Professors at the University of Houston Cullen College of Engineering received five grants totaling almost half a million dollars from the state of Texas’ Advanced Research Program.
The program, which was founded in 1987, employs a competitive peer-reviewed system to fund the scientific and engineering research projects of faculty members at Texas higher education institutions. Awards are given once every two years.
The University of Houston received a total of eight awards. With five of these, the Cullen College of Engineering’s performance measures up well against other engineering programs in the state. For example, all of Texas A&M University received three awards, all of the University of Texas at Dallas won seven, and all of the University of Texas at Austin received 12.
“These awards demonstrate the value of the research being conducted at the Cullen College of Engineering”, said Ramanan Krishnamoorti, the college’s associate dean for research and a professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering.
The winners from the University of Houston Cullen College of Engineering, along with their project titles, are:
- Vincent Donnelly and Demetre Economou: A Novel Method for Massively Parallel Formation of Nanometer-Scale Patterns and Shapes
- Keith Hollingsworth: Flow Boiling of a Refrigerant-Based Nanofluid in Mini-Channels
- Paul Ruchhoeft and Richard Willson: Development of Implantable Glucose Monitor Technology Using Self-Assembling Micro-Retroreflectors
- Pradeep Sharma and Ramanan Krishnamoorti: Nanocomposite-Based Piezoelectric Actuators and Sensors without use of Piezoelectric Materials
- Cumaraswamy Vipulanandan: New Nanoscale Bimetallic-Biosurfactant Colloidal Solutions to Rapidly Degrade Petroleum Wastes