Ongard Sirisaengtaksin

(1955-2014)

Ongard Sirisaengtaksin, Ph.D. (affectionately known as Dr. Ongard), was a Professor in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering Technology at the University of Houston Downtown (UHD), Houston, Texas. Dr. Ongard first joined UHD as an Assistant Professor of Mathematical Sciences in 1986, and was promoted to full professorship in 2000. He was named a Professor of Computer Science in 2013 for his many years of scholarship and leadership at UHD.  His accomplishments include, but are not limited to, serving as a Principal Investigator (PI) on the National Science Foundation (NSF) CNS award, Paving The Road to Professorship; as a Co-PI on the NSF S-STEM award, Undergraduate/Graduate Student Immersion in Computer Science, Technology and Mathematics; and as a PI on the NSF BPC-AE, Computing Alliance of Hispanic Serving Institutions (CAHSI). He was also the first Computer Science faculty member to develop the materials and implement Peer-Led Team Learning workshops in Computer Science courses at UHD and he served as a founder and Board Director of the Peer-Led Team Learning International Society (2011-2014).

He is survived by his wife, Noemi and three daughters, Natalie, Amanda, and Katrina.