Cullen College of Engineering Magazine • Fall 2017

The houston Dream 2017 grade camp

In an effort to address the critical shortage of women in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) fields, the UH Cullen College of Engineering hosts G.R.A.D.E. (Girls Reaching and Demonstrating Excel- lence) Camps each summer to introduce female middle school students to the field of engineering. learn more at www.egr.uh.edu/grade/about

University of Houston Cullen College of Engineering 1 Parameters Fall 2017 I www.egr.uh.edu

Eyes in the Sky pg. 44

Being the Best: NSBE at UH is #1 in U.S.A. pg. 86 Disney Dreams Come True pg. 78

For Stanko Brankovic, The Life is Speeding Up houston Dream pg. 26 Alumni Spotlight on Eric Ayanegui pg. 104 pg. 50 in every issue 4 > engineering Snapshots 14 > lead news 104 > alumni news

10 > houston News 66 > Faculty News 108 > support & giving

12 > college News 78 > student News 110 > culture & events

A Perfect Marriage pg. 32 117 > last word

Cullen College of Engineering Contributing Writers Phone 713.743.4217 Academic Departments Civil & Environmental Engineering Mechanical Engineering UHEngineering Jeannie Kever | John Lienhard Fax 713.743.8240 Chair: Roberto Ballarini Chair: Pradeep Sharma Dean Parameters is published biannually by the Biomedical Engineering E-mail [email protected] Web: www.cive.uh.edu Web: www.me.uh.edu Joseph W. Tedesco University of Houston Cullen College of Ashley Schwartz Chair: Metin Akay @uhengineering Website www.egr.uh.edu 713-743-4250 713-743-4500 Engineering, Office of Communications. Web: www.bme.uh.edu Associate Dean for Research & Facilities Contact us: uhengineering University of Houston Those wishing to reprint articles or photo- 832-842-8813 Electrical & Computer Engineering Hanadi Rifai Communications Director Office of Advancement UHCullenCollege Cullen College of Engineering graphs should contact the director. Use the Audrey Grayson Chair: Badri Roysam Mail: University of Houston Associate Dean for Graduate Programs & Office of Communications credit line: Reprinted with permission of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering University of Houston Cullen Web: www.ece.uh.edu Cullen College of Engineering Computing Facilities Engineering Building 2 the University of Houston Cullen College Chair: Mike Harold College of Engineering Art Director/Graphic Designer 713-743-4400 Engineering Building 2 Suresh K. Khator 4722 Calhoun Road, Suite E311 of Engineering. Clippings are appreciated. Web: www.chee.uh.edu Rachel Knudsen 4722 Calhoun Road, Suite E421 Houston, Texas 77204-4009 713-743-4300 Industrial Engineering Houston, Texas 77204-4007 Director of the Division of Undergraduate Senior Writer/Editor The University of Houston is an Equal Chair: Gino Lim Web: advancement.egr.uh.edu Programs & Student Success Laurie Fickman Opportunity/Affirmative Action institution. Petroleum Engineering Web: www.ie.uh.edu Fritz Claydon Minorities, women, veterans and persons Chair: Mohamed Soliman Photographer/Videographer 713-743-4180 with disabilities are encouraged to apply. Web: www.petro.uh.edu Carlos Landa 832-842-4848

2 Parameters Fall 2017 University of Houston Cullen College of Engineering 3 engineering snapshots

Get the credentials to get ahead.

www.egr.uh.edu/certificate-programs

dean’s letter Now offering graduate-level certificates in:

Smithsonian Magazine ran an article in 2013 that posited, “What As Houston’s University, our community of students is a makes Houston the next great American city?” reflection of the population we serve. We have an obligation to ensure that, through deliberate and active student success Some may answer by pointing to our energy industry, or our initiatives, we are just as inclusive, welcoming and supportive as medical center – the largest in the world – or our high quality the wonderful city we call home. of life, affordable housing and food options, or even the many Global Climate, Energy and Environment theater and arts districts the Bayou City has to offer. Every student at the Cullen College has a unique path that led them here. In this issue of Parameters, you’ll read about three The answer, however, is much simpler. Houston is the greatest first-generation college students from vastly different worlds Power Systems and Smart Grid American city because of its people. who all share the same dream. Their needs might have been different when they entered school, but the resources were The Los Angeles Times estimates that, by 2050, America will look plentiful and each found the means to achieve their own Power Electronics and Renewable Energy a lot like Houston does today. In Harris County, home to more Houston dream. than 4 million people, 51 percent of all those under the age of Subsea Engineering 20 are Latinos and 19 percent are African American. Warm regards,

Houston is the city of the future because our diversity gives Advanced Subsea Engineering us power. It’s a place where all are welcome, where we can all dream big and succeed. High-Performance Computing Joseph W. Tedesco, Ph.D., P.E. Like the city we serve, the Cullen College of Engineering is a Elizabeth D. Rockwell Dean and Professor true melting pot. Nearly 5,000 students with very different backgrounds, cultures and personalities come to Cullen College Data Analytics and Condition and Performance Monitoring of Engineered Systems to pursue one common goal: to be among the next generation of global engineers. Unconventional Energy Resources 4 Parameters Fall 2017 engineering snapshots

Your Prospects Degrees Awarded in 2017 Mean Entry-Level UH Engineering Salaries Nationwide Aerospace/aeronautical engineering M.S. - $72,804 601 - B.S. Ph.D. - $85,000** by the numbers Biomedical engineering B.S. - $67,250 405 - M.S. M.S. - $76,750 Ph.D. - $83,500** Chemical engineering Best Engineering 72 - Ph.D. B.S. - $68,445 M.S. - $74,529 Program in the Nation Ph.D. - $93,833 (Source: U.S. News & World Report) Civil engineering B.S. - $63,563 average SAT M.S. - $66,343 1300 $26M+annual research Ph.D. - $110,000** Top-ranking graduate programs in: score of entering expenditures freshman Computer engineering 73 B.S. - $68,191 Aerospace (#56) M.S. - $78,101 total faculty Ph.D. - $104,600 Biomedical (#73) average annual salary for engineers in 138 (Source: U.S. Bureau of Electrical engineering Houston, Texas Chemical (#38) Labor Statistics, May 2016) B.S. - $66,920 $104,640 M.S. - $75,317 Civil (#60) Ph.D. - $93,857 Electrical (#65) Environmental engineering 1,287 B.S. - $63,190 Environmental (#59) graduate M.S. - $73,354 Industrial (#50) students Ph.D. - $72,500** Materials (#71) 4,554total of engineers in the 87,500 Industrial/manufacturing engineering + 25%Houston metro area earn jobs B.S. - $64,280 Mechanical (#69) students M.S. - $75,029 3,267 Ph.D. - $85,250** Petroleum (#12) undergraduate higher in engineering and Materials engineering/science (Source: U.S. News & World Report) students architecture in the M.S. - $74,948 25%annual salaries Houston metro Ph.D. - $92,000 than the national average (Source: area in 2016 Mechanical engineering U.S. Bureau of (Source: U.S. B.S. - $66,557 Bureau of Labor M.S. - $73,177 Labor Statistics, Ph.D. - $91,571 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 May 2016) Statistics, May 2016) Petroleum engineering National Academy B.S. - $77,000 13 M.S. - $83,500** of Engineering 8 9 10 11 12 13 Ph.D. - $160,000** faculty members Source: National Association of Colleges and Employers 2017 Winter Salary Survey // ** Source: Payscale.com 1) Andrew Veletsos; 2) Dan Luss; 3) Jerome Schultz; 4) James M. Symons; 5) Benton F. Baugh; 6) Charles D. Cutler; 7) John H. Lienhard; 8) Christine A. Ehlig-Economides; 9) Kaspar Willam; 10) Jamal J. Azar; 11) Andrea Prosperetti; 12) Kaushik Rajashekara; 13) Ganesh Thakur

6 Parameters Fall 2017 University of Houston Cullen College of Engineering 7 engineering snapshots In the Media Spotlight

The Houston Chronicle asked wireless communications expert 2017 projected annual ENGINEERING salaries in houston Zhu Han whether Super Bowl LI fans inside of NRG Stadium – formerly known as a wireless “deadzone” – would be able to Tweet, Facebook and Snapchat their experiences at the big game.

Read Han’s predictions at Bachelor’s doctoral www.egr.uh.edu/news/201702/houston-chronicle-taps-uh- Degrees Degrees engineering-expertise-wireless-technology-upgrades-super- biomedical chemical aerospace/aeronautical biomedical bowl $78,360 $125,040 $113,870 $78,360 After Hurricane Harvey hit Texas many civil Computer chemical civil residents were left wondering what kinds of pollutants were in the flood $113,580 $110,020 $125,040 $113,580 waters that filled their homes. Hanadi Rifai spoke with the Houston Chron- electrical environmental computer electrical icle and CBS affiliate KHOU about the In the early days of personal computing, Cullen $105,930 $92,700 $110,020 $105,930 toxins contained in the water and why College alumnus Rod Canion (bachelor’s in they are so dangerous to human health. electrical engineering 1966, and master’s in industrial/manufacturing mechanical environmental industrial/manufacturing electrical engineering 1968) left the security of his job at Texas Instruments and co-founded Com- $111,800 $109,750 $92,700 $111,800 FIND OUT WHAT’S IN THE WATER AT www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/houston/ paq, which created the first IBM-compatible personal computer. NPR petroleum materials mechanical article/Residents-washed-away-by-Harvey-wait-for- explores exactly how he did it on its business podcast “How I Built answers-12185912.php This.” On the program, Canion tells how his start-up computer company $165,850 $105,800 $109,750 took off immediately, ultimately ushering in the new PC era. petroleum Listen to the complete program at $165,850 www.npr.org/podcasts/510313/how-i-built-this master’s Degrees aerospace/aeronautical biomedical $113,870 $78,360 musk tesla chemical civil $125,040 $113,580 vs U.S. News & World Report asked Rose Faghih to weigh computer electrical in on the similarities between engineering pioneers Elon $110,020 $105,930 Musk and Nikola Tesla, after whom Musk named his electric car. Tesla went broke pushing his obsession with wireless environmental industrial/manufacturing communication and power transmission on a Inspired by the UH chapter of eNABLE, a group that provides 3D-printed world that wasn’t yet ready in 1900, and prosthetic hands to those in need, Alief ISD students spent their sum- $92,700 $111,800 many pose the question whether the mer days designing and building prosthetic hands using blueprints same could happen to Musk as he posted online by the UH eNABLE students. Alief students donated materials mechanical relentlessly pursues technology. their prosthetics to the UH eNABLE team. Houston’s NBC affiliate, $105,800 $109,750 KPRC, filmed the heartfelt hand-off. Read Faghih’s thoughts on petroleum the national Tesla VS. Musk debate at Watch the video at Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics National Occupational Employment money.usnews.com/investing/articles/2017-04-27/elon- www.click2houston.com/news/click2daily/click2daily-students-lend- $165,850 and Wage Estimates, May 2016 musk-is-determined-to-change-the-world a-hand-to-print-3d-prosthetics-1 8 Parameters Fall 2017 University of Houston Cullen College of Engineering 9 houston news

Academia, Industry Collaborate on Solutions to Neural Disease, Injury FURTHER YOUR B y Jeannie Kever ENGINEERING EDUCATION

Neurological disorders like Parkinson’s, the ing several hospital systems. The researchers aftermath of stroke, limb loss and paralysis come from a wide range of disciplines, from significantly diminish the length and quality engineering to law, data science and physi- of life – affecting about one in six people ology. More information is available on the worldwide. But a growing number of bio- center’s website. medical innovations, driven in large part by IN KATY Now serving engineering professionals in the an aging population dealing with debilitating “Medical advances have dramatically in- www.egr.uh.edu/engineering-katy health issues, are improving both cognitive creased life expectancy in the 21st century,” Energy Corridor, West Houston and Katy and motor function. introducing said Santello. “The BRAIN Center will enable us to develop safe, reliable neurotechnologies A new National Science Foundation (NSF) to address the rise in chronic, degener- Industry/University Cooperative Research The ative diseases associated with an aging Center (I/UCRC) will focus on developing population.” Subsea Engineering Pioneer Joins Cullen College as Founding Director of and testing new neural technologies with the potential to dramatically enhance patient The BRAIN Center was launched with a $1.5 function across a wide range of conditions million grant from the National Science Engineering Programs in Katy while both lowering costs and increasing Foundation, shared equally by the univer- accessibility. Center sities; industry collaborators pay $50,000 a year to partner with faculty, using university B y Audrey Grayson The BRAIN Center (Building Reliable Ad- The BRAIN Center will be laboratories to co-develop and validate new vances and Innovation in Neurotechnology) technologies. As one of the pioneering instructors in the brings a unique and invaluable skillset to his will be led by researchers from the Universi- led by researchers from the subsea engineering program, Phaneendra new role at the college. Kondapi is a familiar name at the UH Cullen ty of Houston and Arizona State University University of Houston and With dedicated space on both campuses, and, working with industry partners, will the center will host two meetings a year. The College of Engineering. Now Kondapi is “Dr. Kondapi was vital to developing the first speed technologies to market. Arizona State University inaugural meeting in Phoenix was held in forging new paths at the college once again, subsea engineering program in the U.S. here June and a second meeting in Houston will this time as the founding director of engi- at the Cullen College. I am tremendously BRAIN will focus on developing and testing and, working with industry be held this fall. Industry/faculty teams will neering programs in Katy, Texas. proud that he will now help to bring our neurotechnologies designed to address a partners, will speed present proposals for developing collabora- top-ranked engineering programs to the Katy wide range of sensory, motor and cognitive tive research projects. Research areas range Kondapi, who returns to UH after serving community,” said Joseph. W. Tedesco, Eliza- functions. Such neural technologies could technologies to market. from big data to neurorehabilitation and as the director of subsea engineering at beth D. Rockwell Dean of the Cullen College save an estimated $400 billion in future neuromodulation device development, to ro- Texas A&M University, will spearhead the of Engineering. costs, according to the U.S. Centers for botic-assisted therapy and regulatory science. expansion of UH Engineering program Disease Control and Prevention. offerings in Katy. Three graduate-level classes are currently The NSF grant also includes a workforce offered at the HCC building in Katy: Well Log- Phaneendra Kondapi brings UH “The BRAIN Center is a way to bring together training component, with a focus on recruit- The Cullen College began offering two ging, Flow Assurance and Pipeline Design, all Engineering to Katy top faculty at both institutions to address ing and training students from underrep- energy-focused engineering courses at the led by world-renowned energy and subsea critical challenges in the biomedical field,” resented communities in undergraduate Houston Community College (HCC) North- engineering experts. said Jose Luis Contreras-Vidal, professor of programs. west-Katy Campus last fall, in advance of the electrical and computer engineering at the grand opening of a new UH branch campus Plans are underway for several more course The HCC building in Katy is easily accessible UH Cullen College. “The best way to do that “We are training the next workforce,” said in Katy scheduled for 2018. The graduate-lev- offerings in the spring. for professionals in the Energy Corridor who is working with industry.” Contreras-Vidal. “The technology is so new, we el course offerings are focused on areas in are looking to pursue higher degrees or cer- don’t have enough people to design, repair, high demand in Houston’s Energy Corridor, “It’s truly an honor to lead the new Katy tificates to enhance their skills. “We are here Contreras-Vidal and Marco Santello, director validate and prescribe these technologies.” including petroleum, subsea, electrical and Campus. I envision a day very soon when in Katy to serve both the community and the of ASU’s School of Biological Health Sciences, environmental engineering. anyone in the Katy region with an interest industry,” Kondapi said. will lead the project, which involves more Learn more about the BRAIN in engineering will have access to the Cullen than 50 researchers from both institutions, Center at With more than 20 years of experience man- College’s world-class engineering programs along with 14 members from industry, includ- brain.egr.uh.edu aging engineering projects at energy industry right in their own backyards,” Kondapi said. giants FMC Technologies and KBR, Kondapi

10 Parameters Fall 2017 University of Houston Cullen College of Engineering 11 college news Cullen College of Engineering UH Engineering Rockwell Lecture UH Engineer Hosts Announces Speakers Series 2017-2018 Annual Conference on Joins Forces With for 2017-2018 Maritime University September 25, 2017 Hurricane and B y Laurie Fickman Rockwell Ned Mohan, Oscar A. Schott Professor of Power Electronic Systems, University of Minnesota Disaster Preparation In April, representatives of the University of Houston’s Department of Civil and Research in Power Electronics and Curriculum Environmental Engineering (CEE) traveled Lecture Series Development for Sustainable Electricity Supply and Recovery to Dalian Maritime University (DMU) November 17, 2017 in Dalian, People’s Republic of China, to write and sign a memorandum of featuring R onald G. Larson, A.H. White Distinguished understanding (MOU) that will bring what University Professor of Chemical Engineering, is expected to be a continuous stream of University of Michigan DMU students to CEE’s M.S. and Ph.D. programs. Multi-Scale Modeling of Complex Fluids: Top: (from left) Keh- Surfactants, Colloids, and Polymers, and Their According to DMU’s President Yuqing Han Wang, Roberto Applications Sun, this inaugural agreement with CEE Ned Mohan Ronald G. John C. Cato T. Carol K. B y Audrey Grayson Ballarini and Yuqing is the first of what they hope to be addi- Larson Crittenden Laurencin Hall January 26, 2018 Sun tional agreements with departments in Only a few short weeks before Hurricane Harvey devastated the Gulf Bottom: Roberto Jo hn C. Crittenden, Director of the Brook Byers the Cullen College of Engineering, which Coast of Texas, Cumaraswamy “Vipu” Vipulanandan, director of the Ballarini (center) Institute of Sustainable Systems and Hightower Chair they selected as DMU’s “go-to” school The University of Houston Cullen College of Engineering has announced its Texas Hurricane Center for Innovative Technology at the UH Cullen tours the training ship of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Georgia for master’s and doctoral degrees. distinguished speakers for the 2017-2018 Rockwell Lecture Series, which brings College of Engineering, was hosting a conference to prepare regional Yukun with Captain Institute of Technology decisionmakers on how best to respond to such a disaster. Xinzhuo Liu (left) world-renowned engineers and scientists to the UH campus each year to deliver Dalian Maritime University, one of China’s talks on high-impact topics. Gigatechnology: Developing Sustainable The 9th annual event, “Hurricanes, Major Disasters, Coastal Protection premier maritime institutions, and the Urban Infrastructure to Solve Gigaton University of Houston, a global leader in This year’s topics will include sustainable supply of electricity, multi-scale Problems and Rapid Recovery in Texas and the Gulf Coast Region,” was held in August at the University of Houston Hilton Hotel. subsea engineering education, continue to share many common modeling of complex fluids, developing sustainable urban infrastructure, goals. The two schools signed a similar MOU in February to regenerative engineering for musculoskeletal tissues and atomistic modeling F ebruary 16, 2018 leverage both universities’ mutual interests in the fields of of the molecular dynamics associated with neurodegenerative diseases such as The Texas Hurricane Center for Innovative Technology studies ways C ato T. Laurencin, Albert and Wilda Van Dusen offshore energy and subsea engineering by sharing expertise, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. to prepare for and mitigate disasters caused by hurricanes, serving Distinguished Endowed Professor of Orthopaedic as a testing and research facility for developing hurricane protection resources and facilities as well as jointly developing research Surgery, University of Connecticut products and systems as well as repair technologies to mitigate losses and academic programs. both onshore and offshore. Vipulanandan is a professor of civil and Regenerative Engineering: Convergence To environmental engineering in the UH Cullen College of Engineering. Representing UH were Keh-Han Wang, professor of CEE and Address Musculoskeletal Grand Challenges director of the civil engineering graduate program, and Roberto March 23, 2018 Panels included speakers from government, academia and industry on Ballarini, Thomas and Laura Hsu Professor and department chair. topics ranging from emergency management during a hurricane to rapid Carol K. Hall, Camille Dreyfus Distinguished response for repairs and advanced technologies for safety, maintenance In a separate formal ceremony Ballarini was named honorary University Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular and monitoring. Vipulanandan moderated a panel on coastal modeling, chair professor at DMU. As part of his appointment he will spend Engineering, North Carolina State University monitoring and debris management. one month annually at DMU to nurture collaborative efforts. Spontaneous Formation of Oligomers and In addition to the Texas Hurricane Center for Innovative Technology, “The appointment of Professor Roberto Ballarini has enriched the Fibrils in Large Scale Molecular Dynamics sponsors included the UH departments of civil and environmental scientific research force and broadened the research direction Simulations of A-beta and Prion Peptides engineering and industrial engineering. for the development of marine engineering related fields,” said Dalian vice president Zhengjiang Liu. For the most up-to-date information Learn more about the Texas Hurricane Center for on lecture dates, times and locations, Innovative Technology at Ballarini added, “I would like to take this opportunity to build a mark your calendar please visit platform for cooperation between Dalian Maritime University hurricane.egr.uh.edu www.egr.uh.edu/our-college/rockwell-lecture and the University of Houston to establish a normalization of the exchange of visits between teachers and students.”

