UH Engineer Says DOE-Funded Work Will Capture Methane, Other Emissions

Thanks to advances in drilling technology, there is enough natural gas in the U.S. to last well into next century and beyond. This has renewed the idea of using inexpensive, domestically produced natural gas as a transportation fuel.

Three Cullen College chemical engineering Ph.D. students have returned from Denver, Co. where they were special guests at the 25th North American Meeting (NAM25) of the North American Catalysis Society. Sashank Kasiraju, who studies under the direction of Assistant Professor Lars Grabow, Wendy Lang, who studies under Mike Harold, chair of chemical and biomolecular engineering and Wei Qin, mentored by Jeff Rimer, Ernest J. and Barbara M.

A diamond continues to shine in the Cullen College department of chemical and biomolecular engineering. Expert in the world of crystallization, Jeffrey Rimer, Ernest J. and Barbara M. Henley Associate Professor, has scored another award – this time the Joe W. Hightower Award from the American Chemical Society - Greater Houston Section (ACS-GHS).

Mike Harold, M.D.

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.

We can all breathe a little easier with Mike Harold around.

Highlighting collaborations between academia and industry, the Houston Chronicle recently published an article on the University of Houston’s Energy Research Park. Cullen College of Engineering research and programs figured heavily in the piece, including sections on the growing Petroleum Engineering Program, which is based at the ERP; the superconductor research and industry collaborations of M.D.

When analyzed from the oil well to wheels on the ground, diesel is the single most efficient liquid transportation fuel. Combine that with rising petroleum prices and concerns about peak oil production, and it is clear that there is a real and growing need to improve efficiency and reduce emissions from diesel-powered vehicles.

Neal Amundson, Cullen Professor Emeritus of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering and Professor of Mathematics, passed away yesterday at the age of 95.

"We are deeply saddened at the great loss of Neal Amundson to our UH community and to chemical engineering education and research," said Dean Joseph Tedesco. "His impact to UH and the profession have been, and will continue to be, extremely profound."