Institute Will Draw Partnerships to Focus on Energy, Health Care, Cybersecurity, Smart Cities

The University of Houston has launched a new Institute for Data Science, naming Andrea Prosperetti, Distinguished Professor of mechanical engineering at the Cullen College, to lead the venture.

For most people the word “energy” conjures images of oil and gas operations, but the science of electric power and energy systems is gaining momentum as advances in hybrid-electric cars and alternative energy systems have renewed interest in the possibilities of power electronics.

Clean energy research in the UH Cullen College of Engineering was the subject of a front page story in last Sunday's Houston Chronicle, which explores why the city of Houston is failing to draw new tech ventures for a world shifting away from the use of fossil fuels.

More than 500 guests honored the memory and legacy of dedicated UH alumnus and long-time supporter William A. Brookshire at a memorial service held in his honor this summer. The Brookshire Memorial Service was held at the UH Student Center on May 19, nearly one month after Brookshire’s passing in April.

Thomas Lagarde has a prediction for us: “In 20 years we are all going to be astronauts.”

“All of us?”

“Yes, you, me, the guy in the office over there, all of us,” he continues.

“But you’re getting your master’s in space architecture, not me!”

“It doesn’t matter,” he persists. “In 20 years the space program will be so privatized that you will buy a ticket for Mars as easily as for Europe.”

Gulp.

UH alumnus William A. Brookshire, Ph.D. (BSChE '57), co-founder and chairman of the board of S&B Engineers and Constructors, died on April 21, 2017.

Joseph Tedesco, Elizabeth D. Rockwell Dean of the Cullen College of Engineering said, “Dr. Brookshire was a fine gentleman and one of our great philanthropists, always in search of new ways to help students and professors. We will forever feel his generosity and his loss in equal measures.”

Students at the University of Houston are eligible to participate in the Moscow Summer Intern Program as part of a student initiative of the Baker Institute Space Policy Program. The program is a wonderful opportunity for all UH students, but especially those with engineering expertise and an excitement for space exploration.

A group of girls cheer ecstatically as they drop their carefully-engineered egg crate from a balcony of the UH Engineering building. It hits the ground with a thud and another cheer explodes as the girls discover their egg remains intact inside. Nearby, a young girl beams intently at a robot as it scoots across a tabletop and performs tasks, too enthralled to notice the excited screams of a successful egg drop.

The Cullen College played host to the 3rd Women in Engineering spring event on March 8. The free event was funded by alumna Cynthia Oliver Coleman, P.E. (BSChE ’71).

The event took place at the UH Hilton and included female engineering students, faculty and alumnae. Aside from networking, those in attendance were inducted into the Women in Red Movement, which will serve as a registry of female students and alumnae to serve as mentors for one another.