Breakthrough (College of Natural Sciences & Mathematics)

UH College of Natural Sciences & Mathematics Breakthrough (College of Natural Sciences & Mathematics)

Scenes Around NSM

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NSM Student Leaders Produce Encouraging Messages of Support/Study Tips

In response to the move to online instruction in March, NSM’s Student Leaders launched a social media campaign using NSM’s Instagram account. The students filmed short messages offering study tips and words of encouragement to their fellow students. The messages, posted as an Instagram story, were also shared on NSM’s Facebook and Twitter accounts. See Video Messages Here

Featured Video: Controlled Burn at UH Coastal Center

A 100-acre controlled burn of the Aumann Prairie at the UH Coastal Center took place in late February. The organized effort involved about 40 personnel including conservation volunteers and firefighters from the cities of La Marque, Bayou Vista, Galveston, Baytown and Fresno. The burn will help to increase the biodiversity of the coastal prairie. The burn also served as a training opportunity for the firefighters from the various cities. Read More

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Discovering an Island: Unexpected Addition to Research Expedition

While Julia Wellner and two UH students were doing research as part of the Thwaites Glacier Offshore Research Project on the west coast of Antarctica, the science team discovered a new island in Pine Island Bay of the Amundsen Sea. The 12-acre island, which they named Sif Island, was left behind as the ice retreated. It hadn’t been mapped before as a separate piece of land. Photo by Gui Bortolotto, University of St. Andrews. Read More

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Jiaxuan Li: Dan E. Wells Outstanding Dissertation Award Recipient Spring 2020

Jiaxuan’s dissertation, “Inverting In-situ Anisotropy in Global Subduction Slabs Using Deep Earthquakes and Imaging Binary Mixtures and Fractures,” was centered on three main research topics: deep earthquakes, binary mixtures and machine learning in geothermal energy development. Jiaxuan was the first author on a publication in Nature Geoscience that is considered a milestone in the field of deep earthquake research, as it helped solve a 50-year-old scientific puzzle – why do deep earthquakes radiate seismic differently compared to shallow ones? His advisor was Yingcai Zheng, associate professor Department of Earth & Atmospheric Sciences.

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Coolest Space on Campus: Keeland Building Greenroof

The rooftop garden built into the design of the College of Architecture’s Keeland Building includes seven different planting beds. NSM’s Horticulture Society maintains the garden that is seeded with native Texas plants, including bluebonnets, Indian paintbrush wildflowers and lemon mint. The group uses it as a demonstration and teaching space. With several flower planting beds, it’s possible for students to test different plants in each bed, with different growth conditions and watering regimes. Read More