Teachers across the country have access to dozens of new lesson plans and activities thanks to STEM education efforts (science, engineering, technology and mathematics) at the University of Houston Cullen College of Engineering.

One of the ironies of automobile research: as diesel engines become more fuel efficient, reducing their emissions becomes more challenging.

Better efficiency means that more of the energy in diesel fuel is being used to move the vehicle and less is escaping out the tailpipe in the form of heat. While this is undoubtedly good, it presents a challenge for emissions reduction.

Professor Bonnie Dunbar, retired astronaut, National Academy of Engineering member and alumna of the Cullen College of Engineering, has written a guest blog post on The Academy of Medicine, Engineering, and Science of Texas web site, on the need for solutions to challenges in delivering STEM education.

It is no secret that an engineering degree is worth quite a bit of money these days. According to data from the 2013 report from the National Association of Colleges and Employers, seven of the top 10 highest-paid college degrees are in engineering.

Wind turbines, aircraft, and automobiles could become more tough and durable thanks to research being conducted at the University of Houston Cullen College of Engineering. All of these use composites, materials that contain two or more constituents that have distinct properties. In these examples, the composites are composed of a polymer resin and reinforcing fibers such as glass or carbon.

Tracy Ngu graduated with a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the UH Cullen College of Engineering in May 2012. She now works as a process engineer at Technip USA here in Houston.

While at the Cullen College, Tracy was an active member of the PROMES (Program for Mastery in Engineering Studies) Program, which offers specialized curricula that emphasizes academic success strategies and personal and professional skills development.

Vita Como, director of the UH Cullen College of Engineering's career center, has devoted much of her career to passing on words of wisdom to soon-to-be college graduates on how they can land their dream jobs straight out of school.

Ask any professor: A good idea alone isn’t likely to receive serious research funding. Big awards almost always have some data that supports the project, that shows the researcher’s idea should work.

In a classic catch-22, though, getting this data itself takes money. Materials for experiments, graduate student time, lab space, computing power – none of these are free.

Congratulations, Cullen College of Engineering grads!! View photos from last Saturday's commencement at our Flickr page.