NEWS
The Oklahoma Daily | OUDaily.com
Wednesday, September 29, 2010 • 3
RESEARCH
Scholarships take graduate students abroad Awards help fund student travel to internationally prestigious events; second year of funding sends Sooners to 2 continents, 9 countries DHARA SHETH The Oklahoma Daily
Graduate school is a big expense, but one scholarship fund is literally making it worth students’ while. Chuong Nguyen, OU Electrical and Computer Engineering graduate student, is in Hong Kong for a week as the latest beneficiary of the T.H. Lee Williams International Scholarship. Nguyen is presenting her research project at the International Conference on Image Processing (ICIP) and said she appreciates the technical feedback she gets from experts there. “My research project aims to find algorithms/methods to mimic the way human process visual information, i.e., images or videos,” Nguyen said in an e-mail. The scholarship pays half the costs, up to $1,800, for students to attend an international conference. The students’ college or department must match that amount for a total of up to $3,600, according to their scholarships’ website. In its second year, the scholarship has already allowed nine students to attend conferences in India, France, Singapore, Italy, Sweden, Australia, Denmark, Spain and China. Graduate students from any department can apply. Chemistry graduate research assistant Gopal Abbineni attended a December conference at the Indian Institute of Technology in Guwahati, India. His research focuses on genetic modification of bacteriophages and their biomedical applications. Abbineni said students should not underestimate the value of face time at these conferences. “When graduate students present their research in international conferences, they usually receive lots of attention from world-renowned scientists,” Abbineni said. Abbineni has been invited to speak at Andhra University in Andrapradesh, India. He also was invited back to speak again at the Indian Institute of Technology after he completes his doctoral degree. This conference opened up several other opportunities to Akiko Yoshida, as well. After presenting her dissertation at one of the most prestigious international conferences in the field of sociology, the International Sociological Association World Congress of Sociology, she said she “was informally invited to sit in panels at other conferences and to submit [her]
HELEN GRANT/THE DAILY
Gopal Abbineni, Graduate Research Assistant in Chemistry and Biochemistry, and T.H. Lee Williams discuss Abbineni’s graduate studies. Williams said there will be international opportunites for Abbineni to present his findings on the use of nanotechnology. papers to academic journals and conferences in Japan and other countries.” T. H. Lee Williams said the program aims to give students more opportunities to present their work at OU internationally. “Students do not aspire to put in papers for major conferences because they worry about the expenses involved in going and believe they cannot go,” Williams said. This up-to-$3,600 scholarship only requires that the conferences students present at are internationally prestigious events. The Graduate College pays for half of the trip and asks the student’s department to come up with the funding for the other half. The next scholarship deadline is Oct. 15.
Dallas alumni club hosts Red River Rivalry weekend events OU Club of Dallas gears up for major fundraising weekend; to provide bus transportation to and from game MELISSA MORGAN The Oklahoma Daily
The Red River Rivalry might be an away game for OU students, but the OU Club of Dallas strives to make Oklahomans feel right at home in Texas. The OU Club of Dallas is a non-profit organization dedicated to serving the Dallas-area students, parents, graduates, previous students, fans or friends of the University of Oklahoma who support the Sooners in academics and athletics, OU Club of Dallas President Tina Tuccelli said. OU-Texas weekend is the major fundraising weekend for the club, according to Tuccelli, a 2000 alumna. She said this is the club’s 60th year as hometown hosts of OU-Texas weekend events. Proceeds from the events help to fund the club’s scholarship program and make donations to the Pride, Sooner Club, Alumni Association, the President’s Associates and other colleges and departments at the university, she said. “ The weekend is also fun to host Sooners in our city with great activities,” Tuccelli said by e-mail. Since 1988, the club has awarded more than $500,000 in academic scholarships benefiting more than 225 students. In
addition to academic scholarships, the OU Club of Dallas has contributed more than $350,000 to OU between November 1978 and December 2009, Tuccelli said. After graduation, some recent OU alumni move or return to the Dallas area. The club provides a great way for Sooners to stay involved with OU from Dallas, said Autumn Dillon, 2010 OU alumna now living in Dallas. “The club helps me stay connected to the OU community by being able to watch the games with other OU fans, and also continue meeting people after I’ve graduated,” Dillon said by e-mail. “It’s great to have a place to go on Saturdays to watch the games, especially when everyone there is rooting for your team.” All OU students are encouraged to attend any and all club events throughout the year as well as take advantage of the club’s hotel discounts and travel information for OU-Texas weekend, said Toya Harris, vice president of events for the club, in an e-mail. The club will provide busses to and from the game Saturday. “For those who have fought traffic trying to get to the fair or waited in line for the Dallas Area Rapid Transit, you’ll agree that the OU Club of Dallas busses are the way to go,” Harris said. Ages in the club range from recent graduates to fans in their 60s. “You aren’t just a Sooner for the four or five, or six years that you attend OU, you are a Sooner for life,” Harris said.
BRIEFS
Colleges sponsor OU-Texas receptions for students OU alumni heading to Saturday’s OU-Texas game can reconnect with former classmates Friday in Dallas. Michael F. Price College of Business will host its annual Red River Reception from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Friday at the Hilton Anatole Hotel, 2201 Stemmons Freeway. The event is by invitation only and features a reception geared toward donors, said Mary Stephens, executive assistant to the dean. Also held at the hotel’s Topaz Room, the OU College of Architecture will host an open reception serving hors d’oeuvres from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Guests can RSVP at 405-325-2444. The Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communication will hold its annual Beat Texas! reception from 5 to 7:30 p.m. at the Moroch and Partners office building, 3625 N. Hall St. It is open to alumni and students. —Emily Hopkins/The Daily
New safety course aimed at young drivers In an effort to inform young drivers about the dangers of the road, the Oklahoma Safety Council will host the Alive at 25 program on Saturday, Oct. 2nd. Norman has the third highest number of traffic collisions within the 15-24-year-old age group in the state, according to Oklahoma Safety Council Marketing & Events Manager Kellie Warrior. “The Alive at 25 program brings awareness to young adults and teaches them how to make better driving decisions,” The program is directed towards Norman to help lower the amount of traffic collisions by young adults. Between 2006 and 2009, there have been 6,068 traffic collisions involving young drivers between ages 15 to 24. The course costs $40 and will be held at the Oklahoma Safety Council in Oklahoma City from 9 a.m to 1 p.m. — Ryan Gerbosi/The Daily
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Recent scholarship conferences Chuong Nguyen Electrical & Computer Engineering July 2010 Conference: International Conference on Image Processing in Hong Kong. Paper: “Modulation Doman Texture Decomposition” Jonathan Mui Zoology July 2010 Conference: International Congress of Neuroethology in Salamanca, Spain Paper: “Regional distributions of active spinal cord neurons during four fictive behaviors” —Dhara Sheth/The Daily