CEE professorship established in memory of S.T. Mau

A strong connection to a faculty member of the Cullen College of Engineering is what initially drew Sheng-taur “S.T.” Mau to join the faculty himself, and it is also part of why he and his family decided to fund an endowment for a professorship as well. 

Mau passed in December 2024 in Houston, at the age of 81. Mau was a member of the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department from 1984 to 1998, serving as chairman from 1993 to 1996. He left to become the dean of the Newark College of Engineering at the New Jersey Institute of Technology, and later also served as the Dean of Engineering and Computer Science at California State University, Northridge. 

Mau is survived by his sons, Ted and Mike, who both mentioned his connection Thomas T. C. Hsu, Professor Emeritus, and his family. Hsu and Mau had known each other since the 1970s through their work in earthquake engineering. Hsu recruited Mau to join the department in 1984, and the families – S.T. and his wife Gerry, Thomas and his wife Laura – bonded quickly. 

When the Hsus decided to fund an endowment for a Cullen professor, in the form of the Thomas and Laura Hsu Professor, the Mau family decided a similar effort on their part made sense. 

“We know the Hsu family quite well, since it was ‘Uncle Tom,’ as we called him, who recruited my dad to University of Houston,” Mike said. “Therefore, it is quite fitting that my parents’ names join theirs to be forever part of the University of Houston. And my mother’s name must be included, because she was the woman standing behind my father.”

“Having a professorship to remember him by at UH also follows in the footsteps of what the Hsu family had decided to do,” Ted added. “It was a good place for him to raise his family in Houston, and he was recruited there by Thomas Hsu.”

Although Mau taught at four different universities, his longest tenure was at UH. 

“When we held the memorial service after he passed away in December, we didn’t really know his former colleagues from those institutions,” Ted said. “I was pleasantly surprised that a large number of his former colleagues from the Cullen Civil Engineering Department showed up and spoke in memory of him. I was very touched by that, and it provided a public aspect to his memory that I wasn’t aware of. I learned quite a bit about my father and his professional life by what they said, and that was powerful and meaningful.”

Ted said that his father chose civil engineering as his discipline because of its ability to provide tangible value to society. 

“He thought it was a very practical way of using his intellect to help other people,” Ted said. “He grew up in Taiwan at a time when it was a developing country, and one along the Pacific Ring of Fire, with many earthquakes. He wanted to make sure bridges and buildings were constructed properly with the most modern techniques and earthquake engineering principles. He wanted to make sure those projects were safe.” 

Professor Roberto Ballarini, CEE Chair, delivered the following remarks at Mau’s service: “It would take too long for me to mention all the contributions Dr. Mau made through research, teaching, and service to his profession, and the awards and recognitions he received throughout his career. Therefore, I will mention the one that I consider the most important not only to our department, but also to Dr. Mau’s beloved Taiwan. When he served on the faculty at National Taiwan University, Dr. Mau initiated the Center for Earthquake Engineering Research, which eventually led to the creation of the National Center for Research on Earthquake Engineering, or NCREE. NCREE is now considered second to none as a global leader in fundamental and translational earthquake engineering research.” 

Ballarini cited the difference between the devastation brought by the 1999 7.3 magnitude “Chi-Chi” earthquake that killed more than 2,400 people and the 2024 7.2 magnitude “0403” earthquake that resulted in no deaths from building collapse. 

“The extraordinary difference between the destruction in 1999 and 2024 is, in large part, the result of the research conducted at Taiwanʼs NCREE. Remember that Dr. Mau initiated the center,” Ballarini said. “Dr. Mau’s career has indeed been a very noble one.”

Mau stressed to his children this aspect of his work. 

“It was important to him that he applied his intellect and talents not only for his benefit, but for the benefit of society. That’s something I learned from him. Growing up, I didn’t see any other model,” Ted said. “I miss his wisdom. To me, he was full of wisdom about life, about academic careers. I followed in his footsteps. He was always watching out for me and imparting his own wisdom through his experience, and as a mentor to his students and his former colleagues.”

Click here for a previous story on S.T. Mau, with memories from professors Abdeldjelil Belarbi and Cumaraswamy Vipulanandan.