On Friday, December 4, the UH Cullen College of Engineering hosted a reception celebrating the newly-approved Department of the Petroleum Engineering.
Faculty, staff, students, alumni and industry professionals gathered at the University of Houston's Energy Research Park (ERP) to share in the celebration as they enjoyed appetizers, mingled with friends and colleagues, and learned about the history of the petroleum program from the event's speakers.
Tom Holley, interim chair of the Petroleum Engineering Department, began by thanking those individuals and groups whose support and contributions were instrumental in the development and promotion of the program, including the University of Houston's administration, the Petroleum Engineering Advisory Board, alumni of the Petroleum Engineering department, donors to the program, the local petroleum industry and Cullen College faculty and staff, especially from the Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering.
Other speakers included Dean Rietz, president of the Ryder Scott Company and an alumnus of the Cullen College, as well as Ron Harrell, former CEO of the Ryder Scott Company. Both Rietz and Harrell were early supporters of the petroleum engineering program at UH and proved to be instrumental in the re-launch of the bachelor's program in petroleum engineering.
Joseph W. Tedesco, dean of the Cullen College, provided the event's closing remarks, thanking the community for its tremendous support of the Cullen College's academic programs and providing a glimpse into the future successes planned for the petroleum engineering department at the University of Houston.
The Petroleum Engineering program was previously housed in the Cullen College's Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering until the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board approved the establishment of the Department of Petroleum Engineering earlier this fall.
View photos from the event here.