12 Parameters Fall 2017 University of Houston Cullen College of Engineering 13 lead news energy

It’s a big problem in the oil Companies typically spend a lot of money ods to clean up the site of an underground on chemical dispersants and inhibitors to fuel leak in Denmark, recovering 35,000 industry. address the issue and then they may still kilograms of jet fuel. have to physically clean out the pipes by scraping the solids that have accumulated This time he built a prototype device with devices called “pigs.” that would electro-kinetically remove as- phaltenes from crude oil near the point Kostarelos has a new approach that might of production. He was helped along by eliminate all of that. his undergraduate students Clint Martin, UH Engineer Builds Kyo Tran, Jose Moreno and Aaron Hubik. His prototype uses an electric field to attract the components in crude oil that cause the The process involves putting two electrical blockage and remove them from the flow plates, highly charged at 4,000 volts, into stream. His method has been published in the pipe. They attract the molecules to them New the Journal of Petroleum Technology. and away from the pipe. How the slowdown happens “The asphaltene molecules, which are polar, start coating the plates and we remove the Technology plates,” said Kostarelos. “It worked better It is not too refined a world in the business of crude oil. The black gold flows through than I expected,” he adds with a smile. pipes on its downstream journey to get it to Keep the Oil Flowing ready for consumers. But over time, imag- You have a clean pipe and things ine what the inside of that pipe might look The idea flow normally, but the coating of the like, filled with sludge buildup that prevents B y laurie fickman asphaltenes inside the pipe builds the pipe from filling to capacity and the up, so if your pipe diameter was Texas Tea from smoothly moving on. just came to

Konstantinos Kostarelos, Molecules called asphaltenes make up the associate professor of petroleum heaviest fraction of crude oil, and they are Kostarelos. engineering, is building a new known to precipitate with pressure and 6 temperature change outside the reservoir. device to address the issue of inches, Over time that precipitation builds up and Like oil, it just hardens on the inside of the pipe. blockage inside crude oil pipes. it slowly becomes “You have a clean pipe and things flow flowed. normally, but the coating of the asphaltenes inside the pipe builds up, so if your pipe “I thought this would be an interesting 5 diameter was 6 inches, it slowly becomes method we might be able to use to ad- inches, 5 inches, then 4 inches, so the pipe size is dress the flow assurance problem instead not what was designed,” said Kostarelos. of using the chemicals or pigging the pipe, then but no one had done it before.” When that happens the flow rate of the oil is 4 reduced and if pumps are used to increase So he did. inches, the flow rate, there will be an enormous amount of pressure needed from the pump. “It’s still in the early stage and we have Konstantinos Kostarelos with his prototype that so the pipe size is not what was to explore how to optimize the device to electro-kinetically removes sludge and gunk from designed. make it as efficient as possible in removing crude oil pipes A better way particles,” he said.

Kostarelos is accustomed to finding better So he will. - konstantinos kostarelos solutions. Last year he designed a way to use applied enhanced oil recovery meth-

14 Parameters Fall 2017 University of Houston Cullen College of Engineering 15 lead news energy

Whether you’ve suffered through a major Houston hurricane, flood event or mo- Cullen College Team Knows How to mentary glitch in the power grid, no doubt you understand the severity of a power black- out. And lest you think Houston has cornered If you ask anyone about the greatest ideas, the market on such catastrophes, think back to 2003 when the biggest blackout in U.S. they are always the very easiest and simplest. Restore Power history left 50 million people in darkness in - Gino Lim the northeast corner of America stretching into Canada.

In the case of these disasters, the first Quickly question Saeedeh Abbasi thinks about is: “What do we have to do to restore the power quickly?”

…and Win Awards Luckily for us, Abbasi has answers. She is a doctoral candidate studying under Professor Gino Lim, chair of the Cullen College’s de- B y laurie fickman partment of industrial engineering and Hari and Anjali Agrawal Faculty Fellow. The pair, are mathematical algorithms called mathe- gorized as a low voltage system. The black along with Masoud Barati, an instructional matical program with equilibrium constraints start generation units within these systems assistant professor of electrical and com- (the MPEC from the paper title) to determine can help the bigger power systems for the puter engineering, published the answers assignment of demands to emergency power restoration process, showing the capability of in a paper “A multi-objective MPEC model generators known as black start generation the micro-generation units and micro grid in for disaster management of power system units. Still, turning on one segment at a time restoration of the bulk power system.” restoration,” given the Best Paper Award in seems such a simple solution. the Energy Systems Division by the Institute In the end, the researchers see a better future of Industrial and Systems Engineers (IISE) “If you ask anyone about the greatest ideas, for power restoration through the work. during its annual conference in May 2017. they are always the very easiest and sim- plest,” said Lim. “We are trying to maximize the resiliency of Powering back up the restored power grid,” said Barati. With Breakthroughs the system for restoration institutionalized, “We want to restore the power grid as soon precious time can be saved in restoring as possible, so time is the most important Currently in the power industry, during a power after a failure occurs. factor in our study,” said Abbasi. “We also failure, the black start generation units are want to reduce the number of people impact- used to restore power. These generators “Resiliency is all about evolution,” said Lim. ed by a power failure.” don’t depend on the failed electric grid to “Once you go through a process you under- operate, but their capacity for generation stand the weaknesses and challenges and As an optimization expert, Abbasi breaks the is limited. Using the sectional approach, the process can be adapted so if the same population into segments, isolating those Abbasi has found a solution for their limited thing happens again you will have much less with the most critical needs like hospitals effectiveness. damage and, in this case, quicker restoration and data centers, giving them top priority in of power.” the restoration plan. Her solution minimizes the lost load and resto- ration time as well as power generation cost. If anything can benefit from evolution it Once she segments the power network would be the American power grid, built in into smaller sections, or micro grids, Abbasi Another important innovation in the paper, the 1882 and launched by Thomas Edison at proposes to restore power of the islanded said Barati, is the application of distributed the Pearl Street Station in Manhattan. While (or independently operable) sections at the energy resources in the restoration process it has expanded beyond anyone’s conception same time. This way there is less load on the of the power grid. at that time, it has had few adaptations since. lines and the power is restored quickly. Gino Lim, Saeedeh Abbasi and Masoud Barati “Take, for example, the power grid on the “It’s a very vulnerable asset,” said Abbasi. It appears to be a low key approach, and there UH campus,” said Barati. “It can be cate-

16 Parameters Fall 2017 University of Houston Cullen College of Engineering 17 lead news energy Inexpensive Organic inexpensive and long-lasting. Material Gives “Aqueous rechargeable batteries featuring Sshale Ta k Force, low-cost and nonflammable water-based Directed by UH Engineer electrolytes are intrinsically safe and … The benefits of (provide) robustness and cost advantages Christine Ehlig-Economides, Releases Findings Safe Batteries over competing lithium-ion batteries that use quinones volatile organic electrolytes and are respon- B y audrey grayson sible for recent catastrophic explosions,” a Longer Life the researchers wrote. But state-of-the-art aqueous rechargeable batteries have a short The Academy of Medicine, Engineering lifespan, making them unsuitable for applica- and Science of Texas (TAMEST) released B y Jeannie Kever environmentally friendly tions where it isn’t practical to replace them findings in June from its Shale Task Force, frequently. chaired by UH petroleum engineering profes- Modern batteries power everything from sor and National Academy of Engineering cars to cell phones, but they are far from The stumbling block, Yao said, has been the member Christine Ehlig-Economides. The There’s a lot of perfect – they catch fire, they perform poorly anode, the portion of the battery through report represents the most comprehensive in cold weather and they have relatively safe which energy flows. Existing anode materials overview to date of research on the impacts short lifecycles, among other issues. Now are intrinsically structurally and chemical- of shale oil and gas production in the state misinformation out there, researchers from the University of Houston ly unstable, meaning the battery is only of Texas, focusing on key areas related to have described a new class of material that efficient for a relatively short time. seismicity, land, air, water, transportation, addresses many of those concerns in Nature economic and social impacts. so it is so important that we reach a Materials. inexpensive They worked with quinones, an earth-abun- dant organic material that Yan said costs just The state of Texas has long led the nation scientific consensus on what we do The researchers, led by Yan Yao, associate $2 per kilogram, demonstrating the material’s and the world in the development of technol- professor of electrical and computer engi- benefits in three formulations. ogies for oil and gas production. The com- and do not know about the impacts of neering, report their use of quinones – an bination of horizontal drilling and hydraulic inexpensive, earth-abundant and easily re- The differing formulations offer evidence that fracturing was first developed in Texas in the shale oil and gas development. cyclable material – to create stable anode long-lasting the material is an effective anode for both late 1980s. By the late 1990s, this method composites for any aqueous rechargeable acid batteries and alkaline batteries, such was used across the state to produce natural battery. as those used in a car, as well as emerging - christine ehlig-economides gas from previously inaccessible reservoirs. aqueous metal-ion batteries, Liang said. That “This new material is cheap and chemically means the quinones-based anode will work “We’ve been at it now for long enough in Among the report’s key findings are that The task force brought together multidisci- stable in such a corrosive environment,” said regardless of which technology dominates in the state of Texas to take the opportunity to shale development comes with environ- plinary experts from academia, industry and Yao, who is also a principal investigator with the future, he said. look back, see what we’ve mental and societal risks, including earth- government to conduct a thorough review the Texas Center for Superconductivity at learned and make rec- quakes, contamination to water sources and of the existing peer-reviewed literature on UH, with an appointment to the chemical The new material also allows the batteries to ommendations based on increased traffic accidents. hydraulic fracturing in Texas. “It was a great and biomolecular engineering faculty. The work across temperature ranges, Liang said, what we find,” said team,” Ehlig-Economides said. material also can be used to create a “drop-in unlike some conventional aqueous batteries, Ehlig-Econo- The report also quantifies the knowns and replacement” for current battery anodes, which are notoriously balky in cold weather. mides. unknowns surrounding these risks, high- Ultimately, Ehlig-Economides hopes that the allowing the new material to be used without Yan Jing, Saman Gheytani and Kuan-Yi lighting some of the misinformation spread report will help to bring some clarity to the changing existing battery manufacturing Lee, all of UH, Ping Liu of the University of Yao said consumers would quickly notice on the dangers of hydraulic fracturing. remaining questions surrounding the risks of lines, he said. California-San Diego, and Antonio Faccheti one key difference in this change to existing For example, an increase in earthquakes hydraulic fracturing. of Northwestern University. battery technology. “One of these batteries, in Texas since 2008 has been “This can get to market much faster,” he said. as a car battery, could last 10 years,” he said. linked to hydraulic fracturing “There’s a lot of misinformation out there, so Energy storage is the key to wider adoption In addition to slowing the deterioration of activities; The TAMEST report it is so important that we reach a scientific Yao and his lab, including research associate of electric cars, wind and solar power, along batteries for vehicles and stationary elec- finds that all of the seismic consensus on what we do and do not know Yanliang Liang, who served as first author on with other clean energy technologies. But tricity storage batteries, it also would make activity potentially caused about the impacts of shale oil and gas devel- the paper, began the work in 2013, after he the development of battery storage systems, battery disposal easier because the material by human activities to date opment,” she said. was awarded $1 million from the Depart- which would be able to store energy until does not contain heavy metals. was caused by wastewater ment of Energy’s Advanced Research Project it is needed and then be recharged with disposal from oil and gas Read the TAMEST Shale Task Force Agency – Energy (ARPA-E) RANGE program additional generation, has been hampered The researchers have filed for three patents development rather than Report at to develop new battery technology. Other by the lack of batteries that meet a variety of for the technology and hope to find partners hydraulic fracturing activities. http://tamest.org/shale-task-force/ researchers involved in the project include requirements: environmentally friendly, safe, to commercialize the technology.

18 Parameters Fall 2017 University of Houston Cullen College of Engineering 19 lead news energy

The Man Who Helped ommercial When people ask me what I work on, I always say, Plug in C ‘The future.’ - Kaushik Rajashekara Electric Cars There are many ways to describe electrical including the EV1, he left his position at GM/ Down to earth at UH and computer engineering Professor Kaushik Delphi for his next revolutionary project. is Plugging Away at the Rajashekara, who heads the Cullen College His pursuits at the Cullen College are a bit power and energy systems program and is At Rolls-Royce, he worked on advanced archi- more terrestrial. director of the Power Electronics, Microgrids tectures for more electric and hybrid electric and Subsea Electrical Systems (PEMSES) aircraft, bringing to life his notions of con- “I’m a power and energy guy,” said Rajasheka- Center at UH: Member of the National Acad- verting ancillary equipment used on aircraft ra, who points out that most energy courses UH Power Program emy of Engineering, Fellow of the National (like air conditioning and cooking devices) to and majors at UH and other universities are Academy of Inventors, inductee of the Delphi electricity, leading to next generation aircraft related to petroleum or chemical engineering. Innovation Hall of Fame or, even, a member beyond the 787 Dreamliner-type. of the team that developed the General But to him, power means the energy of Motors EV1, the first mass-produced electric Now, with those futuristic projects in the electricity, the magic that happens after car from a major automaker. past, he says the next big thing will be flying converting the various petrochemicals and cars – and he’s all in. If his track record is turning on the light switch. But the title Rajashekara likes most is “futur- proof, it may be time to look skyward for a ist.” parking spot. “It is very important that electric energy gets importance at the University of Houston,” he “When people ask me what I work on, I “Just recently I gave a lecture in India about said. And so, in the past year since he’s been always say, ‘The future,’” said Rajashekara, flying cars. I give talks about them all over at the Cullen College, Rajashekara has gone former chief scientist at General Motors/ the world,” said Rajashekara. He is propelled about creating the certificate program to pre- Delphi and chief technologist at Rolls-Royce. in his pursuit by his desire to preserve the B y Laurie Fickman pare students to design electrical systems environment. “If you have a flying car, you for the power and energy industry. The It’s a spot-on answer for the scientist who don’t have to build as many bridges or cut program offers two certificates – one in has consistently worked on futuristic projects as many trees,” he offers, with a logic that power electronics and renewable energy and brought them to life. After ushering makes his science fiction-sounding future technologies and the other in power systems in the era of electric and hybrids cars from appear to be just plain practical. and the smart grid. The next step is to launch 1989-2006 by advancing the technologies a curriculum offering a master’s of science in

20 Parameters Fall 2017 University of Houston Cullen College of Engineering 21 lead news

So agreed the American Chemical Society energy electrical engineering in power and energy systems. Petroleum Research Fund, which awarded Dontsov $110,000 to support his research He hopes to grow his small lab and the program and in this step to advance simulation of the welcome industry representatives to the lab to witness fracking process. students tackling some of the greatest challenges in the It is very important that power industry, like making the power grid smart and But rocks are rocky incorporating renewable energy into it. electric energy gets Given that the rocks have a layered structure The “There is so much evolving in the infrastructure,” said Egor due to geological deposition, they obey aniso- importance at the University Rajashekara. But U.S. industry hasn’t approached its tropic elastic behavior, which means they may American biggest challenge, which, according to him, is burying stretch one way in one direction and another of Houston. the wires. way if pulled in a different direction. Dontsov’s Chemical Dontsov: work will incorporate such anisotropic behavior “The cables should be buried,” he said, definitively, at the tip of the hydraulically-driven fracture. Society - Kaushik Rajashekara of the hundreds of thousands of miles of power lines Tips for the Fracking that crisscross the cities. He notes safety from weather “These are very expensive operations and so Petroleum events, better security and a nicer landscape as benefits Industry we want to make sure we can predict the frac- of burying cable. ture geometry as accurately as possible,” said Research Dontsov. “If we know the material is anisotro- He notices the sagging lines wherever he travels. B y Laurie Fickman pic, we need to account for it in our model.” fund He will add it into his research in the form of Amazing journey a math problem, formulating the governing In the world of hydraulic fracturing, where equations for fractures in anisotropic rocks and subterranean fractures are forced open to And he has traveled a long way. As a little boy growing then attempting to solve it numerically on a extract oil or gas, much is done before the computer. awarded up in a village in India with his parents and two brothers, drill meets the earth. Research to pinpoint the Rajashekara lived in a one room lean-to that he said was ideal extraction spot would be impossible if If successful, the project could lead to more smaller than the office he now occupies at UH. He read it had to be conducted 1-2 miles down in the Dontsov by kerosene lamplight and though neither of his parents efficient and effective extraction of hydro- Earth’s core. So engineers like Egor Dontsov, carbons, no small feat for a process that has had any education, his mother was determined that assistant professor of civil and environmental $110,000 her children do better and be the best at whatever they become significant to the energy industry engineering, create computer models to simu- and economy. pursued. High school came to his village in time for him late the areas of rock to approach with special to attend. attention when determining where the tip of “Hydraulic fracturing changed the economic the fracture will be. to support His biggest challenge was money. In today’s dollars, the landscape,” said Dontsov. “Before this process, the U.S. was only importing oil and now it’s salary his father made per month would equal about “The tip is where everything happens,” said his research $175. But his circumstance held neither he nor his sib- exporting oil. It’s had a serious effect and will Dontsov. “It plays a fundamental role in how continue to.” lings back. One, like him, is an engineer and the other is the fracture will grow and therefore needs to in this step a doctor. Scholarships played a big part in his life. be thoroughly analyzed.” to advance Coming from such humble beginnings, Rajashekara says And that, you could say, is he is proud to have worked for such large companies a tip from Dontsov. simulation of and of his role in convincing a skeptical society that electric cars could become reality. the fracking But he says he’s proudest of his ability to help students, process. colleagues and friends succeed. “To help them succeed in their lives and professions is what I want to see,” he said.

That, and them flying to work in their cars over an expanded UH power program.

