To develop joint research efforts and give opportunities for students to participate in academic exchange programs, the University of Houston signed a Memorandum of Understanding with National Tsing Hua University on November 8. One of the highest ranked institutions in Taiwan, National Tsing Hua University invited representatives from UH to a signing ceremony, which included a delegation from the Texas House of Representatives led by Rep. Charlie Howard. The other members included Reps. Jessica Farrar, Hubert Vo, Alma Allen, Angie Chen Button and Eric Johnson.
“The two universities have a lot of common interests, and it is a good idea and strategy to follow-up the individual faculty-to-faculty cooperative and collaborative work with an institution-to-institution MOU umbrella document in order to encourage and facilitate other faculty and programs to seek relationships that are mutually beneficial,” said Steven Pei, professor of electrical and computer engineering, who represented UH at the event.
UH was selected to partner with National Tsing Hua University because of its ongoing graphene-related research. This year, several UH Cullen College of Engineering researchers and students were highlighted on the cover of Nature Materials and as a frontispiece in Advanced Materials. These articles outlined a new method developed for the creation of single-crystal arrays of graphene, making the material the first manufacturable nanotechnology for electronic devices and integrated circuits.
National Tsing Hua University is planning to develop a center dedicated to graphene research. The MOU outlines the interest of both institutions in developing a collaborative program specific to graphene-related materials research and device development.
The exchange program for undergraduate and graduate students at both institutions will begin in 2012.