Ceremony Honors Student Achievements, Awards Honorary Doctorate to Dr. Nathan Fowler
Bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degree candidates were honored during the University of Houston College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics (NSM) Spring Commencement, held May 9 at the Fertitta Center.
More than 800 NSM students completed degree requirements for spring 2025. The graduating class included 34 doctoral candidates who earned degrees in biochemistry, biology, chemistry, computer science, geology, geophysics, mathematics, and physics. 131 students earned master’s degrees, and 703 completed requirements for bachelor’s degrees.
Academic achievement was recognized across all levels. Eighty-four students graduated summa cum laude, the highest academic honor for bachelor’s degree recipients. An additional 136 students earned magna cum laude and 110 earned cum laude distinctions.
Eleven graduates completed the teachHOUSTON program, a partnership between NSM and the UH College of Education. These students have committed to teaching high school mathematics or science, addressing critical needs in STEM education.
Dr. Nathan Fowler Presented with Honorary Doctorate at Spring 2025 Commencement
In keeping with tradition, the University of Houston conferred its highest honor—the Doctorate of Humane Letters, honoris causa—on Nathan Fowler during the Spring 2025 Commencement ceremony.
A distinguished alumnus, accomplished oncologist, and dedicated supporter of the university, Fowler earned his Bachelor of Science in Biology from UH in 1996 before pursuing a career focused on advancing cancer care. He served as a professor in the Department of Lymphoma and Myeloma at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and later as chief medical officer at BostonGene, a biomedical software company specializing in advanced patient analysis.
Fowler’s groundbreaking work in developing novel therapies for low-grade non-Hodgkin lymphoma has significantly improved patient outcomes. He is also the co-founder of Halo House, a nonprofit that provides affordable housing for blood cancer patients undergoing treatment in Houston.
Dan E. Wells Outstanding Dissertation Award – Vuong Dustin Nguyen
Each semester, the Dan E. Wells Outstanding Dissertation Award is presented to a doctoral student who has performed outstanding research and submitted the best dissertation to the College. The Spring 2025 recipient was Vuong Dustin Nguyen, a Computer Science Ph.D. graduate. He received a certificate and an award of $1,000.
Nguyen’s dissertation is titled “Towards Robust Person Re-Identification: Learning Invariant Features Under Clothing Changes and Occlusions.” His research, conducted under the supervision of Professor Shishir Shah, focuses on improving person re-identification in standard surveillance and security footage.
To address challenges such as clothing changes and visual obstructions, Nguyen developed advanced computational learning techniques capable of uniquely identifying individuals using both physical appearance and behavioral patterns. His work led to the creation of new generative models that extract invariant features, increasing the reliability of identification in law enforcement, forensic investigations, and missing person searches.
He will next pursue employment at Autodesk, Inc. as an AI Research Scientist, contributing to research in Generative AI for 3D and CAD Models at the Autodesk AI Lab.
Commencement Student Speaker – Ashish Job
Commencement student speaker Ashish Job is the first generation in his family to attend college in the United States and is graduating with a Bachelor of Science in computer science. Job was selected as speaker through a competition open to all NSM summa cum laude graduates.
In his speech, Job encouraged graduates to embrace life’s unexpected turns, sharing a message drawn from personal experience: “You may not always know your final destination, but you are in charge of your journey. Drive with purpose. Embrace the detours. And be grateful for the ride, even when it's messy or imperfect. Because sometimes the most beautiful destinations are the ones we never planned to visit.”
After a life-altering accident and six months of recovery, Job redirected his academic path to the University of Houston, ultimately transitioning from neuroscience to computer science. He credited the UH community for helping him discover his passion and purpose, and hopes his speech reassured fellow graduates that resilience and adaptability will serve them well beyond the classroom.
During his time at UH, Job earned multiple scholarships and academic awards, including the Academic Excellence Scholarship, Edith and Robert Zinn Scholarship, NSM Alumni Association Scholarship, and more. He also completed internships with NASA, JPMorgan Chase, and Cyvergance.AI, and co-founded resumes.fyi. A dynamic campus leader, he held executive roles in organizations such as CougarCS, CougarAI, and Code[Coogs], and won top placements in numerous hackathons.
Job will begin his career as a software engineer at JPMorgan Chase. He plans to pursue graduate studies in computer science and business, with aspirations of advancing into executive leadership or founding his own technology venture.
NSM’s 4.0 Summa Cum Laude Graduates
During the ceremony, NSM recognized three outstanding students who completed their entire college careers at the University of Houston within six years, each earning a perfect 4.0 grade point average.
- Luiz Fernandez, Biology
- Ngoc-Trang Adrienne Nguyen, Biology (not pictured)
- Hannah Wani, Biology
Commencement Banner Bearers – NSM Outstanding Students
The Commencement processional included outstanding students from NSM’s six departments carrying the college and departmental banners.
- College Banner: Kiran Khan
- Department of Biology and Biochemistry: Hannah Wani
- Department of Chemistry: Allana Darrow
- Department of Computer Science: Victoria Bayang
- Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Jamie Cude
- Department of Mathematics: Matthew Yoon
- Department of Physics: Yugbhai Patel
- Kristoffer Smith, College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics