Dear Friends of the Cullen College of Engineering,
One of the things I find rewarding about serving as dean of Cullen College is that our college is constantly evolving. Each cohort of students brings new ideas, including new ways of learning and working. Demographic and population changes in the Houston area mean there are now new locations for our university to serve. And, of course, as engineering and technology fields constantly change — so does the university and the world. Nowhere is this evolution better represented than with our young faculty.
Each year, we welcome a group of faculty who bring new, emerging research areas in health, infrastructure, robotics, energy and more. They also bring new instructional methods and tools, including the growing use of AI, which we’re actively learning how to integrate into our pedagogy across the college. Many of our young faculty already have impressive early careers, receiving major awards and substantial research funding.
In this Spring 2026 edition, you’ll read about the unique backgrounds and exciting research areas of several of our young faculty who are making an impact in the classroom, the lab and beyond. You can also read about the most recent expansion of our UH campus in the Houston suburb of Sugar Land; an $8 million grant for nuclear fusion research; and a new state-funded $1.4 million manufacturing hub to provide small businesses with the manufacturing expertise of our faculty, students and professional engineering staff.
Thank you for taking time with Parameters Magazine to explore our UH Engineering community.
Sincerely,
Pradeep Sharma
Dean of the Cullen College of Engineering
Hugh Roy and Lillie Cranz Cullen Distinguished University Professor