22 Parameters Fall 2017 University of Houston Cullen College of Engineering 23 lead news environment The meet the dream team Dream debora rodrigues yandi hu Team: Awash in Brilliance and Improving Water

“This work can be very transformative,” said “The minerals clog the pores and bacteria They have good reason to be positive. Filtration Hu of the joint project called “Mechanistic can grow on the membrane surfaces,” study of using polymer-modified graphene added Hu. “When this clogging happens, Rodrigues had already determined that

oxide nanocomposites for controlling CaSO4 high pressure is required to push the water graphene oxide (GO) can kill bacteria and scaling and biofouling on reverse osmosis through the membranes and that costs prevent biofouling. In Hu’s lab they’ve been B y laurie fickman membrane.” more energy.” working on the concept that polymers could prevent mineral scaling. Now they’re The scope of the problem More money, too. In California, at the combining the GO with the polymers to see Water Factory 21 desalination plant, at least if they can combat both threats at once. To understand their work, you have to $728,000 is spent on membrane cleaning. When it comes to clean water, Yandi Hu understand the scope of the problem. Salt- That’s 30 percent of their operating costs. But the questions abound water comprises 97 percent of the earth’s The clogging is not only expensive to clean, and Debora Rodrigues have a thirst for it. water supply. To convert that seawater into it seriously reduces membrane performance The combination of properties has to be drinkable (or potable) water, it undergoes and lifetime. carefully measured. Bacteria may actually the desalination process, which includes degrade polymers, and polymers might reverse osmosis, in which minerals and Rodrigues and Hu have a better way to actually promote the growth of bacteria by Hu, UH assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering, works with Flint, eliminate mineral scaling and biofouling. Michigan on their water crisis and conducts research on reducing lead release in salts are removed by passing through filter becoming its food. water lines. Rodrigues, UH associate professor of civil and environmental engineer- screens, called membranes. They’re going to modify the surface of the Problems to be faced by Rodrigues and Hu ing, helps improve global access to clean water with a nano-sized technology that can filter by using a polymer-modified graphene weed out metals and microorganisms from drinking sources. Now they’ve teamed up “In the United States, 70 percent of reverse as they work together to blend their knowl- osmosis desalination plants are affected oxide nanocomposite to coat the mem- edge, talents and expertise to meet the and received a grant for $184,000 from the Qatar National Research Fund to change branes. They predict the new coating they the world of water purification by making it more efficient and less expensive. by mineral scaling and severe membrane worldwide challenge of keeping the water biofouling from a buildup of bacteria,” said are developing will prevent the buildup. supply plentiful and healthy. Rodrigues.

24 Parameters Fall 2017 University of Houston Cullen College of Engineering 25 lead news fundamentals

For Stanko Brankovic, gives scientists more control over what they That exciting feeling are creating. you get when you’ve “We discovered some fundamentally import- made a breakthrough ant things that will eventually help people who use this method to design even better Life is discovery and you catalysts and control the design process know that something better,” said Brankovic. that seemed impossible Body of work

Speeding Up Although Brankovic has toiled away at thin yesterday is now film deposits for more than a decade, they completely clear – still absorb much of his brilliant mind. “I’m in the same that’s the feeling that Stanko Brankovic, “Everywhere you look is a thin film,” he said, professor of electrical and computer engi- position as Sir Isaac pointing to his surroundings. “Paint is a thin B y laurie fickman neering, has about his recent discovery of film, windows are coated with thin films; in the speed in which catalysts are formed. Newton was when technology they exist everywhere. The world the apple hit him in is made of thin films.” “I’m in the same position as Sir Isaac Newton was when the apple hit him in the head! It’s the head! It’s that His enthusiasm over thin-film layered cata- that same excitement, a ‘Wow!’ moment,” lysts has translated to hard work and lots of said Brankovic. same excitement, a success in his field. In 2001, he was highly cited for his work on creating a catalyst for Newton’s not-too shabby discovery resulted fuel cells, the kind that ultimately brought us in nothing less than an understanding of the electric car. Recently the National Science gravity; Brankovic’s may result in building ‘Wow!’ Foundation awarded him a grant to make better catalysts, the fundamental substance “heavy water” less expensively, which could that speeds up reactions in all industries moment.” lead to safer nuclear energy (spoiler alert: his from petrochemical to manufacturing. - stanko brankovic method involves catalysts).

Brankovic is not alone in his excitement. The the speed in which catalysts are formed Despite his stature in the field, Brankovic Journal of the Electrochemical Society selected by examining how quickly the thin-film credits his students with the latest accom- Brankovic’s paper as the “editor’s choice” ar- monolayers are placed on top of each other plishment. “Together we have opened this ticle, a distinction reserved for research high- to build them. Their results showed clearly door for others to follow,” he said. lighting transformative scientific discoveries. that reaction kinetics of metal deposition is According to the journal, the designation significantly impacted by the design of the His group includes his Ph.D. students Wu is awarded for work showing extraordinary reaction solution and ion concentrations. Dongjun, Ela Bulut, who has graduated and direction, concept, interpretation or way of is now a professor in Turkey, Nikhil Dole, now doing something. The journal is the most Nobody understood this before Brankovic. graduated and employed by Lam Research, acclaimed publication in its field. and the visiting scholar Dr. Hasan Kilic. “The speed in how quickly you put these Brankovic’s article is titled “Reaction kinetics monolayers down effects their morphology, Brankovic is ultimately concerned about his of metal deposition via surface limited redox and that effects the monolayer quality in students’ success. “This is the type of recog- replacement of underpotentially deposited terms of their catalysis performance,” said nition that increases the visibility not only monolayers studied by surface reflectivity Brankovic, noting that a catalyst will become of UH, but of my students in their pursuit of and open circuit measurements.” something different depending on the speed excellence in academics and research.” with which the layers are stacked. Building a better catalyst A catalyst for success you Knowing that catalysts become different Brankovic and his group studied what affects dependent on the speed of their architecture might say.

26 Parameters Fall 2017 University of Houston Cullen College of Engineering 27 lead news fundamentals health & medicine Discovering How Nature Works UH Engineer and Cells Adapt to Changes

B y laurie fickman In the high energy world of Ashutosh “The two best parts of this profession are Through computer modeling and cellular Agrawal, assistant professor of mechanical when you discover something fundamental experimentation, Agrawal, with his Ph.D. Improving the Odds engineering, two things turn the head of the and when you see that spark of understand- students Ehsan Irajizad and Nikhil Walani and man who always seems to be spinning with ing in a student’s eyes when you explain it,” collaborators at the University of Michi- of Immunotherapy excitement about science: Discovering how said Agrawal. gan-Ann Arbor, unlocked part of the mystery nature works and seeing what happens when by quantifying the price clathrin pays to students understand it. Both of those things happened for him while remodel the membrane. B y Jeannie Kever doing the research on cellular transport that was published in the Royal Society of Studying at a cellular level Chemistry’s journal Soft Matter under the name “Clathrin polymerization exhibits high Agrawal first studied the energetics of mechano-geometric sensitivity.” In the article vesicle formation in response to changes The two best parts Agrawal unravels the fundamental principles in tension of the membrane. “We find the of transport to discover how cells adapt to polymerization of the protein is sensitive of this profession changes in their mechanical environment. to tension and the geometry of the mem- are when you brane,” said Agrawal. It’s like a circular Immunotherapy, in which cells from the is, can you engineer the T cells to survive and Soft does matter path: The protein comes first to deform the human immune system are unleashed to persist?” Navin Varadarajan discover something membrane, but then the protein is affected fight disease, has been the big story in cancer To understand Agrawal’s work you first have by its very change. The study reveals that treatment over the past few years. When it To further the work, Varadarajan has received traits that predict success. The engineered fundamental to consider a cell itself, surrounded by a both the tautness and the geometry of works, it can spur long-lasting remission in a $375,000, three-year grant from the Mela- T cells will then be tested in mice at the and when you membrane made of a soft fluid wall, which the membrane determine the extent to patients for whom other treatments have noma Research Alliance, part of $8.5 million University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer defines its identity and serves as a barrier which clathrin can polymerize. Contrary to failed. But most patients don’t benefit, and in new funding awarded to researchers at 28 Center. This work builds on existing research see that spark of to foreign objects. But macromolecules like intuition, the study shows that clathrin can there is still no good way to predict who will institutions in six countries. conducted by Melisa Martinez, a postdoctoral nutrients need to continuously penetrate form large domains both in low and high respond. researcher in Varadarajan’s lab, in collabora- understanding in a the membrane and enter the cell to help it tension regimes. While the shape in the “These awards will further our ability to tion with an MD Anderson team headed by survive. In that case, when the wall doesn’t low tension regime is spherical, the shape A team of researchers led by a UH engineer improve melanoma outcomes, support the Chantale Bernatchez. student’s eyes when want to break, but is being nudged to, pro- in the high tension regime is planar. This is trying another tack – designing immune next generation of melanoma researchers you explain it. teins within the cell recognize they’re being finding reveals that clathrin can assemble system cells that can survive within a tumor and help draw us ever closer to a cure,” said Varadarajan began working on immunother- called to duty. into these distinct structures by a unified even when the nutrients needed to sustain Debra Black, chair and co-founder of the apy after arriving at UH about seven years mechanism regulated by tension, which them aren’t available. That should allow the Melanoma Research Alliance. ago. Since then, the therapy has taken off. “When that happens, these clathrin mole- has been a subject of debate in the biology cells to work more efficiently in more people. - ashutosh cules, or proteins, come and dock on the literature. Varadarajan’s work will use a novel research “It’s amazing how well it’s done,” he said. “It’s agrawal inside of the membrane and they start to Navin Varadarajan, associate professor platform he developed to allow researchers become a major player in clinical oncology. bend the membrane wall to allow the foreign Knowing this moves Agrawal closer to un- of chemical and biomolecular engineering, to study T cells at a single-cell level, as well All of our work now is going toward getting it cargo to enter,” said Agrawal. The proteins derstanding how cellular transport adapts to works with T cells, immune cells that can as single cell T cell-tumor cell interactions. to work for more people.” work to reshape the cell membrane, forming mechanical stresses, which makes him smile recognize and attack disease cells. But all cells The proprietary chip-based platform works a vesicle to allow the substance in and then with glee. need nutrients to survive, and tumors harbor by co-incubating T cells and tumor cells in He said the treatment is effective for about reforming around it without ever having to areas of nutrient limited zones, meaning T dense arrays of nanoliter wells, or nanowells, 20 percent of patients who receive it. break – a process called endocytosis. Eventually the research may find its way cells often die before completing their task, and monitoring the functional interaction to supporting drug delivery research, but Varadarajan said. between the cells. The goal is to engineer T “For now, we don’t have good biomarkers “Much is known about how tension modulates for Agrawal the driving force is the one cells that retain their anti-cancer properties in to tell who is a good candidate for immu- cellular transport, but the effect of tension accomplished – recognizing the physics of “We know once they get to the tumor, nutri- the inhospitable environment of a tumor. notherapy,” he said. Engineering T cells to on the clathrin assembly and vesicle growth why nature does what it does. ents are limited,” he said. “If they are not able work more broadly could be another way to remains less understood,” said Agrawal. to cope and compete effectively for these The platform will allow researchers to track increase the therapy’s effectiveness. “It’s a nutrients, they’re going to die. The question thousands of interactions and hone in on the complementary approach.” Until now.

28 Parameters Fall 2017 University of Houston Cullen College of Engineering 29 lead news health & medicine Finding New Cures meet the men behind the science for an Old Peter Vekilov jeffrey rimer “But the mechanisms of this crystal inhibition student Tam Nguyen, who is now pursuing were completely unknown,” said Vekilov. his Ph.D. at the UH Cullen College. “They really led the experimental thrusts of the re- Disproving the theory search. They first disproved a popular theory, Disease: then proved this new theory. It’s very cool,” The prevailing theory was that antimalarial said Vekilov. Groundbreaking Malaria Study Opens drugs prevented crystal growth by binding to the free heme molecules in the solution, but Staying ahead of the parasite Our hope is Doors to New, More Effective Treatments that theory was proved wrong by Rimer and Vekilov. The pair developed an innovative Despite the success of artemisinin-based that we can platform to study hematin crystal growth therapies in treating malaria, the need for B y audrey grayson at the microscopic level in nearly in situ new malaria drugs hasn’t vanished. Before help guide conditions. Then they showed a significantly Tu’s discovery of the drug, a drug called higher and possibly toxic concentration of Chloroquine was used to treat the disease. pharmaceutical drugs are necessary to inhibit the growth of Overuse of Chloroquine caused plasmodium hematin crystals by binding to the free heme parasites to evolve, growing pumps that companies In 2015 the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Med- hematin crystals, a key piece of the infection How the disease takes hold molecules. extracted the drug from their bodies. icine went to Chinese scientist Youyou Tu for process, from taking place. in selecting Instead they found the drugs bind at six Artemisinin-resistant parasite strains have her discovery of a novel malaria treatment Plasmodium falciparum, one of the parasites specific sites at the surface of the crystals, emerged in Southeast Asia in the last two molecules that rooted in traditional Chinese medicine. Tu The timing of the UH discovery couldn’t be that cause malaria, usually infects its hosts blocking the attachment of hematin. Even- years. With the use of artemisinin-based isolated the drug artemisinin from an herb better. Although the use of artemisinin-based through a mosquito bite. Once the parasite tually the accumulation of toxic heme in the therapies on the rise, it’s only a matter would have used to treat malaria in China for more than treatments has reduced global malaria enters the host’s red blood cells it begins to parasite’s digestive vacuole spells its death. of time before the resistant strains spread 2,000 years. Today the World Health Organi- deaths from nearly 1 million in 2010 to less consume hemoglobin, producing the toxic globally, rendering the treatment ineffective. the highest zation recommends artemisinin combination than 450,000 in 2015, malaria-causing byproduct heme. therapy as the first line of defense against parasites have been known to adapt quickly The duo’s latest paper looks more closely at these binding sites with an eye on designing “The platform we developed means we can probability malaria cases worldwide. to current drug treatments, making the need The plasmodium has evolved to segregate new, more effective drug treatments for the stay ahead of the parasite because it will for rapid drug development a priority among the heme molecules into tiny crystals, about deadly disease. keep adapting,” said Vekilov. of success in That same year, half way across the world, medical researchers. one micron in size. Instead of killing the para- two UH engineering professors, Peter site, the toxic heme molecules attach to sites “People had speculated that some sites The researchers see their biomimetic platform treating the Vekilov, John and Rebecca Moores Professor “We have to find drugs faster than the para- along the surface of the crystals, allowing might be better to block than others and for studying hematin crystallization as a new of chemical and biomolecular engineering site adapts,” Vekilov said. the plasmodium to replicate freely inside we definitively showed that certain modes beginning in the accelerated development of disease. and chemistry, and Jeffrey Rimer, Ernest J. the host. and Barbara M. Henley Associate Professor To do that, Vekilov and Rimer dug deep into of inhibition were better than others,” said antimalarial drugs. Rimer. “That might be influential in how we of chemical and biomolecular engineering, the physiology of the malaria parasites and Scientists generally understand that anti- view the design of new antimalarial drugs in “It’s really an enabling tool,” Rimer said. “Our published a study in the Proceedings of how antimalarial drugs work to stop hematin malarials work by inhibiting the growth of the future.” hope is that we can help guide pharmaceu- the National Academies of Sciences (PNAS) crystallization, pointing to new directions hematin crystals, creating a toxic concen- tical companies in selecting molecules that - jeffrey rimer shedding new light on how some of the for malaria drug development. Now their tration of heme molecules and killing off Co-authors on the paper include former would have the highest probability of success most effective malaria drugs – those from findings are published, once again, in PNAS. the plasmodium. the quinoline class – prevent the growth of graduate student Katy Olafson, now a in treating the disease by inhibiting crystal postdoc at MIT, and former undergraduate formation.”

30 Parameters Fall 2017 University of Houston Cullen College of Engineering 31 lead news health & medicine

Two Cullen College biomedical engineering professors, Muna Naash, John S. Dunn En- dowed Professor, and Muayyad Al-Ubaidi, see eye-to-eye on just about everything. Both are working to eradicate eye disease, both discovered Retbindin, a retina-specific pro- tein, and together they have now received $1.1 million from the National Institutes of Health to explore the role of Retbindin in A diseases. But wait, there’s more. The pair of professors, hired at UH in 2015, has been married for over 40 years. They discovered each other the same way they discovered Retbindin. PER They weren’t looking, but there it was.

First, the story of science. Then the tale of FECT chemistry. Muayyad Al-Ubaidi, left, beams at his wife, Muna Naash, as they work in the lab Discovering Retbindin Rtbdn is capable of binding with retinal Love at first sight flavins, a critical metabolic factor in keeping “It was what you might call serendipity,” says the retina healthy. Flavins are derived from Pace is often faster in the world of chemistry. MARRIAGE Naash, who was leading a research group riboflavin, a member of the vitamin B family. For Naash, it was over the first time she saw in 2014, investigating other retina-specific Rtbdn is also a potential carrier of flavins Al-Ubaidi on the very first day of college at proteins when they identified this new between the retina and the RPE. the University of Baghdad where they were Retbindin, or Rtbdn for short. both freshmen, majoring in biochemistry. In the retina, the levels of flavins are several Although the gene was known, no one folds higher than in blood. In fact, riboflavin “I really noticed him the very first day be- had ever studied the protein, which is deficiency results in photosensitivity and de- cause he was fluent in English, because he retina specific. generation. But unbound flavins are toxic, so, did all his high school studies in an American in practice, flavins are virtually always bound high school,” she said. “I was so impressed.” Two Professors The couple began working on identifying its to flavin-binding proteins. Naash said she shocked herself when she exact locations in the body, making antibod- realized that she was immediately thinking, See Eye to Eye ies to help pinpoint its whereabouts, eventu- “The study on flavins in the eyes has been for- “That’s my man!” ally finding it only occurs in the retina at the gotten since the 1940s and ’50s,” said Naash. on Curing interface between photoreceptors and retinal She says it took him a couple more days to pigment epithelium (RPE) microvilli, a region Not anymore. notice her when she began to speak up in critical for retinal function and stability. class. “She was not passive or afraid and that Retinal Disease With the NIH funding, the pair will test the was my idea of how women should be – that A closer look role Rtbdn plays in the development and they should be equal to men,” he said. progression of retinal degenerative diseases such as retinitis pigmentosa, which often The pair conducted further work and proved Four decades, one son, two grandchildren, B y laurie fickman leads to blindness. If, in fact, Rtbdn turns that Rtbdn may be vital for keeping eyes countless hours of work and major scientific out to be beneficial, they could eventually healthy. discoveries later, their collaboration remains provide it to a diseased retina as a cure. strong. “We know that the amount of Rtbdn is In science, cures and breakthroughs like that changed as the retina becomes sick,” said No wonder they study vision. They’ve had a often come in small steps. According to Al- Al-Ubaidi. “We also know that this protein very clear one since the day they met. Ubaidi, “We’re at the top of the first floor of a is involved in the energy production in the 20-story building.” retina and, of course, energy is the only way to keep tissue healthy and alive.”

