Lamar University

“This was my first research trip, so I gained a lot of practical field experience,” McCall said. “I learned how to work with colleagues, how to prepare and perform field work, and how to communicate what we were doing with the local population.” Seeing people, and particularly children, who are affected by an ongoing health problem moved her, she said, it was an experience that would help her be better able to relate to patients as a doctor someday. “It is easy to get stuck in your own experience, but seeing the conditions, the way other people live, gives me greater empathy and understanding,” she said. As she begins the new semester, McCall plans to seek additional opportunities to engage in undergraduate research at Lamar.

Presidential Summer Fellow Emily McCall studies snails, parasitic flatworms in Kenya

A 100-million-year-old tropical ocean floor, the oldest rock in Texas, and a reef that predates dinosaurs are just some of the sites LU Earth Science and Geology majors recently spent two weeks exploring.

Two-week tour traverses time, students visit Texas geologic outcrops

Spanish culture became the birthplace of fingerspelling, which has become an essential component of American Sign Language, when Melchor de Yerba published the fingerspelled alphabet in 1593. Benedictine monks incorporated fingerspelling into use. Ponce de Leon and Juan Pablo Bonet, who used fingerspelling, speechreading and signs to teach deaf children. “Barcelona utilizes a philosophy of bilingual education, which is mirrored by the Deaf Studies/Deaf Education programs at Lamar University. ASL and English are taught simultaneously in the classroom,” says Cain Chiasson, LU adjunct instructor.

Bilingual in Barcelona: LU students expand ASL proficiency in experiential learning

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Naomi Raczkovi of Beaumont, was able to take a part in San Francisco Partners in the Park June 25-29, thanks to support from Lamar University’s Reaud Honors College. The trip, “Partners in the Parks–Golden Gate National Recreation Area,” was co-sponsored by Tacoma Community College and the National Collegiate Honors Council. Raczkovi, a sophomore nursing major at LU, says she is, “so grateful for the Reaud's Honor College for helping her fund this trip.” Edward Doan and Luke Nguyen, joined Raczkovi on the trip to study the relationships between national parks and the effect the proximity of San Francisco has had on them. While there they “enjoyed the views and tours of the Marin Headlands, Muir Woods, Fort Point, Alcatraz, Sausalito, North Beach, Coit Tower, and the Golden Gate Bridge, ” Raczkovi said. “Going to all the National Parks made me realize how small we are in the great nature that surrounds us.” Raczkovi specifically spoke about one expedition where they took an, “intriguing tour of the Red Wood trees in Muir Woods. The information we received from our park ranger tour guide was both fascinating to hear and amazing to see in person. I would highly recommend it to anyone who comes to San Francisco.” “I truly still cannot believe I had the opportunity to do all these things and to see the sights I saw, but the memories will always be appreciated! The San Francisco Partners in the Park was such an extraordinary experience and a trip I would do over again if I could,” Raczkovi said.

A SAN FRANtastic time with Partners in the Parks

LU administrators joined Entergy Texas reps yesterday to receive a $90,348 energy conservation incentive and recognize 2 years of campus-wide conservation improvement projects.

Energy savings nets rewards as LU receives incentives

It was the spring of 1998 when Beaumont resident Brian Kordie, Class of ‘89, one day noticed that his Lamar University class ring had gone missing. He was in the midst of looking at boats to purchase and, one day prior to noticing the absence of his ring, visited the Neches River, where he met with a Lumberton man to inspect and test-drive a boat. Ultimately, Mr. Kordie decided against purchasing the boat, but he unknowingly left for home even more empty-handed than he had thought…without his Lamar University class ring. Nearly 20 years later, he received an unbelievable call from Lamar University’s office of Alumni Affairs. A Nederland woman had discovered an LU class ring with Kordie’s name engraved on the inside of it. Astonished after spending nearly two decades without it, he immediately asked where the ring had been found. The alumni office informed him that the Nederland woman had been in the process of cleaning a newly purchased boat, purchased from a Lumberton resident, when she noticed the ring and turned it in. Kordie was shocked. "I could not believe what good shape it was in after being in the bottom of a boat for the past 20 years. It was amazing that the boat was even still around after so long, but even more that my ring was still in there." Kordie says the ring, which he wore every day until it's loss, represents his "achievements and pride for a great school."

LU Class Ring Returned 20 Years Later

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Rethinking Stress

A remote-sensing program using state-of-the-art drone technology will soon be added to Lamar University’s Department of Geology thanks to a $500,000 gift from former Texaco plant supervisor Ed Hogenson of Port Neches, in honor of his son, Bill Hogenson of Houston, a Lamar University geology graduate and vice president with Zone Oil and Gas LLC.

Gift propels LU research into drone-based remote sensing

Recognizing that even the simplest outings can be made difficult when a loved one has dementia, Natalie Sfeir began championing a place where families could seek comfort and understanding. It's called the Memory Café. "I want to be an advocate for those who can't work to do things on their own," the speech and hearing science major said. "The café is something that you can't find in this area, so this would really stand out, and I believe that it will really help the community."

Memories and Coffee

LU alumnus Anthony George '88 graduated with a degree in physics and a double minor in electrical engineering and computer science. Now his company sells the No. 1 marine fuel management product in the world. "Fuel theft in many parts of the world is endemic,” George said. The ability to monitor marine fuel loading, quality and use in near real-time around the globe is a game changer, he said. With a quarter million vessels in the world, George sees a multi-billion-dollar market in taking fuel tracking from the dipstick to digital automation. "FuelTrax determines how hard the vessel is working. We used equations that I learned under [LU physics professor] Dr. Pizzo that I would not have understood had I not changed my major to physics. I look back on that and think how fortuitous that decision was. I remember when my dad asked me, 'Son what are you going to do with a physics degree?' Well, Dad, in 20 years I'm going to invent FuelTrax."

From Potato Chips to Pipelines

Sixteen 7th and 8th-grade girls from the southeast Texas area explored principles of engineering and robotics at Lamar University’s third annual X-plore LUEE summer camp. The four-day camp is filled with different topics and activities that give hands-on learning experience with electrical engineering.

Middle-school girls X-plore electrical engineering

Honoring her life-long achievements in and contributions to the sport of basketball, former Lamar University women's basketball player and current Miami-Dade College head coach Susan Summons was inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame on Saturday, June 9. Summons spent the 1978-79 and 1979-80 seasons as a Cardinal.

Summons Joins Women's Basketball Hall of Fame

Lamar University will showcase the art of its alumni in its first-ever juried show for LU alumni. After School Special: The Lamar University First Juried Alumni Art Exhibition will run from June 15 to August 3. The exhibition celebrates the 35th anniversary of the Dishman Art Museum. The public is invited to an opening reception on Friday, June 15, from 6:30 p.m. to 8: 30 p.m., at the Dishman Art Museum, 1030 East Lavaca Street, on the Lamar University Campus. Admission and parking are free.

After School Special: The Lamar University First Juried Alumni Art Exhibition

Students pursuing communication degrees in the College of Fine Arts and Communication at Lamar University will benefit from the new Gladys and Bill Hammond Scholarship thanks to the generosity of their daughter, Judy Hammond. “Both parents instilled in me the importance of a great college education, and thanks to Lamar, I was able to obtain that."

Gladys and Bill Hammond Scholarship supports LU communication students