On the Path to High Tech – Dr. Hasina Huq
Did you know students at UTPA have already designed computer chips? And that those chips have
become finished products? Dr. Hasina Huq, an Assistant Professor in the Department of Electrical
Engineering http://portal.utpa.edu/utpa_main/daa_home/coecs_home/ee_home happily pointed that
out to Intellectual Energy during a recent visit to talk about her newly won grant from the National
Science Foundation. http://nsf.gov/
Working closely with Dr. Nazmul Islam http://www.utb.edu/vpaa/csmt/engineering/Pages/Islam.aspx
and Dr. Davood Askari http://www.utb.edu/vpaa/csmt/engineering/Pages/Askari.aspx of the University
of Texas – Brownsville http://www.utb.edu/Pages/default.aspx , as well as UTPA’s Dr. Steven Tidrow
http://portal.utpa.edu/utpa_main/daa_home/cosm_home/physics_home/physics_per/per_faculty/facu
lty_tidrow of the Department of Physics and Geology and Dr. Dorina Mihut of the Department of
Mechanical Engineering, Dr. Huq will soon be purchasing $215,000 worth of instruments to work on
semiconductor and thin film research.
“This grant will give us the ability to do more in-depth
research than we can do now and it will allow both graduate
and undergraduate students to do the kind of research we
could not do before” says the native of Bangladesh. “In the
long run, it will help our students design and fabricate chips
with more power.”
“It was really student work that inspired all of us to work
together to get this grant. These chips were designed by
UTPA students in 2009 and 2011, which says a lot for the
high level of expertise our students already have. Since we
are working with UT Brownsville on this grant, and UTB does
not have a graduate program, this will attract the best
students from UTB into our graduate programs.”
Once the instruments are set up and working in a lab at
UTPA, they will be used to study how to design the
insulation between the layers of a computer chip thus
helping to create ever small chips. Though the work will be
considered “pure research”, it will obviously benefit students by giving them practical experience in
research and design. It will also provide leverage for obtaining additional grants.
“We will need to build a semi-clean room to house the instruments” said Huq, adding that the new gear
will be installed next semester. “Our hope is that we can go beyond benefiting our own students, but
that we can work with school teachers in the Valley. I have been a part of Dr. Ben Ghalia’s grant to work
with the La Joya, McAllen and PSJA http://blogs.utpa.edu/research/2011/06/29/engineering-in-thevalley-a-partnership-in-teaching-and-learning/ schools districts and I hope we can include chip research
into that program.”
Intellectual Energy will follow up on this grant and keep you informed of its progress as it has the
potential for making a major impact on UTPA, the Valley and Valley schools.