32 Parameters Fall 2017 University of Houston Cullen College of Engineering 33 lead news

Graduate students Chuan Zhang, far left, and Nick Dias, middle, pinpoint where nerve and muscle meet health & medicine under the guidance of Yingchun Zhang Hospital, who brings expertise in clinical MRI awarded through NSF’s Cyber-Physical Mini-Robots Marching and focusing the efforts to find solutions that Systems (CPS) program, will fund work to may use a greater amount of Botox, probably Through Your Veins are clinically necessary and valuable. build a prototype suitable for animal testing. more than necessary – and because Botox has The MRI control and computational methods to be repeated every few months, the success Could Offer While MRI has traditionally been used for follow a previous CPS award in image-guided rate is not stable. robotic surgeries led by Tsekos and Shah. “Sometimes, even for the same patient with Their current models are up to 2 centimeters; the same physician and same injection proto- Becker said the goal is robots that range from col – one time it works well, the next time it Targeted We want to 0.5 millimeters to 2 millimeters. The average doesn’t,” said Zhang. He believes he can stabi- human hair, in comparison, is about 0.08 lize the results and reduce the cost of treatment Treatment move from millimeters wide. by mapping where the nerve and muscle meet. MRI provides enough magnetic force to steer Making the map By Jeannie Kever the robots through the body’s blood vessels science but can’t penetrate tumors or other tissue. “We can have an individual map for each pa- This project is working with two designs, tient receiving the injection,” said Zhang. “We Invasive surgical techniques – cutting through both powered by the MRI scanner, to address can have a 3D map of the gap so the physician the breastbone for open heart surgery or fiction that problem, one based on the principle will know exactly where the Botox should go. making a large incision to inspect an abdom- to of mechanical resonance and the second They won’t have to guess or increase the dose.” inal tumor – allow physicians to effectively modeled after a self-assembling surgical tool, His 3D model should also be able to reduce the treat disease but can lead to sometimes a Gauss gun. Treating Stroke Patients cost of the pricey injections by reducing the serious complications and dramatically slow science necessary dose by about 50 percent. healing for the patient. A key issue is real-time control, Becker said, at the Intersection of noting that blood vessels move around in Zhang’s noninvasive approach uses high-densi- Scientists instead want to deploy dozens or Feasibility. the body, making it crucial to be able to see ty electrodes placed on the surface of the skin. even thousands of tiny robots to travel the both the anatomy and the robot as it moves When muscles contract, an electrical discharge body’s venous system as they deliver drugs in order to keep it moving correctly. Even the is created and he tracks the discharges to the or a self-assembled interventional tool. Re- - Aaron becker fastest current MRI scans are too slow for Nerve middle point, which is the neuromuscular searchers from the University of Houston and such control and have a time lag before the junction. Houston Methodist Hospital are developing information is available. Developing such a control algorithms, imaging technology, system is a multidisciplinary task that must “The beauty of this proposal is that we can now ultrafast computational methods and hu- seamlessly integrate sensing with the MRI go deep into the 3D space of the muscle fiber man-machine immersion methods to harness scanner, milli-robot control and close the B y laurie fickman Muscle by using electrical source imaging,” said Zhang. the force from a magnetic resonance imaging loop by controlling the scanner to drive the (MRI) scanner to both image and steer milli- milli-robots. A UH biomedical engineer is zeroing in on will suffer continual and crippling muscle Bridging the gap meter-sized robots through the body. the gap where nerve meets muscle to bring spasticity that render them motionless. As a Ultimately, Becker said, the goal is to use more precise treatment to stroke patients. brain disorder, a stroke can cause the brain Zhang’s partner in the grant is TIRR Memorial “We want to move from science fiction to the power of an MRI to steer large numbers The National Institutes of Health (NIH) to send irregular high-frequency signals – Hermann, widely known as one of the best science feasibility,” said Aaron Becker, of robots throughout the body. While one awarded more than $434,000 to Assis- through the nerves – to muscles, causing rehabilitation hospitals in the country. assistant professor of electrical and computer milli-robot could target a single lesion, deliv- tant Professor Yingchun Zhang to delve them to keep seizing. engineering at the UH Cullen College and ering chemotherapy or another intervention, deep into the neuromuscular junction, the “We’ll have two groups of patients,” said principal investigator for a $608,000 Synergy that isn’t practical for a late-stage cancer, for connector of the nerve and muscle fiber, to A small gap exists at the neuromuscular Zhang. “One will follow the standard ap- Award from the National Science Foundation example. calculate the exact spot to deliver the dose junction where “the nerve talks to the proach for the injections and one will use our (NSF) to develop prototypes for testing. of motion-restoring Botox. muscle,” according to Zhang, by releasing approach. I think we’re going to beat that noninvasive diagnosis, the next frontier is its “Targeting delivery with dozens of microsur- a nano-sized particle called a neuro trans- group,” he adds excitedly. The victory will To tackle this unprecedented challenge, the use as a tool to offer noninvasive or minimal- geons is my goal,” he said. In this case, those Yes, you read that right: Botox, or Botulinum mitter. It is inside this gap that Botox must come in reducing the costs and side effects award involves two additional investigators: ly invasive treatment. “microsurgeons” would be robots, guided by neurotoxin (BTX), is not just for wrinkles. be injected to block the neuro transmitter. while improving the outcome. Zhang’s also Nikolaos Tsekos, associate professor of a physician. excited to see his lab work have a direct and computer science and director of the Medical The milli-robot development and control There’s just one problem: No one has ever The protocol positive effect on people. Robotics Laboratory at UH, who has exper- work is an outgrowth of Becker’s previous been able to pinpoint the exact spot of the tise in MRI and computational methods, and research, which was funded in part with neuromuscular junction and to confound Botox has long been considered the first- The study will continue for two years. Dipan J. Shah, a cardiologist and director of an NSF CAREER award and demonstrated line treatment to reduce spasms in post- matters, it varies from patient to patient. To cardiovascular MRI at Houston Methodist the theory behind the proposal. This grant, stroke survivors, 20-40 percent of whom make sure the spot is covered, physicians

34 Parameters Fall 2017 University of Houston Cullen College of Engineering 35 lead news health & medicine

Tianfu Wu used to dream of the day when Multi-purpose tool The tool cancer could be detected long before it was diagnosed. Now he sees that day dawning Wu’s device can also detect the level of toxins Wu created a signal amplification system because of a system his research group in environmental samples. for the UPSS to allow robust and accurate Finding Disease created called the ultra-sensitive poly- biomolecular recognition. meric sensing system (UPSS), which may “The early detection of pathogens, biomarkers detect biomarkers early – well before an or toxins in clinical or environmental samples “The importance of this technology is that illness strikes. is a great challenge, especially at ultra-low we designed and fabricated a sensor that is and Toxins concentrations,” said Wu. sensitive enough to detect biomolecules,” Wu, assistant professor of biomedical engi- said Wu. Indeed it detected the Anatoxin-a in neering, recalls a handful of years ago when Conventional technologies using chain a sample. It also detected thrombin (an en- he would chat with a colleague now and again reactions or mass spectrometry are tedious zyme which creates thrombosis) in another on a train as they commuted to work. “She and time consuming so there is an increasing sample. was in great condition, very active,” said Wu. demand to develop the rapid-sensing strat- egy. “We are developing an ultra-sensitive When a cyanotoxin or thrombin is present “And then one day, within a couple of months, device to detect biomolecules that could be in a sample, it could bind to the specific as if out of nowhere, I received an email biomarkers for disease or could be environ- molecular recognition core in the UPSS. Early: that her funeral was being planned and she mental toxins in fresh water,” said Wu. That’s how you know this new specific object had died of pancreatic cancer. It seemed does not belong and is potentially dangerous. Tianfu Wu’s Laboratory Creates that quick.” Using the UPSS Wu and his students tested “It will also cause the polymer to shrink, or Anatoxin-a, which can be secreted into water make a morphology change,” said Wu. Only The experience cemented his goal. “We want by blue-green algae. in a diseased or affected specimen will this Ultra-Sensitive Detection Tool something for early biomarker detection, an reaction take place. ultra-sensitive biosensor,” said Wu. It’s small and usually the concentration is B y Laurie Fickman low in water, only trace amounts exist. But Always the visionary, Wu thinks about this And now he has it. don’t let that innocuous description fool you. proof of concept and imagines the day Anatoxin-a is also known as “Very Fast Death when the UPSS will be included in regular You can read about the UPSS, composed of Factor” (VFDF). medical exams. gold nanoparticle (gNP)-decorated polymer, in Advanced Materials (with a current impact “It can have a very bad cumulative effect,” “Even if you wanted to take a test today, factor of 19.791), which published the article said Wu. “Anatoxin-a has acute neurotoxicity, no such test exists,” he said. “We want to about Wu’s experiments with the UPSS. One so even in trace amounts it is bad. If we can develop this test and include it in the regular of Wu’s Ph.D students, Zuan-Tao Lin, is the detect it we can alert people to be careful of medical check-up or visit. It’s all about early leading author of “A nanoparticle-decorated this water source.” detection.” biomolecule-responsive polymer enables robust signaling cascade for biosensing.”

36 Parameters Fall 2017 University of Houston Cullen College of Engineering 37 lead news

So he decided to use this knowledge of wood Hadi Ghasemi Creates barrier is created when liquid touches a hot frogs to develop the new material that can surface, and that barrier prevents the drops materials Hadi Ghasemi have the same adaptive properties. New Material, from boiling on impact. Wins Top Developing a product based on animals is Scientist Johann Leidenfrost recognized the not as odd as it may seem. Ghasemi points Breaks dynamic in 1756. Since then, scientists have to an adhesive material developed at UMass been trying to prevent it, because its impact Amherst based on the mechanics of gecko extends far beyond the kitchen. Think re-en- NASA PRIZE feet, which was named one of the top five try of a spacecraft or the Fukushima Daiichi science breakthroughs of 2012 by CNN Limits nuclear disaster, during which inadequate We envision for Frog-Inspired Surface Money. In theory, if you applied GeckSkin to of Leidenfrost cooling led to three nuclear meltdowns. your hands you might be able to wall crawl these surfaces like Spiderman. Or a gecko. Phenomenon “When you have a hot surface and you’re by Laurie Fickman going to cool it down with a liquid, you need contact of the liquid with the surface,” said opening a new B y laurie fickman Ghasemi. “Otherwise the vapor becomes an insulating layer and it blocks the heat avenue in thermal Of the almost 5,000 species case, Ghasemi’s material performs normally at transfer.” ambient temperatures, but when exposed to We think we can UH engineer Hadi Ghasemi, Bill D. Cook As- management of frogs around the world, one extreme cold, it becomes an anti-icing surface. sistant Professor of mechanical engineering, Now, a scientist – among the hundreds of them hops immediately to develop new is set to change history with his invention of around the world working to eliminate the through spray Hadi Ghasemi’s attention. For this innovative idea, Ghasemi has been a new material that provides efficient heat vapor barrier – has succeeded, effectively chosen as one of three winners of the NASA surfaces for the next dissipation at high temperatures and elimi- working around the problem. That scientist cooling. You might wonder why the Bill D. Cook Assis- iTech initiative, an effort to “find innovative nates a 250-year-old scientific event known is Ghasemi. ideas that address challenges that will fill tant Professor of mechanical engineering has generation of aircraft as the Leidenfrost Phenomenon. - hadi ghasemi amphibians on his mind when he is so clearly gaps in critical areas identified by NASA as The heat is on a man versed in mechanics. having a potential impact on future space and any infrastructure If you’ve ever cooked a meal on your stove, exploration,” according to NASA. you’re probably familiar with the phenome- “We have developed a new approach to For Ghasemi, who is freezing out the com- that is going to non, though you may not realize it. It occurs completely eliminate this phenomenon,” Ghasemi’s anti-freezing surface was chosen petition in the field of anti-icing surfaces when you sprinkle a few drops of water into said Ghasemi. His approach is the invention among entries from more than 130 organi- and has created better than state-of-the-art stand at really low a hot skillet to make sure it’s heated to your of a new metal surface called a “decoupled Compared to today’s technology, no other zations across the U.S. for its potential to materials to repel ice, the link is this: Wood satisfaction. In those precious moments hierarchical structure” that removes the surfaces come close to Ghasemi’s new one, broadly impact human life on earth and the frogs are part of a small group of animals temperatures subject when the little droplets dance around – vapor barrier. His work has been published which removes the bottleneck for the heat future of space travel. “We think the idea of that can freeze, but not die. The species can rather than boil – you are witnessing the in the American Chemical Society’s journal transfer process. these anti-icing surfaces selected by NASA tolerate freezing of 65 percent of their total to freezing. Leidenfrost Phenomenon, in which a vapor Langmuir. body water and still survive in the winter. can be revolutionary for the aerospace indus- “With current surfaces, the maximum try,” said Ghasemi. “We are delighted we can - hadi ghasemi The new structure is made of two layers: a temperature reported is 400 degrees Celsius make contributions to future NASA missions.” So Ghasemi thought if frogs can do it, then micro-pillar surface with a nano membrane when the Leidenfrost effect occurs. But in he can, too. on top. The nano membrane keeps the our surface we couldn’t find any Leidenfrost, R esearch jumping off the page droplet in contact with the surface while the even at 600 degrees Celsius, and we believe He studied the frogs and built a new anti-icing micro-pillars take away the generated vapor. we can go to much higher temperatures with material than can withstand critically low tem- Ghasemi says a vast domain of knowledge The new material allows unprecedented heat no Leidenfrost effect,” said Ghasemi. “It is peratures. His newly created adaptive surface has been overlooked and is hidden inside of dissipation because there is direct contact unprecedented heat dissipation.” works like a pair of glasses that change to living species. with the liquid to the surface. sunglasses when you walk outdoors. In this But this is the first time someone has based a Infinity and beyond “We got the idea of these surfaces through low-temperature material on a frog. Ghasemi created the new surface in his nature. It is bio-inspired,” said Ghasemi. “The Nano Therm Lab and currently has a patent Imagine one day when heat shields are wood frogs can tolerate the freezing of their “We think we can develop new surfaces for pending on the product. Lab members made out of Ghasemi’s material, or power blood and tissues while being alive. When the next generation of aircraft and any in- Nazanin Farokhnia, Seyed Mohammad generators and chemical reactors. He does, we looked closely at the cell biology of these frastructure that is going to stand at really Sajadi and Peyman Irajizad contributed as he researches the widespread applications frogs we observed that the ice formation was low temperatures subject to freezing,” said to the research project. Ghasemi of the material. restricted to the surface of their cells.” Ghasemi. is already onto phase two of the material, to be made of “We envision these surfaces opening a new That means they protect themselves from Only from the mind of Ghasemi can cold- copper in order to lower avenue in thermal management through freezing. blooded creatures warm up outer space. the cost. spray cooling,” he said.

Hadi Ghasemi is breaking records and pushing 38 Parameters Fall 2017 boundaries in the invention of new materials University of Houston Cullen College of Engineering 39 lead news Outreach Cullen College in the Community

Engineering Students Become Teachers

B y laurie fickman

When Jameel Jordan became a petroleum borhood, and that’s such a big part of this. have in their home life and we’re giving engineering student at the Cullen College he These kids see someone like me, who looks them that,” said Lewis. “We’re giving them never dreamed he’d also become a mentor like them, who they can relate to, who is get- someone who will help them no matter to elementary school students. ting an education at UH and people in their where they are academically or what level lives might not be doing that,” said Jordan. they are on.” “It never crossed my mind,” said Jordan. Scan the demographics of Blackshear Ele- It’s quite the gift. Lewis credits a new teacher But the opportunity found him when he mentary and you’ll see why the UH/iEducate along with iEducate and the tutors with a rise learned of iEducate, a group that pays you to partnership is such a perfect fit. Blackshear is in test scores. share your knowledge of STEM courses (sci- a Title I campus where 100 percent of the 536 ence, technology, engineering and mathemat- students qualify for the free or reduced lunch “We’ve seen a great difference with our ics) with students in Houston’s underserved program. Title I schools, with high numbers science proficiency,” Lewis said. When she communities. of poor children, receive financial assistance arrived, only 27 percent of students passed through state educational agencies to help the standardized science exams. Last year 46 It seemed a good fit. Turns out it was perfect. ensure that all children meet challenging percent passed. state academic content and student academ- As a member of the UH Chapter of the ic achievement standards. Lewis herself plays a large role in the school’s National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE), increasing success. She is part cheerleader, Jordan takes seriously the group’s mission to “These students just don’t hear the word part force of nature, determined to push her breed culturally responsible black engineers ‘engineering’ at home. They don’t have the school forward. After three principals in two by impacting the community. That’s why certain type of mentors that students at UH years, the school scored Lewis, who com- you’ll find him, two days a week, just a can provide,” said Jordan. mitted to a five-year term and already says, stone’s throw from the University of Houston excitedly, she wants more. As a former math at Blackshear Elementary in Houston’s Third The kind of mentors that the new principal of specialist, she has goals for STEM courses at Ward where he tutors third graders. Blackshear, Alicia Lewis, can’t praise enough Blackshear. when she talks about the impact on her But the beauty of the program doesn’t just students, who she calls “scholars.” “We’re ashamed to say ‘I can’t read,’ but come from the coursework the tutors teach – we’re not ashamed to say, ‘I have a problem it also shows up in the life lessons they impart. “This program and the UH students provide with math or science,’ so we have to teach Bionka Edmundson and Jameel Jordan the mentorship, the relationship and the our scholars that math is as important “I grew up in this community, from this neigh- consistency that some of our scholars don’t as reading.” iEducate and UH students are

40 Parameters Fall 2017 University of Houston Cullen College of Engineering 41 lead news outreach making that happen. The screening process for becoming an Truth in numbers iEducate tutor is rigorous, but the rewards are greater. I believe the best way for Blackshear Elementary isn’t the only school to boast an increase in proficiency because Jordan talks about the amazement of build- Robots students to learn is for of Cullen College tutors connected to the ing a relationship with a troubled student iEducate program. who is craving a male presence in his life and them to teach. is beginning to turn a corner emotionally In 2013 Roopa Gir, a former physicist at and academically. Plus, the experience has - aaron becker Schlumberger, formed iEducate after tutor- exposed Jordan to professionals who offered ing with an alumni group. She found that her him an externship at Schlumberger. That’s peer tutors weren’t connecting with students one of those cases you might call a win-win. as she hoped and decided to try college students in the classroom to see if they could Back at Blackshear better relate. Take Over Bionka Edmundson is a child prodigy. She They entered their first school, Crockett is a first-generation college student, senior in UH Charter School Elementary, where 67 percent of fifth graders petroleum engineering at the Cullen College had passed the STAAR math exam (the and an iEducate tutor. She graduated high state’s standardized assessment). Quickly school at 16 and could have done it younger, B y Laurie Fickman When Aaron Becker, assistant professor of electrical and the scores began to rise. Last summer, all but her mom said she was too young. While Above: Cullen College students and computer engineering at the Cullen College, took seven students – 100 percent – passed the test. her mother knew continuing education was iEducate tutors Jameel Jordan and engineering students to the UH Charter elementary school You don’t have to be a math whiz to under- going to be vital for Edmundson, she wasn’t Bionka Edmundson at work at Blackshear to play with robots, he wasn’t just opening young minds stand those numbers. sure how best to steer her. So Edmundson Elementary – he was upholding the charter school’s vision to help attended a couple of different schools before Bottom left: In Houston’s Third Ward, the proud students fulfill their potential through “Most of these kids have no idea what engi- settling down at UH. UH/iEducate crew are (l-r) Arun Gir, Bionka neering is or what they can do with math or Edmundson, Jameel Jordan and Blackshear science,” said Gir’s son, Arun Gir, who now “I didn’t have any real academic guidance, Principal Alicia Lewis wonder runs iEducate. Passionate about lowering and I was just stumbling along until I decided the student-teacher ratio significantly with to come to UH,” said Edmundson. She’s now providing the kind of guidance and the addition of tutors, Gir is equally excited she craved. While the youngsters study in about the collaboration with UH. Two-thirds It’s that path that helps her guide others. class, she also studies on her computer for discovery. of the 120 tutors come from UH and half of “I love iEducate. They’re taking kids and try- upcoming engineering classes. Surprisingly, His college students came into the fourth grade class those are from the Cullen College. ing to give them a shot and, honestly, that’s the kids are more interested in what she has carrying robotic arms they had built in Becker’s lab and why I work so hard to give little kids who on her screen. little building blocks to show the youngsters how the “We don’t ask just anyone to be a tutor,” said look like me, with the same story I had – no robotic arm can pick up pieces. Each UH student had Gir. “Our average tutor has a 3.5 GPA. We dad, single mom, food stamps – a better “They see my derivatives and formulas on my 3-4 youngsters in their small group, so each got plenty of really want to offer this opportunity to stu- chance,” said Edmundson. screen and the fact I’m doing something so chances to control the robotic arm. dents who are excelling in their STEM field.” foreign to them, they are so interested,” said Edmundson. “The fact that I’m just here and “I believe the best way for students to learn is for them to they actually know engineering exists, it’s like teach,” said Becker, who regularly takes his engineering the Native Americans who never saw the boat students to the UH Charter School to show elementary coming because they didn’t know what a boat students that science and engineering can be great fun. was. Now these kids know what’s out there,” she says in a familiar refrain about the power His methods work, according to fourth grade teacher Gail of exposing children to the STEM fields. Paul. “I see high-fives going around the room, so I know it’s working,” said Paul “It’s a totally beneficial and hands-on For Edmundson, Schlumberger Midland is experience, which is highly engaging and motivates them Aaron Becker isn’t just playing with robots, he’s teaching out there, where she began a position as a to want to learn to do more.” field completion engineer after iEducate’s UH Engineering students and elementary students summer enrichment camp was completed in Proof positive of what Paul says: Fourth grader Paula Photos by Jose Cruz June. screams out, “Can you please come back?!” as the Becker group is leaving.

