The Office of Undergraduate Research and Major Awards

OURMA Staff

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  Stuart Long

  Associate Dean 
  Undergraduate Research and the Honors College

  Stuart Long is the associate dean of undergraduate research and the Honors College and is the academic advisor for all Honors students majoring in electrical and computer engineering. Additionally, he regularly teaches the honors section of the undergraduate introductory course in electromagnetic waves. He has mentored over 90 undergraduate students in his research during his 44-year career at the University of Houston. He holds a doctorate in applied physics from Harvard University, and his research involves antenna design, wireless communications and applied electromagnetics. 

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  Ben Rayder

  Executive Director

  Ben Rayder is an instructional assistant professor in the Honors College and the executive director of the Office of Undergraduate Research and Major Awards. Prior to joining the Office of Undergraduate Research and Major Awards in 2017, he worked as the assistant director in the fellowships office at Drexel University in Philadelphia. Rayder holds a doctorate in comparative politics from the University of Bamberg and a master’s in modern European studies from the University College London. He earned a bachelor’s in political science and German from the College of the Holy Cross.

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  Rikki Bettinger

  Director

  As the director of the Office of Undergraduate Research and Major Awards, Rikki Bettinger supports students across the university as they pursue undergraduate research, directly overseeing programs including the Mellon Research Scholars and Senior Honors Thesis programs. She received her doctorate in Latin American history from the University of Houston in 2018. She specializes in 19th century transnational Latin American and Caribbean women’s histories with an emphasis on travel writings in the Americas. She also completed a master’s degree in history at The University of Texas at San Antonio and holds a bachelor’s degree in history secondary education from the University of Northern Colorado. Prior to pursuing graduate studies, she taught high school history in San Antonio.

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  Deborah Reyes

  Program Manager

  Debbie Reyes is a program manager for the Office of Undergraduate Research and Major Award where she oversees the PURS and SURF undergraduate research programs. She enjoys working on such a diverse campus and helping students be successful. She received a bachelor's in Communication Studies from Texas State University and a master's degree in Higher Education from the University of Houston. Her research interests include student success, co-curricular learning, and educational policy.

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  Livia Garza

  Program Manager

  Livia Garza is a program manager for the Office of Undergraduate Research and Major Awards, coordinating the Houston Early Research Experience (HERE) and office communications. An Honors College alum, she earned bachelor's degrees in Economics and Liberal Studies from the University of Houston. She also received a master's degree in Library and Information Science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

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  Kalena Holeman

  Undergraduate Advisor

  Kalena Holeman is the undergraduate advisor for the Office of Undergraduate Research and Major Awards. She is pursuing a Bachelor of Arts in English literature with a minor in creative work. A Mellon Research Scholar, FrameWorks Fellow, and PURS recipient, she knows firsthand the difference co-curricular programs can make for young researchers. She assists with programming for the FrameWorks Program and Mellon Research Scholars and provides administrative support for OURMA. Her research interests center on receptions of antiquity and the premodern in 20th-century Black diasporic literature. After graduation, she plans to further pursue her research interests through a Ph.D. in literature.