As Dean of the Cullen College, one of my greatest points of pride is the quality of our industrious faculty community. The need for state-of-the-art engineering has increased tremendously in the 21st century, and we are doing our part in keeping up with this demand by investing in vibrant, promising academic talent.
The hiring and retention of star faculty, including prestigious National Academy of Engineering members, has been a top priority for us over the past decade. The Cullen College of Engineering currently has 16 National Academy of Engineering faculty members, the newest of which is our very own mechanical engineering department chairman, Dr. Pradeep Sharma.
Additionally, we are also making a concerted effort to recruit more women and minorities into our faculty ranks. Currently we are on par with national averages in these areas, but continue to strive for improvement. It simply isn't enough to keep up. We hope to lead this important effort and set an example for our peers. Incentives for recruitment and retention include competitive research endowments and professorships, opportunities with industry to promote entrepreneurship and innovation, research proposal and grant writing support, and networking events and workshops for female and minority faculty groups.
As a testament to the great quality of our faculty, we have received 24 Faculty Early CAREER Development Awards over the last eleven years from the National Science Foundation. These prestigious awards are given to support the work of early-career faculty who have been identified as outstanding leaders in their fields at a national scale. We are also seeing an increase in recognition for work beyond our research enterprise, including but not limited to diversity efforts, student success and more. This is just a fraction of how we are doing our part to elevate the University of Houston to a Top 50 institution.
In this issue of Parameters, we highlight some of the rising stars to have recently joined the Cullen College, along with their incredible work. From groundbreaking advancements in cancer treatments, to powering infrastructures for our world and beyond, I am excited to see what work will continue to come out of our College in the years to come. I hope you enjoy reading about their innovative projects, and if you see opportunities for collaboration, do not hesitate to reach out. Here at the Cullen College, it is our mission to empower today's bright minds so that together, we can power a new possible. This is how through it all, we are engineered for what's next.
Warm regards,
Joseph W. Tedesco, Ph.D., P.E.
Elizabeth D. Rockwell Dean and Professor