42 Parameters Fall 2017 University of Houston Cullen College of Engineering 43 lead news technology

“We’re just at the infant stage with drones “Satellites are wonderful things, but there right now,” said Professor Lim, chair of the are delays,” said Lim. “With drones, you get Cullen College’s department of industrial real-time information because they are so engineering and Hari and Anjali Agrawal close to the ground and you control them Faculty Fellow. “Imagine 15 years ago where 100 percent.” Lim posits that drones, be- iPhones were and now everyone uses them. cause they fly so low, can see real enemies or Eyes in I’ll tell you right now, drones will be like that equipment on the ground and communicate in no more than 15 years from today.” those finds in real time, like a live television signal. Ultimately, Lim says, if the drone gets He touched on the relevance of drones in shot down, it’s just the cost of doing military Major Seon Jin Kim, left, and Gino Lim medicine with his Ph.D. student Seon Jin Kim business. And that cost is greatly reduced. are using drones to solve real-world in their article called “Drone-aided healthcare problems the Sky: services for patients with chronic diseases “Imagine satellites and their cost – millions of in rural areas,” published in the Journal of dollars,” said Lim. “A drone might be $500.” Intelligent & Robotic Systems. “They need medical attention and if they Engineering the Future of Drones are forced to drive, they and others could Science ascending Houston work will impact be in jeopardy,” said Lim. “When drones can deliver the necessary medicine or testing kits South Korean military In Dubai they’re testing drones you can ride and be sent back, unnecessary traffic will be on. Lim would love to take that ride, if even as B y laurie fickman reduced.” Kim’s official title is Major Kim, engineer in a carpool to work. But mainly he wants to con- the South Korean army. He’s on a four-year leave of absence to work under Lim’s tutelage.

“Here at UH, Dr. Lim is my commander,” laughs Kim, and then quickly corrects himself: “No, he’s my general!” Kim expects to take the lessons learned with Lim back to South Korea for practical use in the military. They’ve published another paper called “Drone relay stations for supporting wireless communica- tion in military operations.”

Lim initiated the concept of applying tinue on the frontier of drone advancement. drones to real-world problems. If it sounds like a brave new world, that’s because it is. And Lim is helping usher it in, “We provided a template for “I know that drones have a great future, there’s setting up the mathematical models to better no doubt about it,” he repeats emphatically. “I drone routes to help health- utilize drones for everything we do. care services, especially targeting want to stay in the mainstream in improving chronic patients in rural areas,” the efficiency of drones, including extending said Kim. Their template includes It’s the future battery life and improving their reliability.” the locations and number of health- In Gino Lim’s estimation, drones will soon take care centers in specific areas and Lim’s drone work spans the highly imagina- Lim begins just about every other sentence over the sky, delivering medical kits and medi- determines the optimal number of tive to the minutely specific. “The mathemat- with the word “imagine:” drones needed in each center. ical models we are setting up will allow us cines to rural patients, relaying sensitive military to better utilize the drones and map drone “Imagine 15 years from now…” Because chronic patients need recurring treat- routes across all applications. In Houston, for information to troops and, yes, one day picking ment and rural patients live far from treatment example, we could utilize drones to find out “Imagine driverless cars as a concept years him up at his Pearland home and delivering him centers, they propose that drones will close where flooding is happening in real time or ago…” the healthcare disparity among those groups. where power needs to be restored,” he said. to his office at UH. In fact, the future as he sees it Lim’s vivid imagination combined with is something he could drone on about for hours. Lim says that older patients who live far from Lim says in military operations drones are engineering prowess will create the kind of doctors or hospitals can actually put more better communication systems than satellites. drone efficiencies that will aviate and soar lives at risk. for decades to come.

44 Parameters Fall 2017 University of Houston Cullen College of Engineering 45 lead news technology

The National Science Foundation has awarded Cullen College’s Miao Pan, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering, and Zhu Han, professor of electrical and com- puter engineering, $300,000 to speed up the way your electronic ID badge communi- cates through the Internet of Things (IoT).

As life-changing events occurred over the last couple decades, the order seems simple. First came the internet. Then there were smart devices and then – linking them Lots of Things in the together – was the Internet of Things. Take for example the temperature in your home. Perhaps it’s a hot Houston day and you’re toiling from your desk at the University of Houston. As the clock slips closer to the end You have not only set yourself up for a night to and from these simple cards can be trans- of the day, you decide you’d like your home of comfort, you’ve stepped through the mag- mitted more efficiently. ‘Internet of cooled off before you walk through the door. ic Internet of Things to do so. Its name is pret- So you grab your smart phone, open the app ty spot on: It’s the internet connected to your “The ID cards make everything more com- that accesses your smart thermostat and things and it doesn’t need human-to-human plex because there are a large number of remotely program it for coolness. interaction, nor do your things need to be cards communicating on the same network. as grandiose as a thermostat and smart We need to consider how we will be able to Things’ phone. They can be as simple are your card decipher between individual cards and if we How many ways are key. According to Gartner, Inc., a technology want each one to access different things,” Need to Speed Up you connected? research and advisory corporation, there will said Pan. be nearly 20.8 billion devices on the Internet B y ashley schwartz of Things by 2020. The researchers hope to enhance IoT ap- plications by creating new communication 1 Through this grant, Han and Pan will zero in systems to pair with the ultra-low power on enhancing connectivity and communica- devices, and then uncover the challenges of tion of ultra-low power applications. the signals, performance and security.

2 They will be working alongside colleagues “Our team at UH will be developing and an- Riku Jantti, Kalle Ruttik and Ruifeng Duan alyzing the new communications networks of Aalto University in Espoo, Finland and to find the best and most efficient design, 3 Jukka Lempiainen of Tempere University of while our colleagues in Finland will test if Technology in Tampere, Finland. our designs will work in the marketplace,” said Han. “The Internet of Things needs to incorpo- 4 rate almost everything, including simple This international project will also serve as sensors and devices,” said Pan. “We often a unique opportunity for UH engineering find ourselves at a paradox between need- students to gain knowledge and develop ing high transmission speeds using simple, their research skills abroad. 5 low-power devices while guaranteeing the sent messages are secure.” “We are excited about the prospect of our students participating to have the chance to 6 The project will specifically investigate ID learn from such accomplished researchers card technology and how signals transferring from other parts of the world,” said Pan.

Miao Pan, left, and Zhu Han are cramming more efficiency into the Internet of Things

46 Parameters Fall 2017 University of Houston Cullen College of Engineering 47 lead news technology

Theocharis Baxevanis is taking the “boom” out of sonic booms Transforming Supersonic Aircraft for Commercial Use

B y Audrey Grayson

Supersonic aircraft travel faster than the speed of sound, but these planes aren’t likely candidates for commer- cial use because of their supersonic noise. Mechanical engineering Professor Theocharis Baxevanis is working with researchers from Texas A&M University and Boeing Research & Technology (BR&T) to take the sonic booms out of supersonic flight.

NASA selected the team for a five-year, $10 million grant as part of the NASA Aeronautics’ University Leadership Initiative (ULI). The researchers aim to design a commer- cially-viable supersonic aircraft that can change shape during flight to meet noise and efficiency requirements for overland flight.

Read the full story at engineering.tamu.edu/news/2017/06/27/research- ers-working-to-create-a-quieter-transforming-superson- ic-aircraft-for-commercial-use This is an artist’s concept of a possible Low Boom Flight Demonstration Quiet Supersonic Transport (QueSST) X-plane design. The award of a preliminary design contract is the first step towards the possible return of supersonic passenger travel – but this time quieter and more affordable. Credits: Lockheed Martin

48 Parameters Fall 2017 University of Houston Cullen College of Engineering 49 Study I want to prove the people who The believe in me right. houston Dream B y Laurie Fickman community plan internship

Every student at the Cullen College has a unique path that led them here. family In the following stories you’ll read about three first-generation college students from vastly different worlds, My kids won’t have the yet all sharing the same dream of becoming world-class engineers.

issue of me not having a My daughter is the Their needs might have been different when they entered school, but the college degree and reason I push myself resources were plentiful and each found not being an so hard. a group or means to lead the way. These are the stories of the engineer. UH engineers living the Houston dream. success

50 Parameters Fall 2017 University of Houston Cullen College of Engineering 51 A Prodigy Finds His During his first year at the Cullen College, Xiong also earned an associate’s degree in mechanical engineering (ME) at a community college. When he graduates from the University of Houston in December with a degree in ME, he will be 17, and likely employed at Williams Companies, one of the largest energy firms in North America, where he has interned for the past two years.

An amazing path for most people, it seemed so natural for P ROmes Xiong, a prodigy, who read his first books, “The Chronicles of Narnia,” at age 3, and who, by age 11, was president of a high (Pronounced “Promise”) school robotics club (after three years of membership). Your math is correct. He was participating in high school classes at the age of 8.

t the age of 13 Nicolas Xiong was Xiong’s road may have been short, but it hasn’t always been the first in his family to attend a smooth. At 13 his first year at the Cullen College was, admit- tedly, an eye opener. That’s when, for the first time, he made major university. a D, the first time he had ever even scored below 90 on a test. A (Spoiler alert: he would later retake the course and make an A.)

Y ou read that But as a young freshman he was having a conflict of character, he said, and he leaned – hard – on the Program for Mastery correctly, he was 13. in Engineering Studies (PROMES), one of the many first-year resources for student success offered by the Cullen College.

Student success is number one

If you review Dean Joseph Tedesco’s Strategic Plan for 2014- 2020, you will find the phrase “student success” after only a handful of other words under the heading “Strategic Goals.” He is motivated by the reality that the better students do in their first-year core classes, the higher the chances they will graduate with engineering degrees.

“Creating opportunities for our students to become successful and nurturing their success along the way is critical to the long- term outlook for our students, the Cullen College and the engi- neering ranks at-large,” said Dean Tedesco. “Before we launch the next generation of great engineers, we foster their ability to learn and belong in our engineering community. These are lifelong skills they will take with them.” Nicolas Xiong studies hard in his dorm room In fact, when Dean Tedesco noted that students participating while his mother proudly in PROMES have higher GPAs and higher graduation rates, he looks on expanded the program.

52 Parameters Fall 2017 University of Houston Cullen College of Engineering 53 P ROmes Growing up fast him. When he became a Cougar, PROMES wasn’t the only group that reached out to make him feel welcome. PROMES seems a fitting name for this acronym and homophone Xiong’s parents were political refugees from the Hmong tribe in of promise. Its own promise is to help students grasp tough Laos when they came separately to California as children in the “Imagine a Southeast Asian and I’m a member of SHPE (Society for engineering concepts and study skills early. It’s one of the most early 1980s. That makes Xiong not only a first-generation university Hispanic Professional Engineers),” laughed Xiong. enduring academic programs, having formed in the early 1970s student, but also a first-generation American. to help underrepresented minority students succeed and thrive “One of my best friends going into my sophomore year was the in the engineering programs. “I credit my parents because they were always giving me the SHPE president and she told me they welcome all engineering about promes opportunity to learn more,” said Xiong. “They would always put students and they were really friendly,” said Xiong. PROMES offers a specialized curricula that emphasizes academic A service of the UH Cullen College of Engineering, me in situations to better myself because they didn’t have those “I found a real sense of camaraderie and family like in PROMES,” he success strategies and personal and professional skills develop- PROMES provides academic advising, workshops, opportunities when they were children as refugees.” said. He got so involved in their events and activities that by the end ment with special PROMES sections of some standard courses and scholarships and professional and personal devel- of his sophomore year he was voted “new member of the year.” intense focus on study skills, time management and other “best opment opportunities for engineering students. practices” for first-year engineering students. It is highly recommended for students who want He says it’s probably no coincidence that also by the end of that year, to: I credit my parents because they were always Those were the kind of tools Xiong dearly needed. between his membership in SHPE and activities with PROMES, his grades went back up. • Be the best engineering student they can be and giving me the opportunity to learn more. “I used the studying habits taught in the PROMES classes extensive- are willing to adopt effective new ways to study ly in my sophomore year to get myself back on track,” said Xiong, They would always put me in situations to “Research has shown that our engineering students who are more involved in the engineering community – whether through member- who eventually became a PROMES workshop facilitator. • Learn how to collaboratively work in groups better myself. ship in student groups and professional societies, in PROMES or the Honors Engineering Program, or involvement in research activities Now he’s the one creating worksheets and leading sessions to • Develop skills for professional development - Nicolas Xiong develop and reinforce knowledge in students. Sweet victory this, – are far more likely to complete their engineering degrees,” said electrical and computer engineering Professor Fritz Claydon, who working as facilitator for two semesters in the one class in which he • Learn how to maximize what they can accomplish serves as director of the college’s undergraduate programs and stumbled, statics. in a day or week The first opportunity came around in preschool, where Xiong recalls always getting fussed at because he didn’t want to nap at naptime. student success initiatives. • Give back to the community through fun Instead he’d walk around the room, choosing books to read. Reports engagements with K-12 students to his parents came back unfavorably: “He’s rowdy,” or, “He’s And beyond If it wasn’t for PROMES, I don’t know uninterested,” were some of the teachers’ comments. His parents • Take part in Excellence Workshops, which realized he was bored and quickly put him in a school for gifted and The active Xiong took the advice of the Engineering Career Center – what I would have done. PROMES support key math, science and engineering talented children. to go to career fairs early and often in your college career – to heart. courses At one of his first, he met a PROMES alum working at Williams. stepped in, saw I was having trouble “It was such a refreshing feeling and I didn’t feel like I was being with class and adapting to college and • Work in a diverse scholastic environment alienated in the class,” said Xiong. “And to know I wasn’t just rowdy “I attended several résumé and interview workshops with the they really picked me up. or whatever else they said they thought I was.” Engineering Career Center and student organizations like SHPE,” Learn more at said Xiong, who notes that Williams had to wait until he was of legal - Nicolas Xiong promes.egr.uh.edu It was a rare 4-year-old’s epiphany. age, 16, to offer him an internship. At 7 Xiong was working on freshman level high school chemistry. Now completing his second year as a paid intern, Xiong looks As for helping the young Xiong fit in, a former head of PROMES Unable to find a school that met his needs, Xiong’s mother taught forward to the possibility of working there full-time in December knew just what to do. herself how to homeschool him. when he graduates. They’ve treated him well, he says. “My first day a group of guys at Williams said they usually go out to have drinks to “When I was struggling they invited me to become an officer of the Lest we not forget an 8-year-old boy is still a youngster, Xiong was celebrate the new group of interns, but because of me, we all went PAC, the PROMES Action Committee,” said Xiong. It was a position also playing on a soccer team and hanging out with other home- to Chili’s,” he said. that would require Xiong to interact with other freshmen to plan schooled students. But he really loved Legos, especially the Lego events and activities. He would go on to be president of the PAC for robot kits, and so his mother found a high school robotics team Throughout his life playing out in fast forward, Xiong has dealt with two years. that could teach him advanced concepts. He was an eager student some detractors, people he realizes may be envious of the abilities and would end up leading the team through many contests. It was that he is humble about. “If it wasn’t for PROMES, I don’t know what I would have done,” at these national and regional competitions that he began to meet said Xiong. “PROMES stepped in, saw I was having trouble with class Xiong celebrates Cullen College students and members of PROMES. “As much as there are haters there are more people supporting you. and adapting to college and they really picked me up,” he adds with with his peers I don’t want to prove the haters wrong. I’d rather prove the people pride. Now he considers the PROMES members as close as family. at the annual Off to college who believe in me right,” said Xiong. PROMES Banquet When he was about 12, Xiong’s mom announced that he had com- And he does, every day. With great pleted the high school curriculum and she had no more to teach promise.

54 Parameters Fall 2017 University of Houston Cullen College of Engineering 55 “The minute I found out we were pregnant, I kicked into dad mode and tried to figure out how I was going to provide,” said Huston. At the time, he and his former wife were running a sustainable orchard in Ecuador, but that gig was about to end and if they stayed, manual labor – the only thing he said he was trained to do – paid $15 a day. finding “That wasn’t going to be an option for me, so I knew we’d have to move back,” he said. In further thought, Huston examined his about The First Year strengths. Experience

“I’m curious, I’ve always had a math brain, I never stop asking ques- When it comes to success in engineering studies, tions and so engineering seemed a good fit,” he said. And though the data is clear: the better students do in their both his parents earned associate’s degrees, when he graduates first-year core classes, the greater the odds that his way: he will be the first in the family to earn a four-year college degree, they will complete their engineering degrees. That’s In His Third Decade, making him a first-generation college student. why the First Year Experience (FYE) was established at the UH Cullen College of Engineering. All of the At the Cullen College Huston found that the combination of the First college’s eight undergraduate majors now share He’s a Third-Year Undergrad Year Experience and Engineering Career Center would catapult him the exact same curriculum in the first year, foster- into the life he could only dream about. ing a community of support among engineering students during their critical first year of college while allowing for a seamless transition between engineering majors for students who wish to shift wo years ago when Taylor [My daughter] is the reason I push myself focus after their first year. Two critical introductory Huston walked into the engineering courses – Introduction to Engineering so hard now. The reason for that is I don’t (ENGI 1100) and Computer and Problem Solving Cullen College of Engineering believe we remember what our parents and (ENGI 1331) – were shifted to project-based and team-based learning environments. Students in the as a first-year student, he was mentors say, I think we remember what they courses are placed into multidisciplinary groups T29 years old. He had already taken a few do. So if I want her to push herself and chase and must propose solutions to the National Acad- emy of Engineering (NAE) Grand Challenges using community college classes, but mainly her dreams, then I better be doing it myself. problem-solving principles and lessons learned in their classes. he had been a rock musician, bartender, - taylor huston farmer in Ecuador, a husband and a Learn more at father. It was this last title that inspired firstyearexperience.egr.uh.edu him to go to college and earn a degree. Making it fit

Huston readily admits he felt like an outsider coming in, but “In 1100 we got a look at what we will be learning, but 1331 is acknowledges that he was fine with that. where it gets a lot harder and they start to test you; it can be a very grueling class,” said Huston. “If you make it through it feels “Because I’m older I had less of a desire to fit in and I felt it was okay like you’ve made the cut and they’d like to have you around to if I didn’t, but at the same time there are two things UH offers that see what else you can do.” make it unique and really helped me,” said Huston. “Houston is such a diverse city that our university is incredibly diverse – not just Even with his co-parenting responsibilities and need to make a culturally, but in age range, too. There are plenty of people returning living, Huston persevered and made it through 1331 with an A. to school like me, so right away I found people in the engineering disciplines that were older with a similar mindset like me and at “That First Year Experience Course had an impact on me, the same place in their lives, and we’re still good friends, still going making me feel I’m doing the right thing. I got my A and I really through school together.” liked it and I wanted to learn more and be an electrical engineer, so it was a good sign,” said Huston, who wants to work at the Taylor Huston has been many And then came the First Year Experience with its two mandatory intersection of power and space exploration one day. things – a rocker, bartender, courses for all beginning engineering students: Introduction to farmer and, most recently, father Engineering (ENGI 1100) and Computing and Problem Solving (ENGI “If I could find a way to do both, I’d be a happy boy,” he said. and electrical engineer 1331), both the price of entry to your career in the Cullen College.

