SPORTS
MEN’S BASKETBALL
OPINION
Stiggers develops skills
Online dating just an excuse
After setting a freshman record for 3-pointers, sophomore guard Jherrod Stiggers looks to add new offensive tools to his repertoire.
Cyberspace romance booms, but is it meant to be?
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CALENDAR CHECK:
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DECEMBER
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Emerging Choreographers. Dancers will showcase their skills at noon and 7:30 p.m.
THE DAILY COUGAR
T H E
O F F I C I A L
S T U D E N T
Issue 56, Volume 79
N E W S PA P E R
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Wednesday, December 4, 2013
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ONLINE EXCLUSIVES AT THEDAILYCOUGAR.COM
OBITUARY
Faculty remembers renowned professor Laura Gillespie News editor
Michael Economides, petroleum engineering adjunct professor in the Cullen College of Engineering, died Saturday of a heart attack while on a flight from Madrid to Chile. Economides, 64, was renowned worldwide as a leader in petroleum engineering. He was known for his friendly, social approach to the issues of hydraulic fracturing and energy geopolitics. “He’s an expert on energy; that’s the simplest way to describe Michael. He’s a very scholarly, fundamental technically oriented
engineer professor who was able to translate things from the research side to the commercialism side,” said Michael Harold, chairman and M.D. Anderson Professor of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering. “He was able to bridge the divide very effectively, which is a kind of gift that’s hard to do. (He was) very practically minded, business minded, but he understood the technology at a fundamental level.” Originally a professor at Texas A&M University, Economides came to UH in 1999 as a professor in the Department of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering. As
his international acclaim grew, he became an adjunct professor in 2005 to focus on traveling and writing, teaching one master’s course per semester and advising petroleum engineering students with their projects. “(He brought) practical knowledge into (the) classroom, which students really appreciated,” Harold said. “He also had a way of breaking down the barriers between professor and student and was a very effective teacher and an enthusiastic teacher. He always brought humor into the situation, and I think that helped him connect
with the students very well — and also the professors.” He published a number of journals and books through the years, the most popular of which was “The Color of Oil: Economides The History, the Money and the Politics of the World’s Biggest Business.” The book, which Economides wrote with authors Ronald Oligney and Armando Izquierdo, examines the oil industry through the lenses of
money, technology and people. It was well-received by not only local academics, but also readers on websites such as Amazon and Goodreads. “(Economides) was very knowledgeable and did excellent research in the area of production, which is part of petroleum engineering. This includes the techniques of hydrolic fracturing, which are very much in the news now,” said petroleum engineering professor and director Thomas Holley. “Another reason he was very REMEMBER continues on page 2
CITY
Brasses for the masses Students from the Moores School of Music brought soulful jazz tunes to the University Center Satellite. Erick Alexander on his trumpet and Trenton Minter on his guitar jammed out with Darrel Materum on saxophone. Justin Tijerina/The Daily Cougar
Tattoos controversial at local businesses Rebecca Hennes Contributing writer
Tattoos have become a trending fad over the years, but their appearance isn’t welcomed by everyone. According to Pew Research Center, an annual survey for human resource professionals showed that 60 percent of respondents viewed tattoos negatively and cited them as one of the reasons not hire applicants. “I cannot talk about what are the policies of Schlumberger, but I can tell you one thing: That at the time of interview, if I look at a candidate with tattoos, I will consider it in a negative way,” said Schlumberger engineering adviser and Global Metier Manager of Modeling and Simulation Jadideva Goswami. “When the tattoos are visible, it really doesn’t give a professional feeling. I interview a lot of interns and, putting legal reasons aside, how professional an intern seems is very
important in the hiring process, and in my field of work — in the research field — I don’t see many interns with tattoos.” However, Forbes recently published an article that claims that tolerance seems to be increasing at corporate, medical and educational facilities such as Bank of America and the University of New Mexico. In other situations, the fine line is between what positions people would be able to work in. “If I was hiring a warehouse guy, I wouldn’t care, but if I was hiring someone who has a lot of visibility, it would be an issue I’d have to consider,” said Mathew Minamyer, national sales manager for Sigma-Piping Products Division. “Visibility with the customer base is most important. If I was going to hire a salesperson and they (had a TATTOOS continues on page 2