Cullen College of Engineering Turns 70
The University of Houston Cullen College of Engineering celebrates 70 years of outstanding research and education in 2011. To help mark the anniversary, the newest issue of The Cougar Engineer features a look back at the college during its earliest days, as told by some of its first alumni. Read More

NAE Member Joins Petroleum, Facilities Dedicated
John Lee, a National Academy of Engineering member most recently noted for his work on oil and gas reserve regulations, has accepted a position as the first tenured faculty member in the University of Houston’s growing Petroleum Engineering Program.  He will hold the Hugh Roy and Lillie Cranz Cullen Distinguished University Chair. Lee, who has been a professor at Texas A&M University since 1977, is arguably the most widely known petroleum engineering academic in North America. UH also officially dedicated the program's new facility, the ConocoPhillips Petroleum Engineering Building. The building was made possible thanks in large part to a gift from Houston-based ConocoPhillips, which made a $1 million gift commitment to UH and the Energy Research Park in 2011 and intends to follow up with gifts of $1 million in both 2012 and 2013. Read about Lee | Read about Building Dedication

Professor’s Bacteria “Slingshot” Finding Published in PNAS
One of the Cullen College of Engineering’s newest professors has co-authored an article appearing in one of the nation’s most prestigious scientific journals. The paper, co-written by Jacinta Conrad, assistant professor in the college’s Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering since fall 2010, is set to appear in an upcoming issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science. The piece describes a newly found method of bacteria motility, or movement, using hair-like appendages called pili. Read More

Donnelly Honored for Decades of Plasma Research
Vincent Donnelly, professor in the UH Cullen College of Engineering’s Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, has been honored by the American Vacuum Society for his 30-plus years of plasma research. The AVS named Donnelly the 2011 recipient of the John A. Thorton Memorial Award and Lecture. One of AVS’ highest honors, the award is given every two years to an individual responsible for “outstanding research or technological innovation in areas of interest to AVS.” Read More

Cullen College Alum Aboard Atlantis
The Space Shuttle Atlantis successfully closed out the Space Shuttle era with Cullen College of Engineering alumnus Rex Walheim onboard. Walheim earned his master’s degree in industrial engineering from the college in 1989. He was selected as an astronaut in 1996 and went on his first space flight in 2002. As a mission specialist and one of only four crew members chosen for the STS-135 mission, Walheim assisted in the shuttle’s task of delivering equipment and supplies to the International Space Station as well as investigating a system for robotically refueling spacecraft. Read More

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