56 Parameters Fall 2017 University of Houston Cullen College of Engineering 57 All in a day’s work about the Engineering A typical day for Huston is atypical for most students. At the That’s the golden question people ask, Career Center Calhoun Lofts, before the mere thought of his 14-hour course The Engineering Career Center is a comprehensive load or internship creeps in, Huston gets 4-year-old Aryana up, how I have gotten so many great intern- career services department that offers all students in showered, fed and ready for her school day on the UH campus. ships. It comes back to the Cullen College’s the Cullen College of Engineering resources to help He’s made his schedule fit to spend extra time in the morning develop and achieve their career goals. Workshops with Aryana before he walks her to her preschool class at the Engineering Career Center – they have a and information sessions with industry professionals UH Children’s Learning Center on campus. great program that’s really helped me. are offered throughout the year. Engineering career fairs are held biannually with hundreds of companies Then it’s his turn to go to class, followed by his internship - taylor huston looking to hire for full-time, part-time, fellowship at NASA with Stinger Ghaffarian Technologies. During the and internship positions. Begin your engineering spring and summer semesters he worked for chemical giant career search by scheduling an appointment with LyondellBasell at their Matagorda plant through the Engi- an engineering career counselor and register with neering Career Center’s co-operative education program, eConnection, a web-based system designed to which enables college students to receive career training increase contact between students and potential with pay. As an added bonus, the co-op program is usually employers. used as a recruiting tool by the companies involved, so future employment is highly possible. Learn more at career.egr.uh.edu At LyondellBasell he worked under a project engineer assisting on a new weather station and small thermoelectric energy harvesters. Then he transferred to work under a senior engi- neer on large capital projects like the addition of a new power So many opportunities switchgear building and motor control center on site. “That’s the golden question people ask, how I have gotten so For Stinger Ghaffarian Technologies he will work under the many great internships,” said Huston. “It comes back to the Integrated Mission Operations Contract II (IMOC II) to provide Cullen College’s Engineering Career Center – they have a great mission and flight crew operations support for the Interna- program that’s really helped me.” tional Space Station and future human space exploration. When Huston got the offer, he was shaken. Some of the best advice, Huston says, is the career center’s Huston poses with his 4-year-old daughter, Aryana insistence on going to career fairs. “I humbly admit I cried a little bit when they called me,” said Huston. “I was at the Matagorda plant in a weight room of all “They suggest you get right out there and go to those career places and thankfully no one else was around because, you His future student fairs and put out applications and interview as soon as possi- know, there are some big dudes there and I was getting tears.” ble, even before you think you’re eligible for a position,” said Huston is thrilled to be a returning student, happy with his Huston. He did and he said the process can be disheartening, place in life, but sometimes wishes he had gotten to the Cullen recalling his first career fair where he put out a dozen applica- College sooner. tions and didn’t hear back from a single one even though he had experience already as a tutor and assistant to a professor “I hope not everyone takes as long of a path as I have to get to earlier in his life. school,” said Huston. “I hope some people can figure out what they want to do a lot sooner and though I’m grateful I waited to “I didn’t even hear ‘No,’” he said. “But don’t be discouraged by go back when I did, what I wouldn’t give to be a little younger that, you just have to keep going,” he adds, from experience. finishing my degree.”

“I talked to the staff at the career center about it and that’s Still he won’t force his daughter into college when it’s her time. where they stepped in and I got some advice and counseling Rather, he said, he thinks his experience will show her. from them,” he continued. He learned that many times compa- nies are looking for specific coursework to have been completed “Aryana is the reason I push myself so hard now,” said Huston. before they take interest. In his case, as an electrical engineer- “The reason for that is I don’t believe we remember what our ing student, he said they wanted to see circuit analysis. parents and mentors say, I think we remember what they do. So if I want her to push herself and chase her dreams, then I damn “As soon as I had circuit analysis on my résumé, boy, I got offers! well better be doing it myself.” I may have even heard that before but it didn’t resonate until I Huston drops off his daughter, Aryana, at the UH Children’s sat down at the career center and really listened to their advice,” Learning Center before heading to his classes at the UH Cullen College Huston said. A+ in fatherhood for that.

58 Parameters Fall 2017 University of Houston Cullen College of Engineering 59 “Everyone goes into college with a kind of uncertainty about whether they’ve made the right choice,” said Pettaway. “But going to those ASCE meetings really solidified that I was in the Everyone goes into college with a kind of First-Generation Student Andrea right place and on the right career path.” uncertainty about whether they’ve made Her words echo those of the Cullen College of Engineering Dean the right choice. But [ASCE] really solidified Joseph Tedesco’s about student success and involvement: “Get- that I was in the right place and on the Pettaway’s Secret to Success: ting involved in student organizations and professional societies not only increases chances for success in engineering, but gives right career path. students access to leadership and networking opportunities that help prepare them for life after college.” - andrea pettaway

“I totally agree,” said Pettaway, now a junior and a student of the Honors College. “I don’t even think I’d still be majoring in That was Pettaway’s takeaway from the course as well. civil engineering if I hadn’t been involved in ASCE.” As far as the Join! networking part, she scored her internship at LJA Engineering Her first group project in the class was to build a bridge out of after meeting a friend at an ASCE meeting who recommended balsa wood. Thrilled about her team’s success, she excitedly her to the company. posted on social media that her bridge held weight and she was in the right major. She says company presentations at the ASCE meetings also expanded her view of civil engineering and opened her mind As for the problem-solving steps that she says they “drill into to possibilities. you” during the FYE courses – now she uses them daily at her Join! paid internship. “When you go into civil engineering you just think buildings and bridges,” said Pettaway. “I didn’t know flood control was part of “If I get stuck on something I go to the five steps of prob- civil engineering. I didn’t know civil engineers could design air- lem-solving in my head because it’s so ingrained in me now,” port runways or build transmission lines.” Her new knowledge she laughs, happy now for the first-year “drill.” made her aware she was totally intrigued with her major. engi 1331: the five steps of Join! F irst-generation, first-year success problem-solving The United States might boast one of the highest college attendance rates in the world, but according to the Pell Institute s a member of a military fam- for the Study of Opportunity in Higher Education, large gaps (1) Define Problem remain in college success with only 11 percent of first-genera- ily, Andrea Pettaway had tion students earning an undergraduate degree compared to 55 moved around the country five percent of their peers. times by high school, enough In the Cullen College, out of 3,700 enrolled undergraduates in (2) Collect Information to make her feel she would 2016, 971 were first-generation university students, or just over never find a place to truly call home. one-quarter. A “What we find is first-generation students haven’t had some of (3) Generate Solution That is until she walked into the UH the opportunities we’re providing in the First Year Experience, like study groups or tutors,” said Jerrod Henderson, director Cullen College of Engineering as a of the First Year Experience (FYE) Program, which requires all first-generation university student incoming engineering freshmen to take two courses – Introduc- and began joining extracurricular tion to Engineering (ENGI 1100) and Computing and Problem (4) Refine and Implement Solving (ENGI 1331). groups like the UH chapter of the American Society of Civil “The common experience of 1331 allows different disciplines to work together on a broad project,” said Instructional Assistant Engineers (ASCE). Professor Dan Burleson who teaches the project-based course. (5) Verify and Test “By the end of the year they will have learned the engineering problem-solving process and how it applies to all these different disciplines.”

60 Parameters Fall 2017 University of Houston Cullen College of Engineering 61 about our 30+ Engineering Student Organizations

Getting involved in student organizations and professional societies increases your chances for success in engineering and gives you access to leadership and networking opportunities. It’s also a great way to meet fellow engineering students and connect with your classmates for study groups and academic support. The Cullen College is home to award-winning chapters of the Institute of Elec- trical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE), the Society of Women Engineers (SWE), the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE), the Society of Mexi- can American Engineers and Scientists (MAES), the Society of Asian Scientists and Engineers (SASE), Andrea Pettaway found success by the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE), the joining student groups like the American Subsea Engineering Society (SES) and many more! Society of Civil Engineers and the National Society of Black Engineers Learn more at www.egr.uh.edu/people/engineering-student- I feel like I’ve come full “My kids won’t have the issue of me not having a college degree organizations circle. Even if I help just one and not being an engineer,” she said. Though they did not attend university, Pettaway’s parents are the reason she’ll person decide to major in be getting her diploma. engineering down the line I’ll More organizations, more opportunities “I’ve always been motivated by be happy because that’s one wanting to make them proud.” more than there was before. Pettaway, who says she’s always enjoyed being busy, is a tutor for iEducate, a group that pays college students to share their knowledge of STEM courses (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) with elementary school students in Houston’s - Andrea pettaway underserved communities. She is also part of the Bonner Lead- ers Program in the Honors College and chair of the pre-college initiative of the UH chapter of the National Society of Black Engi- neers (NSBE). She’s looking forward to reaching out to disadvan- taged youth and introducing the idea of engineering to them.

“I feel like I’ve come full circle,” said Pettaway. “If I hadn’t joined ASCE or NSBE I don’t know where I’d be, so I think it’s important to do whatever I can. Even if I help just one person decide to major in engineering down the line I’ll be happy because that’s one more than there was before.”

At just 20 years old she is a mentor, the kind she feels she could have used in high school as she prepared to be the first in her family to go to a university. Though her parents always encour- aged her to go to college, it was an older woman in her church who first spoke to her about civil engineering.

“I went home and did some research and began to envision myself as a civil engineer,” said Pettaway. “It just seemed right for me.” As did college when her parents encouraged her.

62 Parameters Fall 2017 University of Houston Cullen College of Engineering 63 other engineering resources

Honors Engineering Program The Honors Engineering Program (HEP) is jointly offered by the Cullen College of Engineering and the Honors College as a program that cultivates community among Honors students who are pursuing engineering degrees and provides an enhanced academic experience through project-based courses, mentorship opportunities and undergraduate visits with industry partners. Designed to promote inno- vative thinking, HEP combines team-building activities research (such as building Habitat for Humanity homes or visiting The Cullen College and the University offer a wide array local companies) with more intensive classroom lessons. of research opportunities for undergraduate students The program also gives academically-gifted students a to get involved in. These programs provide enhanced larger selection of more comprehensive versions of ex- learning opportunities to students through hands-on isting engineering courses in smaller classroom settings projects developed by faculty as well as valuable experi- taught by leading Cullen College faculty. Cullen College ence for students looking to pursue advanced degrees. students currently make up about 20 percent of the Many of these undergraduate research opportunities Honors College enrollment. are funded fellowship positions. The Professor Stuart Long Undergraduate Research Fund was recently Learn more at launched by the UH Cullen College and Honors College, www.uh.edu/honors/Programs-Minors/hon- expanding the available funding for undergraduate ors-minors-programs/hep/ research programs in both colleges. Current undergrad- uate research programs include:

• Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) women in engineering • Houston’s Early Research Experience (HERE) • Provost’s Undergraduate Research Scholarship (PURS) program • Senior Honors Thesis • UH Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) It’s no secret that women are gravely underrepresented • Senior Capstone Design Projects in the engineering fields. The UH Cullen College hopes to curb these trends by fostering a community of support Learn more at among women in engineering. That’s the inspiration www.egr.uh.edu/research/undergraduate-research behind the Women in Engineering (WIE) Program, which brings together female engineering students, faculty and alumnae to inspire and encourage each other. Originally known as the Women in Engineering Learning Commu- advertise with us. nity for Maximizing Excellence (WELCOME), the program was established in 2005 at the Cullen College. Supported by a grant from the Texas Engineering and Technical T o learn more about exciting advertising opportunities in Parameters Magazine, Consortium (TETC), the vision for the program is to serve please contact [email protected] as a forum for women to network on both social and professional levels. WIE also offers professional and aca- demic development workshops, student-to-student and professional-to-student mentoring programs and a series of seminars geared toward providing insight for women at every stage of their academic careers.

Learn more at www.egr.uh.edu/wie

64 Parameters Fall 2017 faculty

on Prosperetti, Distinguished Professor of mechanical engineering at UH, the Berkhoff lems involving large amounts of data, and for speed up a chemical reaction, there are few Professor of applied physics at the Univer- Zhu Han: students looking to grasp the fundamentals researchers in the world as well-known or sity of Twente in the Netherlands and an of big data analytics. respected as Lars Grabow. elected member of the National Academy of He Wrote the When these things Engineering. “We hope that this book is a great resource Case in point: Grabow, assistant professor of Book on Big Data for graduate students who want to pursue chemical and biomolecular engineering at happen, awards come, Galileo is said to have been thrilled with his big data analysis, as well as engineers and the UH Cullen College, was recently elected you think the choice you induction into the academy. Prosperetti has a B y Ashley schwartz data scientists who want to know the current to the advisory boards of two prestigious thoughtful reaction to the award. state-of-the-art data applications,” said Han. journals in the catalysis field, ACS Catalysis made out of passion and Zhu Han, professor of electrical and com- and ChemCatChem. “What we do is a lonely activity,” said puter engineering at the UH Cullen College Just as with any unprecedented venture, the personal interest as a Prosperetti. “We do calculations, we think of Engineering, along with colleagues Mingyi authors experienced a few bumps in the road ACS Catalysis, a publication of the American about abstract things and it’s not obvious Hong of Iowa State University and Dan Wang along the way. “It was quite a learning curve Chemical Society, announced the launch young man was maybe that any of that amounts to anything. We do of Hong Kong Polytechnic University, have for such a dynamic and diverse field. I was of its first-ever Early Career Advisory Board it because we like it and have a genuine faith this April. Grabow was one of 18 members not as misguided as you in science. So when these things happen, elected to the inaugural board from a pool of sometimes feared. awards come, you think the choice you made candidates recommended by the journal’s out of passion and personal interest as a I hope to continue to create books associate editors. - Andrea prosperetti young man was maybe not as misguided as that not only serve as valuable you sometimes feared.” Members of the ACS Catalysis Early Career resources to students and professionals, Advisory Board represent outstanding emerging researchers who work in differ- Glimmering in his field but also contribute to the field. ent areas of catalysis around the world. - zhu han Their roles include advising the journal of As Prosperetti speaks, nearby is a textbook, emerging trends in their research areas and “Advanced Mathematics for Applications,” he ensuring the journal’s content reflects the wrote in 2011. Prosperetti also serves as the published the first comprehensive book on lucky to have two active, young researchers latest and greatest in new developments in editor-in-chief of the International Journal of involved with whom I have collaborated and the field of catalysis. Multiphase Flow and serves on the editorial the use of signal processing for big data applications. studied on many occasions.” board of the Annual Review of Fluid Mechanics. ChemCatChem, published by Wiley, elected The book, titled “Signal Processing and Han has published an impressive eight books Grabow as a member of their International He’s keen on describing multiphase flows, by prestigious publisher Cambridge Universi- Advisory Board. Grabow is one of 10 mem- wherein liquids, solids and gases are together. Networking for Big Data Applications,” was published by the Cambridge University Press ty Press and plans to release another soon. bers hailing from the U.S. out of the 70 total last April. board members representing more than “In a sandstorm you have sand particles “I hope to continue to create books that not 18 countries. International advisory board Andrea Prosperetti suspended in the wind. Coastlines and rivers only serve as valuable resources to students members provide editorial guidance on the are remodeled by the small solid particles This unique text helps make sense of big data in engineering applications using tools and professionals, but also contribute to the journal’s publications. transported by the water current. Mixtures field,” he said. Wins Career Award of gases and liquids are ubiquitous in the and techniques from signal processing. It presents fundamental signal processing the- “Membership in these two advisory boards is oil industry. If I have all of these entities dis- an honor and a milestone of my career,” said From One of the World’s Oldest Scientific Organizations persed in a carrier fluid, how do you handle ories and software implementations, reviews current research trends and challenges and Grabow. “I couldn’t be more excited to have that system? How do you describe it? How A Giant in the the opportunity to shape the future of these do you model it? You have to understand describes the techniques used for analysis, B y Laurie Fickman work on bubbles,” Prosperetti says modestly. design and optimization. journals and, in turn, influence the direction the physics.” Field of Catalysis, in which the field of catalysis is headed.” For much of his career, Andrea Prosperetti Now he can add to his sparkling résumé the When asked why a comprehensive book on And through all of his career accomplish- Grabow has been awarded millions of dollars has been called “Mr. Bubble” by his students title of international winner of the Cataldo ments, Prosperetti says that’s the consistent signal processing for big data is so import- UH’s Lars Grabow for his intense focus on multiphase flows Agostinelli e Angiola Gili Agostinelli Inter- ant, Han explained, “Different researchers by private energy companies and govern- element. “My attention to fundamental phys- ment funding agencies to find safer, cheaper including bubble dynamics and cavitation, national Prize, given by the Accademia dei ical principles is really what I’ve always tried have different perspectives for big data Elected to Helm Two the formation of bubbles in a liquid. Lincei in Rome, Italy. The exclusive organiza- analysis. This book is the first one to give a and more effective catalysts for a variety to do, to have an eye for those aspects of Journals of industrial processes and environmental tion was founded in 1603 with one of its early physics out of which everything else comes.” comprehensive view for the story, so that the With more than 8,000 citations on the Web members no less than Galileo Galilei, the researchers can select the appropriate signal applications. He currently serves as vice chair of Science database and 15,000 on Google great scientist who first pointed a telescope processing tools for specific problems.” B y Audrey Grayson for the Catalysis and Reaction Engineering Like scientific cataloguing, engineering exper- (CRE) division of the American Institute of Scholar, you might say his work on fluid to the heavens. tise, mathematical explanations and, in this In the field of catalysis, Chemical Engineers (AIChE). mechanics, the motion of liquids and gases, case, scholarly recognition. The book is ideal for researchers and practic- is effervescent. “I have done an awful lot of Not a bad organization to have its sights ing engineers looking to solve practical prob- which uses one material to initiate or

