Nearly 550 Candidates Participate in May Commencement
Michael Wright 鈥� NSM鈥檚 Outstanding Summa Cum Laude Graduate
The College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics (NSM) held its Spring Commencement on May 11, with nearly 550 bachelor鈥檚, master鈥檚 and doctoral degree candidates crossing the stage. Held at 葫芦影业鈥檚 Hofheinz Pavilion, the ceremony also included the Gerald D. Hines College of Architecture and Cullen College of Engineering.
Nearly 30 doctoral candidates earned degrees in atmospheric sciences, biochemistry, biology, chemistry, computer science, geology, geophysics, mathematics, or physics. Approximately 120 NSM students were candidates for master鈥檚 degrees and 412 students were candidates for bachelor鈥檚 degrees. There were 35 summa cum laude graduates, the highest academic honor for bachelor鈥檚 degree recipients.
During the ceremony, Harold L. Kohn, an M.D. Anderson Professor of Chemistry at UH from 1973-1999, received the President鈥檚 Medallion for his stellar achievements in the research of clinical agents. Kohn discovered lacosamide (Vimpat庐) when he was a researcher at UH. This first-in-class antiepileptic drug for the treatment of partial-onset seizures in adults is marketed in the U.S. and 35 other countries. Kohn is the Kenan Distinguished Professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Outstanding Summa Cum Laude Graduate 鈥� Michael Wright
Michael Wright, NSM鈥檚 outstanding summa cum laude graduate, and Dean Dan Wells. Wright
will work at Pariveda Solutions, a consulting firm. Michael Wright, a computer science major and math minor, attained a near-perfect
GPA of 3.969. As NSM鈥檚 outstanding summa cum laude graduate, Wright gave the keynote
speech at NSM鈥檚 鈥淭ribute to Scholars, Leaders and Partners in Education Luncheon鈥�
and served as the NSM banner bearer in the commencement opening processional.
Wright, who grew up in Ras Tanura, Saudi Arabia, earned his first bachelor鈥檚 degree at the University of Texas at Austin, majoring in Hispanic studies. He then earned a law degree from UH Law Center. In 2010, after practicing law for three years as a civil litigator, he decided to change careers.
鈥淚 wanted to pursue my passion for computer science, and I am happier than I鈥檝e ever been,鈥� Wright said. 鈥淕oing back to school was one of the best decisions I鈥檝e made.鈥�
Wright credits computer science professor, Venkat Subramaniam, for broadening the way he looks at his new career. 鈥淭he class I took from him, programming languages, was the most eye-opening class I鈥檝e taken,鈥� he said. 鈥淭he course tied a lot of concepts together and made me think about what I鈥檓 going to be doing for the rest of my life in a totally different way.鈥�
At UH, Wright received a Department of Computer Science ExxonMobil Scholarship, held an internship for two years at a software development company, and participated in the CougarCS organization. Wright will begin working at Pariveda Solutions, a consulting firm, the week after graduation.
- Kathy Major, College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics