The Office of Research and Sponsored Programs at Lamar University has awarded the University Scholar award and 14 Research Enhancement Grants to faculty members for research projects across a wide spectrum of academic disciplines.

The University Scholar Award is a prestigious research honor bestowed upon a faculty member who is recognized for individual outstanding contribution to scholarship, research, grant writing and/or creative activity. The University Scholar award is a lifetime achievement, recognizing the recipient's body of work.  The winner receives $5,000.

Weihang Zhu, associate professor and graduate advisor in the Department of Industrial Engineering, has been named University Scholar. He also serves as the director of the Haptics and Computational Optimization Lab, and his active research includes Computer-aided Design and Manufacturing, Smart Manufacturing, 3D Printing, Haptic-augmented Learning for Engineering Education, Haptic, Robotics, Virtual Reality-based Medical Simulation, Augmented Reality, Brain-Computer Interface, GPU-accelerated Computational Optimization, Mobil Computing research and Development, Energy Manufacturing and Production Scheduling Optimization, Mariner Safety, and Port Management.

Research Enhancement Grants (REGs) promote faculty research across a vast array of academic areas and the grants support their research endeavors. There are two categories for Research Enhancement Grants: Proposal Writing and Research and Creative Activity. Winners for Proposal Writing receive up to $15,000 and winners for Research and Creative Activity receive up to $5,000.

The following 2017-2018 REG winners in proposal writing are: Hassan Zargarzadeh, Electrical Engineering; Maryam Vasefi, Biology; Sujing Wang, Computer Science; and Ping He, Mechanical Engineering.

The following 2017-2018 REG winners in research and creative activity are: Berna Eren Tokgoz, Industrial Engineering; Mahmoud Salimi, Communications; Xiaofan He, Electrical Engineering; Chun-Wei Yao, Mechanical Engineering; Xingya Liu, Computer Science; Qin Qian, Civil and Environmental Engineering; Stacey Knight, Nursing; Kendrick Aung, Mechanical Engineering; Jose Vega Guzman, Mathematics; and Jessica Martin, Counseling.