COMPUTER INFORMATION DEGREE ACCREDITED ABET’s Computing Accreditation Commission granted accreditation of UHCL’s Bachelor of Science in Computer Information Systems. The accreditation action extends retroactively from October 2004. Other UHCL programs with ABET accreditation include the Bachelor of Science in Computer Systems Engineering and the Bachelor of Science in Computer Science. ABET Inc., the recognized accreditor for college and university programs in applied science, computing, engineering and technology, is a federation of 28 professional and technical societies representing these fields. Among the most respected accreditation organizations in the United States, ABET has provided leadership and quality assurance in higher education for more than 70 years.

FOUNDATION FUNDS SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY SCHOLARSHIPS The National Science Foundation granted a four-year, $477,200 award as part of its Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics program to UHCL. Kwok-Bun Yue, professor of computer science and computer information systems, and Sharon Perkins Hall, associate professor of computer science and computer information systems, submitted the grant proposal to benefit academically talented, financially needy undergraduate students in computer science, computer information systems, computer systems engineering and mathematics.

NEW ENDOWMENT HONORS LUNNEY FAMILY UHCL hosted a signing celebration for The Rotary Aerospace Scholarship Endowment in Honor of the Glynn Lunney Family. The $30,000 endowment will provide scholarship funding for students majoring in programs within the School of Science and Computer Engineering focusing on the aerospace community. On hand for the signing were UHCL President William A. Staples, Rotary National Awards for Space Achievement Foundation President Floyd Bennett, Glynn and Marilyn Lunney and many friends.

THECB GRANT ADDS UP TO SUCCESSIN EDUCATION Suzanne Brown, associate professor of curriculum and instruction, received a $170,000 grant from the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board’s Teacher Quality Grants Program for the UHCL Mathematics Institute 2006- 08. This grant marks the 22nd year that UHCL’s School of Education has received funding from the THECB to sponsor the Mathematics Institute for area school districts. The grant allows Brown, who also serves as the university’s program area chair for curriculum and instruction, to provide the institute to teachers in the Goose Creek Consolidated, Galveston and Dickinson Independent School Districts. Teachers participating in the institute gain content knowledge and instructional strategies in measurement. By providing financial aid for each participating teacher, the grant will specifically fund 12 graduate hours of tuition, manipulative materials and books, and a $1,000 stipend.

PROF ASSISTS DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE WITH CENSUS Raj Chhikara, professor of mathematics and statistics, received $40,000 from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural Statistics Division for his project, “Develop and Evaluate Model Procedures to Estimate the Stratum Variance Used in Allocating Area Frame Samples for the 2007 Agriculture Census,” which will aid USDA with the estimated number of farms for the 2007 Agriculture Census.

CHEMISTRY ARTICLE MAKES ‘TOP 50’LIST Publishers of the Coordination Chemistry Reviews notified Jack Lu, associate professor of chemistry, that his article, “Crystal Engineering of Cu-containing Metal Organic Coordination Polymers under Hydrothermal Conditions,” which was published by the journal in 2003, was recognized as one of its Top 50 Most Cited Articles. He and other authors of the top 50 articles were recognized at the 37th International Conference of Coordination Chemistry in August.