66 Parameters Fall 2017 University of Houston Cullen College of Engineering 67 faculty Here’s what she also does: Picks up awards Cullen College’s Director of Engineering Yashashree Kulkarni’s Twinning Work Garners her a for her work on nanotwinned metals, most recently from the American Society of Programs in Katy Honored With Mechanical Engineers (ASME). The orga- nization chose her as winner of the 2017 we are bringing Singular Award Sia Nemat-Nassar Early Career Award for her “pioneering work on twin boundaries Dual Awards From SPE in crystalline materials and their role in B y Laurie Fickman next-generation nanostructured materi- B y Laurie Fickman als,” according to ASME. uh engineering’s best Even among the largest oil and gas organiza- “It’s a very prestigious award. It is nation- tion serving managers, engineers, scien- to al-level recognition and I am really humbled tists and other professionals worldwide, by it,” said Kulkarni. Phaneendra Kondapi stands out. The Soci- ety of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) Gulf Coast katy’s brightest Early achievements North America Region honored Kondapi, founding director of engineering programs Introducing University of Houston’s Kulkarni received her Ph.D. in 2007 and at the UH Cullen College’s Katy campus and has a career reel of highlights in the field director of subsea engineering, with two of New Engineering Classes in Katy of computational modeling of twins in its highest awards for regional distinguished nanostructured materials. faculty and technical achievements. fall 2017 She has explored the ability of specially The SPE Regional Distinguished Achieve- fabricated nanotwinned metals to with- ment Award for Petroleum Engineering stand prolonged exposure to high radiation Faculty recognizes superiority in classroom Award-winning Phaneedra Kondapi through a grant from the National Science teaching, excellence in research, significant Foundation; and she is an early pioneer of contributions to the petroleum engineering studying twin boundaries at the molecular profession and/or special effectiveness in of industry best practices related to flow level to understand their role in imparting advising and guiding students. assurance and subsea engineering among high strength, ductility and mechanical upstream oil and gas professionals. He also stability to nanotwinned metals. It’s not the first time Kondapi impressed the successfully organized the SPE global forum SPE judges. In 2013 he was awarded the SPE “Flow Assurance: Future State of the Art” But the overarching focus of her work, she Teaching Excellence Award. and is actively involved in the SPE global says, is to understand how twin boundaries training committee and organizing many When Yashashree Kulkarni interact with other defects because, as she This time around, Kondapi grabbed the successful flow assurance and subsea pro- prestigious faculty award for the highest of cessing sessions at the Offshore Technology isn’t singing opera (her latest notes, there are always going to be defects in materials, and they ultimately determine reasons – he has been involved in devel- Conference. pursuit), the associate professor the mechanical behavior of the material. oping the only two subsea programs in the of mechanical engineering is nation (at UH and Texas A&M University). “It’s truly rewarding for the work done over “Whenever a material deforms or ultimately the years and I am really thankful to SPE for singing the praises of twinning, fails, it all starts at the scale of atoms, where “It’s a great honor to receive this award. I appreciating and recognizing what I have the process by which interfaces defects are formed breaking the crystalline feel this award is given to encourage such done,” said Kondapi. It’s a very prestigious unique programs and the faculty supporting known as twin boundaries are order,” said Kulkarni. “My work has been award. It is national-level mostly on how these unique twin boundar- them,” said Kondapi. “So this honor truly Kondapi blends academic and industry introduced in metals to make ies interact with the defects that are already goes to both UH and Texas A&M.” experience with more than 20 years of them stronger. recognition and I am present or formed during deformation to engineering at FMC Technologies and KBR. make the material stronger.” The SPE Regional Technical Awards acknowl- edge exceptional contributions to SPE at “It’s well-deserved recognition for this pio- Twin boundaries are created when layers of really humbled by it. the section or regional level and recognize neer of subsea engineering,” said Joseph W. atoms in crystalline materials are arranged She recalls a quote by Sir Colin Humphreys, - yashashree kulkaRni singular devotion of time and effort to the Tedesco, Elizabeth D. Rockwell Dean of the in pairs of mirror images (twins) stacked on a famous materials scientist, that she works programs and development of technical Cullen College. “Dr. Kondapi is uniquely suit- top of one another. and lives by: “Crystals are like people; It is the defects in them that tend to make them expertise. ed to expand the Cullen College’s engineer- ing programs in Katy while continuing to “For all structural applications, we want a interesting.” Kondapi was awarded the SPE’s Regional provide the city of Houston a vital workforce material that is both ultra-strong and not Projects, Facilities and Construction Award of highly-skilled subsea engineers.” www.egr.uh.edu/ brittle – we call it ductile – and that is what Sounds almost operatic. for spearheading the flow assurance techni- engineering-katy we do with twinning,” said Kulkarni. cal section of SPE and promoting awareness

68 Parameters Fall 2017 University of Houston Cullen College of Engineering 69 faculty

Lim’s work. Among many career highlights, graduated 16 Ph.D. candidates in the last Professor Lim, chair of the Cullen College 13 years – well above the average number department of industrial engineering and among his academic peers. He has also taken What a Hari and Anjali Agrawal Faculty Fellow, has management and leadership roles on the developed efficient evacuation routes with Industrial and Systems Engineering Research Harris County and Houston Transtar and Council, serving as program chair for several Fellow! developed mathematical algorithms used annual conferences including IISE’s Industrial The Energy to determine how much radiation will heal and Systems Engineering Research Con- rather than hurt you. ference (ISERC) and INFORMS, the world’s Gino Lim Honored by largest professional association dedicated to That’s just how the world-renowned indus- best practices and advances in operations of Yan Yao: Institute of Industrial trial engineer rolls, improving different areas research, management science and analytics. and Systems Engineers of life with his skill at engineering industrial Creating New Batteries and solutions. Considered a leading researcher in pro- Becoming a Scialog Fellow ton-based radiation treatment planning In an office full of awards, Lim says he is in the IE community worldwide, Lim has B y Laurie Fickman thrilled to receive his latest, the distinction of excelled in the field of technical innovation, becoming a Fellow of the Institute of Indus- such as his pioneering work on Gamma Knife B y Laurie Fickman If you’ve ever evacuated your home in the trial and Systems Engineers (IISE), an honor radiotherapy optimization for brain cancer Houston area because of a threatening flood that usually goes to older engineers capping patients. For developing the mathematical or hurricane, you’ve felt the impact of Gino a lifetime of achievement. algorithm determining the optimal amount Lim’s work. If you or someone you know has of radiation needed at cancer sites, he won “I am honored to be named a Scialog Fellow. No battery slips his attention ever been treated with radiation for cancer “I’m pretty young to be awarded and it’s the 2002 Pierskalla Best Paper Award from If there’s one thing The program director invited me to apply. A therapy, you’ve also felt the impact of Gino nice to hear that people appreciate what I’ve INFORMS. senior professor in the battery community “The traditional lithium-ion battery technol- done,” said Lim. “Plus this is not something I Yan Yao gets a charge had nominated me based on my work over ogy is approaching its limits and could be initiated. People from outside, not even from Lim’s work in developing innovative practice the last five years,” said Yao. “I think it’s dangerous in situations when the flammable UH, initiated this on my behalf.” methods for scheduling nurses in operating out of, it’s the idea recognition of my prior work.” electrolyte catches fire,” said Yao, seemingly suites was tested and adopted at MD Ander- of creating a better disturbed by the mere thought. He is work- At most, 20 engineers become IISE Fellows son Cancer Center and published in IIE Trans- Beyond lithium-ion ing with those and the aqueous batteries, annually. This year Lim is among only a doz- actions on Healthcare Systems Engineering. which are safer but have a limited life cycle. en. The stringent criteria takes full account battery. For his work in creating better, safer bat- Think, again, of your car battery, which never of a candidate’s success in management, A happy accident teries, Yao has won the Robert A. Welch fails to surprise you with its need to die at technical innovation, practice innovation The Cullen College assistant professor of Professorship by UH’s Texas Center for the completely wrong time. and leadership in promoting industrial electrical and computer engineering is Lim’s accomplishments seem unbelievable, Superconductivity (TcSUH), the Ralph E. engineering. known for being the most current in the especially because he said he got into in- battery industry. A Google search yields more Powe Junior Faculty Enhancement Award “The energy is not dense enough,” said Yao. dustrial engineering “by accident.” Actually, than 16,000 citations of papers by Yao. If you from the Oak Ridge Associated Universities “You want to combine the safety of aqueous Exceeding qualifications. it was less accident and more a good career read any of them, you’ll learn that if all goes and the 2013 Office of Naval Research Young batteries with the high energy density of And then some. counselor in Korea. as Yao has it planned, soon there will be safer Investigator Award. His battery research lithium-ion batteries – that would be ideal.” batteries that last longer. In fact, he may just program has been well funded through the Yao will work with a team of other Scialog Fellows to use computational analysis and By every measure, Lim exceeded the “Initially I was looking at chemical engineer- be responsible for saying goodbye to your National Science Foundation, Department of experiments to add more perspective on the qualifications. ing, but I was also interested in manage- old jumper cables and stopping your hover Defense, Department of Energy and, most ment and using people skills,” said Lim. “The board from exploding. recently, NASA. fundamentals of his research on aqueous batteries, magnesium batteries and all-solid- In the area of management, Lim career counselor said to consider industrial state lithium metal batteries. has increased enrollment in engineering if I wanted to work with people, Having built this kind of reputation in the Now, as a Scialog Fellow, Yao will set out industrial engineering (IE) with and I did. Working with people makes me energy storage field, it’s no surprise that the to meet their challenge – to search for and And eventually he will, no doubt, reach his unprecedented results. During his happy.” Research Corporation for Science Advance- discover truly transformative energy storage ultimate albeit high-powered goal: “To not tenure at the Cullen College as ment came calling, naming Yao a Scialog systems. Fortunately, he’s already on track. only change technology, but to change peo- chair since 2011, the IE depart- It obviously delights others, too. His peers’ Fellow in their newly created category – wait In his laboratory he’s already developing the ple’s lives and the world,” he says. ment has experienced a 300 recommendations from across the United for it – “Advanced Energy Storage” (AES). next generation of aqueous (water-based) percent increase in master’s States surely weighed heavily on IISE’s deci- According to Scialog (a mixture of science batteries, which will last 10 times longer and students, a 31 percent increase sion to name him a Fellow. and dialog), AES is a program involving early be five times more powerful than the ones in bachelor’s students and a 66 career rising stars interested in pursuing currently in your car. percent increase in doctoral collaborative, high risk, highly impactful dis- students graduated per faculty covery research on untested ideas applicable each year. He, himself, has to creating breakthroughs in energy storage.

70 Parameters Fall 2017 University of Houston Cullen College of Engineering 71 faculty

Of the award Brankovic said, “It’s a hardcore scientific contest where they evaluate your TEACHING EXCELLENCE impact in the field and for this I am very AWARDS flattered.” The Best of Our Brightest: In the area of The feeling for Brankovic among his peers Outstanding Service Awards magnetic material is not simple flattery, but uncompromising Yuhua Chen (ECE) admiration for the man who created no Given in Cullen College electrodeposition, less than an entire new field of study. Proof comes in the comments of five professors I would rate him as around the world who nominated him for the Excellence in engineering took center stage as Joseph W. Tedesco, Elizabeth D. prestigious award. Rockwell Dean of the Cullen College, recognized the outstanding performances of Jae-Hyun Ryou (ME) one of the top three faculty, staff and students in teaching, research and service at the spring faculty “He contributed critically to electrocatalysts and staff meeting. researchers in the science and technology by inventing and patenting the use of atomic monolayer Yi-Lung Mo (CEE) world. deposition on nanoparticles and, with that, de facto created the now-flourishing field of core-shell electrocatalysts,” said Plamen Ata- nossov, Distinguished Professor of chemical - jay switzer and biological engineering at the University Xuemei Chen (ME) of New Mexico.

Jay Switzer, Donald L. Castleman/FCR Missouri Endowed Professor of discovery in chemistry at the Missouri University of Aida Khayatian (IE) Science and Technology, noted Brankovic’s Teaching Assistant ability to bridge different areas of science with his magnetic materials research: “In the area of magnetic material electrodeposition, Stanko Brankovic Wins Top Award I would rate him as one of the top three RESEARCH EXCELLENCE researchers in the world.” Haleh Ardebili, Bill D. Cook Associate Professor of mechanical engineering, AWARDS in Field of Chemical Engineering received the W.T. Kittinger Teaching Excellence Award, the highest teaching award Daniel Schwartz, ECS Fellow and Boeing-Sut- given in the college, recognizing outstanding teaching and service to students. It ter Professor of chemical engineering at the carries a $2,000 stipend. B y Laurie Fickman University of Washington, added that Bran- kovic “seems to have a depth of knowledge If there were Academy Awards in the field applications, including refining and metal that is boundless.” of electrochemical material science, Stanko plating. Cunjiang Yu (ME) Brankovic, associate professor of electrical Said Brankovic, “I am proud that the people Junior Faculty Research Award and computer engineering at the Cullen The award places Brankovic among a small who nominated me recognized that I may College and past chair of the materials group of electrodeposition leaders around have changed the electrochemical material science division of the International Society the world, recognizing his success in strad- science field with my work for the better.” of Electrochemistry, would be taking home dling the boundaries between nanoscience an Oscar. He’s been named the 2017 winner and nanotechnology and working in some of the Electrodeposition Division Research of the discipline’s most significant areas: About the award Award by the Electrochemical Society (ECS), magnetic materials and devices, and sur- S aurabh Prasad (ECE) Established in 1979, the Electrodeposition known as the top organization globally for face-limited reactions for catalysis and other Junior Faculty Research Award Division Research Award recognizes out- scientists and engineers with more than applications. standing research and encourages publica- 10,000 members from over 100 countries. tion of high quality papers in the Journal of Brankovic recently discovered the controlling the Electrochemical Society. Electrodeposition is the electrochemical pro- phenomena of speed in which catalysts are David Shattuck, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering, cess of synthesizing a thin layer of metal on formed, which may result in building better The annual winner has made a recent out- received the Career Teaching Award. Given intermittently, this award is reserved top of a different substrate, or conducting catalysts, the fundamental substance that standing achievement in, or contribution to, for faculty who have shown a lifetime commitment to Cullen College students. Yi-Lung Mo (CEE) surface, to modify its external properties. It speeds up reactions in all industries from the field of electrodeposition. Shattuck’s award carries a $2,000 stipend. Senior Faculty Research Award provides the basis for an array of industrial petrochemical to manufacturing.

72 Parameters Fall 2017 University of Houston Cullen College of Engineering 73 faculty UH Honors Cullen College Professors Brilliance Descending on UH as for Excellence in Teaching and Research New Engineering Faculty Each spring the University of Houston shines a spotlight on the faculty’s best and brightest, honoring them with teaching and research awards. The winners were presented with their awards on April 20 at Join the Cullen College the Faculty Excellence Awards Dinner hosted by President Renu Khator and Provost Paula Short.

Read more about the Cullen College of Engineering professors who earned the distinction below!

Throughout the Cullen College 2013 Bollini earned his Ph.D. in chemical en- Hanadi Rifai, Hadi Ghasemi, Lars Grabow, gineering with a minor in chemistry from the associate dean for research Bill D. Cook Assistant Profes- assistant professor of of Engineering new faces and Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta. Mehmet Orman joins the and facilities at the Cullen sor of mechanical engineer- chemical and biomolecular Cullen College as assistant College as well as professor ing, received a W.T. Kittinger engineering and chemis- brilliant minds are joining the professor of chemical and of civil and environmental Teaching Excellence Award, try, received the Excellence faculty in the 2017-2018 school biomolecular engineering. He engineering, was named the 2017 recipient of the university’s most prestigious teaching in Research, Scholarship or Creative Activity Alamgir Karim becomes a comes from the Memorial Sloan Kettering the John and Rebecca Moores Professorship. honor. Ghasemi runs the UH Nanotherm Lab, Award for his work teaching the importance year. The Cullen College proudly Dow Professor of chemical and Cancer Center in New York where he was a The Moores Professorship is a university-level which explores learning and research in the of catalysts in the production of fuels, chemi- welcomes them to its ranks of biomolecular engineering at postdoctoral research fellow studying DNA honor awarded annually to a University of field of thermodynamics, heat transfer and cals and the abatement of harmful emissions. the Cullen College of Engineer- repair mechanisms in cancer cells. Houston faculty member who has made out- nanotechnology. excellence in academia. ing. He previously served as the Goodyear standing contributions in research, teaching Megan Robertson, Tire and Rubber Company Professor in From 2011 to 2015 Orman served as post- and service. Each Moores Professor receives Karolos Grigoriadis, assistant professor of polymer engineering and co-director of the doctoral research associate in the chemical a stipend, and the professorship is renewable John and Rebecca Moores chemical and biomolecular Chemical & Biomolecular Akron Functional Materials Center at the and biological engineering department at every five years. Professor of mechanical engineering, received the Engineering University of Akron in Ohio. Additionally Princeton University where he focused on engineering and director Undergraduate Research Karim was associate dean of research and bacterial persisters, which are rare, pheno- L en Trombetta, of the aerospace engineer- Mentoring Award, which recognizes the men- director of the Maurice Morton Institute of typic variants that are temporarily tolerant to associate department chair ing program, is no stranger to winning these torship efforts of UH faculty at all stages of P raveen Bollini joins the Cullen Polymer Science and Polymer Engineering. high concentrations of antibiotics. He earned of electrical and computer excellence awards. He received the Excel- their careers. The award acknowledges faculty College of Engineering as an Between 2010 and 2015 Karim was also his Ph.D. from Rutgers University in 2011. engineering, received a lence in Research, Scholarship or Creative Ac- who are making a significant impact in their assistant professor of chemical director of materials at the Akron Functional W.T. Kittinger Teaching tivity Award for his work teaching modelling field by supporting and mentoring under- and biomolecular engineering. Materials Center. He earned his Ph.D. in Civil & Environmental Excellence Award, the university’s most pres- and controlling aerospace systems, internal graduate students in research and scholarship He comes to UH from the University of physics from Northwestern University in 1991. tigious teaching honor. Trombetta focuses on combustion engines, active/passive vibration endeavors and who have demonstrated at Minnesota in Minneapolis where he served as Engineering the characterization of metal-insulator-semi- isolation of structural systems and intelligent least five years of mentorship involvement. a postdoctoral research associate in the field Karim’s areas of expertise include polymer conductor (MIS) systems, particularly mech- biomedical systems. Recently he earned both of catalysis, studying methanol to olefins surfaces, interfaces, thin films, blends phase anisms of defect generation at the insulator- the Fluor Corporation Faculty Excellence conversion on zeotype catalysts. separation, nanocomposite films, block Devin Shaffer joins the Cullen semiconductor interface. He has directed award, the highest honor given by the Cullen copolymer ordering, nanoparticle patterning, College as an assistant professor numerous M.S. theses and Ph.D. dissertations. College, as well as the W.T. Kittinger Teaching Previously Bollini served as senior engineer organic photovoltaics, combinatorial materi- of civil and environmental Trombetta has been at UH since 1986. Excellence Award, the College’s most presti- for catalysis and process research at the Dow als science and tissue engineering. engineering in spring 2018. For gious teaching honor. Chemical Company in Freeport, Texas. In

