Dr. C. Vipulanandan (Vipu), Director of the Texas Hurricane Center for Innovative Technology (THC-IT) and professor in the department of civil and environmental engineering at the UH Cullen College of Engineering, was featured on Channel 13 news with Erik Barajas last Friday.
Channel 13 news reported from the fifth annual Texas Hurricane Center Conference, held at the University of Houston Hilton on Friday, August 2nd. They interviewed Dr. Vipu about power grid considerations during hurricanes and strong storms.
"Dr. Vipu of the Texas Hurricane Center for Innovative Technology is helping to shape how municipalities respond in the first hours after a storm," said the article on abclocal.go.com, which accompanied the broadcast story.
Dr. Vipu and and the Cullen College of Engineering have been long-time leaders in researching better ways to protect ourselves and our communities from hurricanes and storms along the Gulf of Mexico. In addition to the Texas Hurricane Center, the Cullen College is also home to the National Center for Airborne Laser Mapping (NCALM), which is jointly operated by the Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, Cullen College of Engineering, University of Houston (UH) and the Department of Earth and Planetary Science, University of California-Berkeley (UCB). The center is supported by a research grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to use airborne laser mapping techniques to create flood maps of areas and map shorelines to determine erosion after a storm.
The conference featured keynote speakers from local, state and federal agencies. Ongoing research and educational programs at various Universities in Texas and Gulf Coast region were presented. The conference also addressed preparation plans for the 2013 hurricane season, including coastal protection and debris management for hurricanes and other disasters.
View photos from the 5th Annual Texas Hurricane Center Conference at the University of Houston!