The University of Houston has awarded Gangbing Song, professor of mechanical engineering in the Cullen College of Engineering, a 2012 Excellence in Research and Scholarship Award.
Pradeep Sharma, chairman of the mechanical engineering department, nominated Song for this honor. “Professor Song is an internationally recognized researcher in smart materials and structures,” Sharma wrote. “His many original and creative research contributions have made him a leader in this field.”
These accomplishments include:
- the development of a new smart aggregate sensing system to monitor the health of concrete structures;
- the creation of variable-area exhaust nozzles and engine intake for jet engines that could greatly improve aircraft fuel efficiency and maneuverability;
- and the creation of a robust control algorithm for smart actuators that does not require detailed information about the system being controlled.
Overall, Song has secured $3 million in external funding since joining UH in 2002 and has been a principal investigator or co-principal investigator on 15 grants from the National Science Foundation. These accomplishments, Sharma said, have helped make smart materials and structures an active research area at the university.