Students Presented Original Research in Juried Competition

Three Physics Ph.D. students were selected as Third Prize winners in the Texas Center for Superconductivity at University of Houston’s 59th Student Research Symposium on April 18. The symposium is a juried competition for students selected from each research group headed by a TcSUH principal investigator.

Prizes are awarded based on originality of research (25%), quality of research (25%), quality of presentation (25%), and skillful use of visual aids (25%).

The 2024 competition featured graduate students from the departments of chemistry, physics, electrical and computer engineering, and mechanical engineering. Professors Jiming Bao (electrical and computer engineering), Joshua Bocarsly (chemistry), and Liangzi Deng (physics) served as judges.

Third Prize Winners

The judges selected three Third Prize winners to receive $200 awards. All were Ph.D. students representing the Department of Physics.

Thacien Habamahoro
Replication and Analysis of LK-99—the Alleged Ambient-pressure, Room-temperature Superconductor
Advisors: Paul C. W. Chu and Liangzi Deng

Navmi A. Naik
NiMo-Based Bifunctional Catalyst for Water Electrolysis
Advisor: Zhifeng Ren

David Waligo
Development and Characterization of Advanced Materials for Chemical Sensing
Advisor: Oomman Varghese

All prize winners can apply for the TcSUH Student Travel Awards, which help defray expenses to attend conferences, workshops and important reviews.

Each student presented in one of three sessions held throughout the day. The session chairs were Professors Shuo Chen (physics), Allan J. Jacobson (chemistry), and Jae-Hyun Ryou (mechanical engineering). Graduate students serving as assistant chairs were Ms. FNU Vidhi (physics) and Mr. Edmond Nasr (physics).

- Sue Butler, Texas Center for Superconductivity at UH