Houston Public Media Announces $8 Million Anonymous Gift Houston Public Media has received an $8 million testamentary gift from an anonymous couple, the largest gift the station has ever received, to “promote and produce public educational television and radio programming for the use and benefit of humanity.”

Alcohol, Nicotine Co-Exposure During Pregnancy Significantly Increases Health Risk in Newborns In the first study of its kind, University of Houston researchers are reporting that during early pregnancy, the mix of alcohol and nicotine significantly alters the gene regulatory pathways of the developing fetus, which can lead to major deficiencies in brain development.

Staying One Step Ahead to Stop Hackers in their Tracks COVID-19 and the presidential election have led to a significant increase in cyberattacks. To help stop these hackers before they strike, computer science researchers at the University of Houston have been awarded a three-year, $660,000 grant from the U.S. Army Research Office.

Examining the History of Policing and Race Relations in Houston Amid the ongoing national conversation on policing in America, the University of Houston Center for Public History is hosting a virtual panel discussion to examine how past events could lead to effective change in the present.

William A. Brookshire Gift Expands Research at Cullen College of Engineering In recognition of a transformational gift from UH alumnus William A. Brookshire to the Department of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering at the Cullen College of Engineering, the department will be named in his honor.

Center for Carbon Management in Energy Joins National CCUS Effort The Center for Carbon Management in Energy, a research center at the University of Houston, is collaborating with the Southern States Energy Board to promote the rapid deployment of carbon capture, utilization and storage technologies.

Medical Robotic Hand? Rubbery Semiconductor Makes It Possible A medical robotic hand could allow doctors to more accurately diagnose and treat people from halfway around the world, but currently available technologies aren’t good enough to match the in-person experience. Now researchers have reported designing a smart electronic skin and a medical robotic hand capable of assessing vital diagnostic data by using a newly invented rubbery semiconductor.

U.S. News & World Report Ranks UH Among Best Colleges for 2021 The University of Houston has been ranked among the best in the United States in a number of categories, according to the U.S. News and World Report Best Colleges 2021 rankings.

New UH National Research Center to Address Health Disparities in Underserved Areas Slated to have a bold research agenda, a new national research center focused on removing health disparities in Houston’s underserved communities is launching at the University of Houston. The National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities has awarded $11.8 million to create the research center as part of its Research Centers in Minority Institutions (RCMI) program.

UH Experiences Record Enrollment, Master’s Student Headcount and Diversity Increase The University of Houston is experiencing record enrollment in fall 2020. The rise is attributed to a steep increase in new master’s level students. UH’s total preliminary enrollment for fall 2020 is 47,101 students, up 2.1% over fall 2019.

Hobby School Launches Rockwell Center on Ethics and Leadership with $6.5 Million Endowment The Hobby School of Public Affairs at the University of Houston is launching the Elizabeth D. Rockwell Center on Ethics and Leadership with a series of lectures and projects focused on health disparities, voter suppression and racial healing.