diversion and advanced InSAR data analysis, could inform and significantly enhance groundwater management and subsidence mitigation efforts in Houston, contributing to the sustainability and resilience of its infrastructure and natural resources.
Arthur Weglein (Physics) delivered a virtual invited keynote presentation at the Global Congress on Physics and its Applications (GCPA). The conference, held March 21-23, was in Rome. Weglein presented “Advances in Fundamental Directed Seismic Physics Research: Translational Opportunities in Other Areas of Inverse Scattering/Target Identification.” GCPA 2024’s objective was to provide a unique platform for discussing the most recent innovations, practical challenges encountered, and solutions adopted in physics.
Julia Wellner (Earth & Atmospheric Sciences, corresponding author), Ph.D. graduate Rachel Clark (lead author), graduate student Asmara Lehrmann, and former undergraduate Georgina Garcia-Barrera published a new study in the journal PNAS that suggests that significant thinning and retreat of Thwaites Glacier began in the 1940s. Their results on the Thwaites Glacier coincide with previous work that studied retreat of Pine Island Glacier and found its retreat began in the ’40s as well. Clark and the study authors posit that the glacial retreat was likely kicked off by an extreme El Niño climate pattern that warmed the west Antarctic region. Since then, the glacier has not recovered and is currently contributing to 4% of global sea-level rise. The work was part of the Thwaites Offshore Research project, or THOR, an international collaboration whose team members are authors of the study. Wellner is the U.S. lead investigator of THOR. Other authors are from the British Antarctic Survey, University of Alabama, University of Virginia, Cardiff University, Columbia University, University of Cambridge, University of Leipzig, and Ion Beam Physics in Zurich. Read More
Julia Wellner (Earth & Atmospheric Sciences) moderated a four-person panel at a public forum, “Understanding Sea Level Rise,” held at the UH Student Center. The event was part of a four-day workshop, “From Ice Sheets to the Coast: Sea Level Rise Impacts,” featuring glacial and coastal scientists, sea-level experts and policy and resiliency experts. The expected rise in sea level will create a profound shift in coastal flooding through high tides, storm surge and related flooding, making coastal communities more vulnerable to widespread damage. Event sponsors included UH Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Texas at Austin Jackson School of Geosciences, University of Michigan Rackham Graduate School, U.S. National Science Foundation, U.K. Natural Environment Research Council, and International Thwaites Glacier Collaboration.
Honghai Zhang (Earth & Atmospheric Sciences) received a three-year, $498,599 grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Climate Program Office’s Modeling, Analysis, Predictions and Projections Program and National Integrated Drought Information System. The funding supports his study of moisture anomalies as monitors and predictors of droughts in the southwestern United States, including Houston. Zhang will analyze variations in precipitation and moisture in the region, looking closely at the potential for moisture from the tropical Pacific as a possible predictor. He is focused on developing a model that can monitor and predict drought conditions.