A University of Houston researcher is trying a novel approach to create high efficiency, low cost solar cells in an effort to bring the cost down to that of traditional electricity sources.

The Mehta family has provided support to establish the Mehta Family Engineering Research Center on the ground floor of the University of Houston’s new Multidisciplinary Research and Engineering Building.

This year's Undergraduate Research Day will take place Thursday, October 9th at 4 p.m. in the Rockwell Pavilion at the M.D. Anderson Library at the University of Houston main campus.

Out of the 150 undergraduate researchers showcasing their posters and oral presentations, 20 will be undergraduates from the UH Cullen College of Engineering.

About 70 percent of the Earth’s surface is covered in water, and just less than 97 percent of this water is held in the world’s oceans. As a resource in its own right, water is hugely abundant, but harnessing it in efficient ways that benefit humanity proves challenging for researchers.

It could be a fun party trick – put your cell phone down on a table and watch it fade into the woodwork – or part of a lifesaving technology used by industry or the military.

Researchers have developed a technology that allows a material to automatically read its environment and adapt to mimic its surroundings. The technology is described in a paper published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Hadi Ghasemi, assistant professor of mechanical engineering, is relatively new to the Cullen College of Engineering, but his postdoctoral work performed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is making headlines even after his move to the Lone Star State.

Extreme Environment Workshop: Design for Survival -- Where and When it Matters Most

Take part in an interdisciplinary undergraduate/graduate level course which explores urgent habitation challenges which are both common and unique to various Earth and space environments. Investigations and discussions will address issues that include:

The Cullen College of Engineering’s own Bonnie Dunbar, M.D.

The University of Houston’s colleges of business and engineering have gained new support from one of the city’s energy leaders, which has donated money to a variety of programs and student support services.

Phillips 66, a Houston-based energy manufacturing and logistics company, was created in 2012 through a split with ConocoPhillips. It cracked the top 10 in the Fortune 500 last year, reaching No. 6 with revenue over $161 billion in 2013.