Biomedical Engineering Professor Publishes First Comprehensive Textbook on Tissue Engineering

Faculty members in the University of Houston Cullen College of Engineering are no strangers to blazing trails — and Ravi Birla, associate professor of biomedical engineering, is no exception. Birla recently published his first book, “Introduction to Tissue Engineering: Applications and Challenges.” The book is the first of its kind, offering a comprehensive guide to entering into the field of artificial organ development. Biomedical engineering founding chair and professor Metin Akay served as a series editor on the book as well. Read more.

News

6th Annual Hurricane and Disasters Conference to be Held on August 1
With the Atlantic hurricane season running from June 1 through November 30, August is the perfect time for the 6th annual Texas Hurricane Conference at the University of Houston. The focus of this year's conference is “Hurricanes, Major Disasters, Coastal Protection and Rapid Recovery in Texas and the Gulf Coast Region.” The event is co-sponsored by the Texas Hurricane Center for Innovative Technology (THC-IT) and the Cullen College of Engineering’s departments of civil and environmental engineering and industrial engineering. It will be held at the University of Houston Hilton on August 1 from 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. with a reception following the program. Read more.

Chemical Engineering Researcher Makes Device Fabrication Easier, Thanks to NSF Grant
The semiconductor industry relies on the lithography process to produce nearly all electronic device components — yet, very little is understood about the physics and chemistry underlying the complex chemical reactions required for semiconductor patterning. Now, Gila Stein, Ernest J. and Barbara M. Henley Assistant Professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering, is looking to change all of that thanks to a $279,411, three-year grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF). With this award, Stein will be working to build models that can explain the complex physical and chemical reactions that take place in lithography systems used for device fabrication. Read more.

ME Chairman and Student Publish Paper on World's Thinnest Piezoelectric Material in Nature Communications
M.D. Anderson Chair Professor and mechanical engineering department chairman Pradeep Sharma and his doctoral student Matthew Zelisko, in collaboration with scientists at Rice University and University of Washington, have identified one of the thinnest possible piezoelectric materials on the planet — graphene nitride. The material measures just one atomic layer (or, in other words, it’s a thousand times thinner than a single strand of human hair). Interestingly, the material isn’t supposed to be piezoelectric at all. Together, they have published their findings in the journal Nature Communications. Read more.

Biomedical Engineering Researcher Studying Plant Extract as Possible Lupus Treatment
Chandra Mohan, Hugh Roy and Lillie Cranz Cullen Endowed Professor of biomedical engineering at the University of Houston Cullen College of Engineering, and his research team have published findings that raise optimism for a novel, more natural, therapeutic for lupus patients. In the most recent issue of Arthritis & Rheumatology, Mohan published an article outlining the use of a plant-derived chemical for the treatment of lupus in mice — with very promising results. Read more.

Electrical & Computer Engineering Researcher Wins NASA’s New Investigator Award
Saurabh Prasad, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering at the UH Cullen College of Engineering, has won NASA’s New Investigator Award in Earth Science. Out of over 130 proposals submitted to the New Investigator Program (NIP), only 21 were selected — two of which were from the University of Houston Cullen College of Engineering (click here to read about civil & environmental professor Hyongki Lee’s NIP award.) The New Investigator Program was established by NASA in 1996 to support outstanding scientific research and career development of scientists and engineers at the early stages of their professional careers. Read more.

Industrial Engineering Offers New Joint IE/MBA Program for Graduate Students
For the first time ever, the University of Houston Cullen College of Engineering and the C.T. Bauer College of Business are teaming up to create an interdisciplinary master’s degree in industrial engineering (IE) and business administration, called the IE/M.B.A. Program. The program will be offered to students beginning in the fall semester of 2014. Read more.