Developed with the intention of enhancing the senior design experience for all undergraduate students at the Cullen College of Engineering, the Create@UH program provides support for all engineering undergraduate majors through capstone/senior design project sponsorships, a network of design labs and makerspaces, and project showcase events to highlight student projects from each College department.
First launched in 2024, Create@UH Showcases highlight engineering students’ remarkable design project work for an audience of fellow students and faculty, alumni and industry representatives at the end of each Fall and Spring semester.
This spring marked the first Create@UH Showcase held at UH Sugar Land, primarily spotlighting senior design/capstone projects from the Construction Management, Engineering Technology, Human Development and Consumer Sciences, and Information Science Technology Departments.
20 projects were presented by over 50 students, investigating topics ranging from mechanical engineering technology to supply chain and logistics technology to digital media and design. The Audience Choice Award was presented by Associate Dean for Student Success and Undergraduate Support Services Jami Kovach to Tristan Laygan, Elysse Nioupin, and Cindy Vu for their project, “Optimizing Callus Culture in Soybean for Genetic Transformation,” overseen by Assistant Professor of Biotechnology Abdul Latif Khan.
Ashley Russell, previously a student of Instructional Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering Technology Burak Basaran and now a mechanical engineer at NOV – Tuboscope, presented the Alumni Keynote, “Learning from Failure in the Engineering Design Process.”
Christian Sallese, a Supply Chain and Logistics Technology undergraduate student graduating later this month, delivered a brief student talk, “Lessons Learned from Participating in a UH Student Org.”
“It’s not just about what you get out of it,” he said. “It’s about the things that you enjoy and the opportunities that you encounter as a part of participating. Student organizations help directly facilitate that.”
The next Create@UH Showcase at Sugar Land will be held at the end of the Fall 2025 semester, on December 8, 2025. Time TBA.
For more information about Create@UH, click here.
Were you a student that presented at this event? We’d love to showcase your work on our social media channels! Please tag us on Instagram or LinkedIn.