74 Parameters Fall 2017 University of Houston Cullen College of Engineering 75 faculty

the past year Shaffer has served as materials Boston. He completed his Ph.D. in bioengi- and computer science. research engineer in the functional polymers neering in 2013 at the University of Illinois at group at the materials science and engineer- Urbana-Champaign. From 2012 to 2013, Chen was a research and Looking ahead to 2020 ing division of the National Institute of development engineer for pressure pumping Standards and Technology (NIST) in Gaithers- Reddy has a compelling interest in building equipment at Baker Hughes in Houston. He burg, Maryland. new medical devices for early cancer detec- received his Ph.D. in electrical engineering tion based on infrared optics. Reddy believes from Michigan State University in 2009 and At NIST Shaffer studied the structure and that by studying the reflected light (laser or conducted postdoctoral work in mechanical transport properties of water treatment other types) off human tissue, a picture of and aerospace engineering at the University FACULTY membranes with a goal of improving the what is happening inside the tissue can be of Virginia. selectivity of thin-film composite desalination painted. By studying the microscopic cellular membranes through better understanding structures and creating high resolution imag- Chen has special interest in dynamics and of how the structure and characteristics of es, he says it is possible to determine if the controls, bio-inspired robotics, smart materi- INCREASE the membrane selective and support layers tissue has a certain disease. al sensors and actuators, biomedical devices 30% affect the membrane performance. Shaffer’s and renewable energy systems. (From 122 in 2015 to 160 in 2020) previous experience includes a position as a In 2016 he won an innovation award from professional engineer designing water and the Federation of Analytical Chemistry and wastewater treatment systems. In 2016 Shaf- Spectroscopy Societies (FACSS) for the most 122 139 160 fer earned his Ph.D. in chemical and environ- innovative and outstanding new research Rodolfo Mónico becomes an mental engineering from Yale University. advancement for his postdoctoral work on a assistant professor in mechani- swallowable capsule endoscopy for Barrett’s cal engineering at the Cullen Electrical & Computer esophagus diagnosis based on optical coher- College. Most recently he was a ence tomography. postdoctoral researcher at Harvard Universi- geothermal sites to improve imaging and received his Ph.D. in petroleum engineering at Hewlett Packard as a master technologist Engineering ty. His research is primarily in the field of characterization of faults and fractures. from the University of Texas at Austin in 2012. and designer. Most recently he worked at Buoy computational fluid mechanics and he is Health as a technology consultant. Industrial Engineering She received her Ph.D. in petroleum engi- interested in convective flows, the human Instructional Faculty Harish Krishnamoorthy joins olfactory system, vortex ring collisions and neering in 2014 from Texas A&M University. UH as an assistant professor Her research interests include unconventional Ying Lin comes to the UH Cullen other canonical turbulent systems. of electrical and computer resources, environmental effects of hydrocar- Brian Metrovich joins as an College as assistant professor of engineering. His specialization bon production, pressure transient analysis, P haneendra Kondapi, one of instructional associate professor industrial engineering from the He obtained his doctoral degree in the is in power and energy and his major areas geologic carbon sequestration, control and the pioneering instructors in in the Division of Undergradu- University of Washington in physics of fluids at the University of Twente of research and teaching focus on subsea/ protection of water, diverse processes of the college’s subsea engineer- ate Programs and Student Seattle where she was a research assistant in in the Netherlands. He earned a degree in downhole power systems, power electron- cleaner and safer energy production, en- ing program, returns to the Success. He comes from Case Western industrial and systems engineering. aerospace engineering from the University ics for extreme environment applications, of Sevilla in Spain and a master’s in aero- hanced geothermal systems and subsurface Cullen College after serving as director of Reserve University where he has been an renewable energy power conversion, power energy resources. subsea engineering at Texas A&M Universi- associate professor of civil engineering since Lin’s research interests include big data space dynamics from Cranfield University electronics for utility interface and medium ty. Kondapi will take on multiple key roles, 2010. He has held similar positions at the analytics, quality engineering and medical in England. and high frequency magnetics-based power including director of UH Engineering University of Miami and Tulane University in decisionmaking. She specializes in statistics, converters. programs in Katy and director of the subsea New Orleans. Metrovich specializes in machine learning, data mining and opera- During his free time Mónico plays bass guitar, Ahmad Sakhaee-Pour comes engineering program. With more than 20 teaching statics and strength of materials. tions research. juggles and travels the world. In 2014 Krishnamoorthy earned his Ph.D. in on board as an assistant pro- years of experience managing engineering electrical and computer engineering at Texas fessor of petroleum engineering projects at energy industry giants FMC In May 2017 Lin was awarded her doctorate A&M University, where he remained as a re- Petroleum Engineering from the University of Oklahoma Technologies and KBR, Kondapi brings a in industrial and systems engineering from search assistant performing research in high where he held the same position in the Mew- unique and invaluable skillset to his new the University of Washington. density power electronics energy conversion. bourne School of Petroleum and Geological roles in the college. Kyung Jae Lee joins the Cullen Engineering in the College of Earth and Energy. Mechanical Engineering College as an assistant professor He also served on the curriculum committee of petroleum engineering. She of the graduate program of petroleum and Rohith Reddy is a new Cullen comes from the Lawrence geological engineering and the undergraduate Hung Le comes to the Cullen College assistant professor of Zheng Chen moves to the Berkeley National Laboratory in Berkeley, advising committee of petroleum and geologi- College of Engineering in spring electrical and computer eng- Cullen College of Engineering as California, where she was a geological cal engineering. 2018 as an instructional assistant ineering with a keen interest in assistant professor of mechani- postdoctoral fellow participating in U.S. DOE professor in electrical engineer- biomedical imaging. Reddy served as a cal engineering from Wichita projects. Her projects included research on Sakhaee-Pour’s research interests include ing. It’s a return for Le, who earned his Ph.D. in postdoctoral fellow at Harvard Medical State University in Kansas, where he is an thermal processes for enhanced shale oil thermodynamics, fundamental processes, electrical engineering in 2004 from the Cullen School and Massachusetts General Hospital in assistant professor in electrical engineering production and CO2 push-pull in enhanced pore-scale modeling and nanomechanics. He College of Engineering. He worked for 14 years

76 Parameters Fall 2017 University of Houston Cullen College of Engineering 77 students The same holds true today. After a particularly stressful day at her internship last fall, Shum liked to walk the 500-or-so-feet from her office to the bustling heart of Mickey’s Toontown, where her favor- ite childhood cartoon character stood in the flesh, happy as ever to put a smile on her face.

Shum is now back in Houston after completing her internship with The Walt Disney Company in Anaheim, California, where she worked with the Industrial Engineering Department’s Project Development Team inside of the Disneyland theme park, just steps away from the magical world she was helping to bring to life.

And there, in the land of Pluto and Mickey, Shum says she not only found her passion for industrial engineering, but also the career of her dreams. The flower that blooms in adversity is the most rare and beautiful of all. – The Emperor, “Mulan”

For Shum, the Disney dream was a long time coming.

Growing up, Shum always dreamed of going to Disney World. When she graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a bachelor’s degree in business in 2011, Shum’s parents surprised her with a trip to Disney World in Orlando, Florida.

“It was the best time of my entire life,” Shum said. “So many adults All our dreams can come are running around as if they’re children. Disney has such a positive Industrial Engineering Student’s true,if we have the courage to impact on so many people, no matter how old or young they are.” From that moment on, Shum said her mind was made up: “I knew pursue them. this was my dream. I wanted to work for Disney.” At that time, Shum had never heard of industrial engineering. She –t Wal Disney was also unsatisfied with the current direction of her career. Disney Dreams Then, while surfing the internet, she did something so many of When industrial engineering us do multiple times a day – she accidentally clicked a link on a website she didn’t mean to click on. It was an innocuous mistake undergrad Britney Shum was that would change her life forever.

a child, nothing cheered her up Shum had stumbled upon the website of the industrial engineering Come True department at UH by accident, but once she arrived there, she quite like Pluto, the impossibly never really left. She applied to the undergraduate program and at Disneyland Internship B y audrey grayson affable and loyal canine compan- enrolled at UH in 2015. ion to Disney’s Mickey Mouse. When she arrived at UH, Shum says her dreams for the future began to multiply.

78 Parameters Fall 2017 University of Houston Cullen College of Engineering 79 students Even miracles take a little time. –y Fair Godmother, “Cinderella”

Prior to her internship with Disney, Shum had already gained profes- she brought to the table, Shum had a full plate of homework to get sional experience in both energy and healthcare through prestigious through if she wanted to succeed at her new internship: Watch “Cars” internships with Cameron and MD Anderson. Despite her wide range and “Cars 2” as closely and as soon as possible. of technical experience, Shum said nothing prepared her for her in- ternship at Disney quite like the industrial engineering courses at UH. Beyond just enjoying the movies – which she did, thoroughly – Shum said the experience made her an all-around better engineer. “No “Industrial engineering at Disney is very specific to Disney. The proj- detail is overlooked with Disney. You have to understand the Disney ects I worked on were very unconventional, so nothing I could have storylines to be able to understand the characters we’re bringing to learned through textbooks could have prepared me,” Shum said. “I life,” Shum said. Dr. Lim taught us that you have to was prepared for the position because the industrial engineering department taught me analytical thinking skills.” These are the invaluable engineering lessons that Shum says she’s understand the technical side and brought back to Houston with her: No detail is too small to overlook While at Disney, Shum would often recall something that Gino Lim, and always, always engineer with the end-user in mind. translate that to non-engineers, and that chairman of the industrial engineering department, said in his linear optimization course: “It’s one thing to know the right answer, but it’s The experience connected-the-dots for Shum, lighting a fire inside takes a lot of creativity. another thing to know what it means.” of her that brought new focus and clarity to her career. “I saw this is where my passion is,” she said. - britney shum “Dr. Lim taught us that you have to understand the technical side and translate that to non-engineers, and that takes a lot of creativity,” Shum explained.

At a place like Disney, where, according to their website, “Imagineers bring art and science together to turn fantasy into reality and dreams Britney Shum into magic,” creativity is a commodity in high demand. In every job that must be done For instance, Shum recalls working with a senior industrial engineer there is an element of fun. on a project involving “Cars Land,” a land inside of the theme park which, as the name implies, is devoted entirely to the Disney-Pixar –y Mar Poppins, “Mary Poppins” Venture outside your comfort zone. movie franchise “Cars.” Back at UH to tackle the final year of her bachelor’s degree, Shum There was only one problem: Shum had never seen any of the says she has a new appreciation for the industrial engineering field The rewards are worth it. “Cars” movies. Despite all of the industrial engineering experience and her future in it. – Rapunzel, “Tangled” “At its core, industrial engineering is about connecting the technical side of things with the people side of things,” Shum said. “You have After deciding on a career change and arriving at the UH industrial In a fantasy future, Shum says she’d be working full-time as an to present information to someone who doesn’t care about your engineering department, things didn’t get easier for Shum right away. industrial engineer with Disney. It’s extremely competitive – there are spreadsheet or your graph, so you have to tell them a story in a usually only a few openings for hundreds of well-qualified candidates creative way that they would care about.” “Your first year as an engineering student is tough. Finding a mentor – but she’s not willing to give up on the Disney dream quite yet. who’s farther along in the program and can give you advice is Shum said she felt compelled to share her newly found passion for crucial,” she said. Shum just wrapped up another Disney internship, this time at the her field with other students. A member of the UH chapter of the Disney World theme park in Orlando, Florida. It seems in Shum’s case, Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers (IISE), Shum launched Shum and other chapter officers paired seven first-year students with Cinderella’s advice was right: a mentorship program within the organization to help new indus- upperclass mentors through the IISE mentorship program, now in its trial engineering students choose classes, find study groups and get second year. They also launched a welcome orientation for all first- advice on professors and activities. year industrial engineering students. If you keep on believing the dream that “I’m so excited about what I’m doing now, but it scares me that I sort “We’re a small department, so I really wanted to leverage that small- you wish will come true. of stumbled on it by accident,” Shum said. “I wanted to find a way to ness to be more like a family – to know everyone else’s name and inform other students about what the industrial engineering field can help each other out,” Shum said. It’s just the type of dream for the offer much earlier than I found out about it.” future that you’d expect from a Disney enthusiast.

80 Parameters Fall 2017 University of Houston Cullen College of Engineering 81 students No doubt, his application to medical school Cullen College Student Spreads will look stellar. A natural

Born in Italy to two doctors, Cicalese and family moved to America when he was a International baby, and as early life experiences tend to inspire, he was compelled to both travel internationally and become a doctor. His par- ents’ dedication to their patients impressed Compassion him from a young age. “Their role in inspiring me to do this kind of and Kindness to Needy work was their philosophy on medicine and how the well-being of a person should be put B y Laurie Fickman above all else,” said Cicalese. With that strong sense of compassion, he moved forward, founding GHSI along with a fellow student at the time, Dennis Kunichoff, to do what they could, as undergraduates, to empower students to coordinate and conduct their own humanitarian service trips at home and around the world. From the pair of founding members, GHSI now has 30 students on its roster.

of his present life on what he saw there, By the time Cicalese graduates in 2018 from Pietro Cicalese founding the Global Humanitarian Student the Cullen College of Engineering, he’ll have Initiative (GHSI) group to offer student ser- earned two degrees – a bachelor’s and mas-

vices for humanitarian relief efforts around ter’s in biomedical engineering through the highlighting the fact it hadn’t been done Bradley Smith from the psychological health the world. accelerated master’s fellowship program. ITALY HAITI before and we had no model to follow, and and learning sciences department. that we were just doing our best with what He’ll also be a noted humanitarian. First stop: Sicily we had,” said Cicalese. The focus of the Greece trip was to study In the summer of 2015 UH biomedical the Syrian migrant crises and its impact on engineering student Pietro Cicalese found No surprise that the model they created, Greece. Doing it themselves For the first trip, in the summer of 2016, himself surrounded by astonishing squalor having kind and interested young students Cicalese and nine other students traveled to in Haiti. The area was densely populated yet Not content with merely being a part of pre-screen patients, turned out to be highly “The vast majority of what we saw in Greece the island of Sicily in Italy for 11 days to help there was no water or medical resources for a non-governmental organization like the effective. was mental trauma,” said Cicalese. It’s important for the migrant and refugee populations there. the sick. And the houses – if you could call Red Cross, for example, Cicalese yearned to They took along one U.S. doctor, Cicalese’s them that – were shacks. have students run their own humanitarian As a side project Cicalese has launched a students to invest father, and they teamed with the University program, set their own schedules and recruit research migration program to delve into his of Palermo and a non-profit Mediterranean “I have never seen anything like that. It was their own medical professionals to assist Italian heritage. “We’re doing research on the energy to develop research institute, which provided additional very eye opening to see poverty of that them. migration of Italians to the United States to themselves as opposed doctors and assistance. scale,” said Cicalese. understand what caused them to move from “I think students should be actively trying Italy and if they’ve found what they’re look- In the remote area he visited, Cicalese said Fortunately for Cicalese, he was a visitor, a to just developing their to better themselves in terms of leading GREECE ing for in the U.S.,” he said. His pet project there is a lot of mistrust toward medical pro- volunteer with the Friends of Haiti group, these kind of initiatives, especially students was funded by the Italian government. résumés. fessionals among the migrant populations, learning how to take basic vital statistics and interested in going to medical school. It’s but students were able to build the trust by creating impromptu triage areas for doctors - pietro cicalese important for those students to invest energy On to Greece Sounds like autobiographical work for this simply being honest. to treat the impoverished patients. to develop themselves as opposed to just budding doctor born in Italy, and he’d prob- developing their résumés,” Cicalese says In the summer of 2017 the group traveled ably answer in the affirmative. He’s found “We would have open discussions that would Cicalese says the trip was a moment in time straight from the heart, because he is one of to Greece with two UH professors, Anjali exactly where he belongs, at the corner of last hours, just discussing what we wanted he will never forget. In fact, he’s based much those students. Kanojia of comparative cultural studies and healthcare and humanitarianism. to do and how we wanted to help, and really

82 Parameters Fall 2017 University of Houston Cullen College of Engineering 83 students

Annually, SAE identifies and recognizes an outstanding student leader and, through the This year’s IEEE-UH members and Speeding to award, encourages “a vision within the recip- ient to become an SAE leader during his/ We’re officers have ceededex my expectations. I her adult career,” according to SAE. Among have enjoyed advising these students as the Finish Line: the honors, Mottershaw becomes a lifetime member of the organization. UH Senior Wins they transform into leaders. SAE cited Mottershaw for demonstrating out- #1! - Len trombetta Prestigious Automotive standing leadership skills for his involvement with the UH Formula SAE (FSAE) project, IEEE-UH is Award in which the team designs and builds a Formula One-style race car from the ground Outstanding B y Laurie Fickman up to compete in the Formula SAE Series FSAE-UH team members pose next Large Branch (FSAE) races. to their hand-built Formula One-style race car Grant Mottershaw, a senior in mechan- When Mottershaw joined the group, it was ical engineering at the Cullen College of sputtering. There had been one group started Engineering, received the 2016 Rumbaugh in the College of Technology and one in the Setting it on cruise Outstanding Student Leader Award in Cullen College, but neither group was posi- B y ashley schwartz Detroit at the Society of Automotive Engi- tioned yet to get out of the starting gate. “The goal from the beginning was to build a The Institute of Electrical and Electronics neers (SAE) International World Congress. sustainable organization,” said Mottershaw. Engineers (IEEE) student chapter at the SAE is a global association of more than So Mottershaw took the wheel and revved “I like to think of FSAE as a microcosm of University of Houston Cullen College of En- 128,000 engineers and related technical up the operations, financial management what goes on in the real world – you have gineering (IEEE-UH) received high honors at experts in the aerospace, automotive and and new member recruitment. He also is on to raise the money, allocate your resources, the 2017 IEEE Region 5 Annual Conference commercial-vehicle industries. the team building the car’s chassis, which is deal with politics and you still have to have and student competitions held in Denver, the frame of the vehicle. a product at the end of the day.” Colorado in April. And so he went to work, studying other IEEE-UH received the Outstanding Large FSAE models of success to perfect a plan for Student Branch Award for achievements in the UH team. He recalls a quote that helped outreach and programming in 2016, beating drive his success: “First you must finish, then out branches from the University of Texas, you can finish first,” said Mottershaw. And to Rice University and the Colorado School of finish, they needed money. No coincidence Mines. that if Mottershaw wasn’t an engineer he says he’d like to be a financier. Since he took “We serve as a source of student opinion sor of IEEE-UH, is impressed by the achieve- The award is based on overall branch activity, control, the organization has raised $115,000 both in department affairs, through our ments of the organization and believes it is a including social events, fundraising, service in cash and in-kind services. Student Advisory Committee, as well as testament to the consistent dedication of the projects, academic performance and partic- with outreach events, by providing uni- students. “This year’s IEEE-UH members and ipation in IEEE initiatives. An Eagle Scout at 16, Mottershaw has always versity students the opportunity to teach officers have exceeded my expectations. I combined leadership skills with his love of younger students about electrical engineer- have enjoyed advising these students as they IEEE-UH graduate chair, Jesus Cruz-Garza, building things and solving problems. ing,” Hargrove-Anders said. transform into leaders,” he said. spearheaded the application process. Even after returning from the whirlwind “Our organization works as a bridge for IEEE When asked about her hopes for the future “We have been working closely with the IEEE award ceremony in Detroit, Mottershaw says national to work with undergraduate, grad- of IEEE-UH, Hargrove-Anders explained, Houston Section in event programming, so winning hasn’t sunk in. Admittedly, he says, uate, national and international students at “As a student organization, I hope that we they were well aware of our work and recom- “it’s awesome,” but what was greater for the University of Houston,” said Cruz-Garza. can continue to show our classmates and mended that we apply for the IEEE Region 5 him was presenting to the groups of industry “We host engineering workshops, seminars the electrical and computer engineering award,” said Cruz-Garza. professionals and getting the opportunity to and international competitions on campus, department that IEEE-UH is an indispensable meet them. spread the word for grants and scholarships resource.” According to the group’s president, Moriah and provide our members a link with indus- Hargrove-Anders, IEEE-UH plays an integral Mottershaw has high hopes of becoming a try representatives.” To learn more about IEEE-UH and role in the Cullen College’s electrical and professional in the auto industry. how you can become a member, computer engineering department. Len Trombetta, associate chair of electrical visit Naturally. He’s geared for it. and computer engineering and faculty advi- http://ieee.ece.uh.edu/

84 Parameters Fall 2017 University of Houston Cullen College of Engineering 85 students Being the Best: National Society of Black Engineers at UH is #1 in U.S.A

B y Laurie Fickman

86 Parameters Fall 2017 University of Houston Cullen College of Engineering 87 students

were actually guiding my path in school,” said Sometimes you’re just Emebo. He met Jordan through NSBE, and they became fast friends. Charging Batteries? born knowing what A Thing of the Past Says Cullen you want to do. “Now we’re like brothers. We study together and go everywhere together and it was through College Graduate Student “In fourth grade I wrote a paper on being an NSBE that we developed that brotherhood and architectural engineer, and I wasn’t quite sure true friendship,” said Emebo. B y Ashley Schwartz if that really existed,” said Jameel Jordan, senior petroleum engineering student at the Professional benefits, too It’s hard to imagine a world where you Cullen College and president of the National don’t have to worry about charging your Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) at UH. Nash credits her activity in the organization cell phone or changing the batteries in with scoring an internship with civil engineer- your smoke detector. According to elec- So now, to make sure fourth graders – and ing firm Cobb, Fendley & Associates. trical and computer engineering doctoral others – know exactly what engineering student Fahira Sangare, that world may is, Jordan and his executive team of NSBE “I know if it was not for NSBE I would not have be closer than we think. at UH conduct outreach programs, student gotten that internship,” says Nash. “I didn’t mentoring sessions and other pre-college really know how to talk to professionals and I In a recent presentation to NASA, Sangare initiatives to introduce the heady concepts of learned that all through NSBE.” discussed his research in energy transfer engineering to youngsters. and harvesting techniques that can be You know that feeling after a Added Spikes, “I like to think of NSBE as con- used to power the next generation of “Our overall goal of national NSBE is to reach necting your education to your professional life wireless networks. the graduation of 10,000 black engineers long day when you go home? so you’ll be well rounded and prepared for your yearly by the year 2025,” said Jordan. “So, as career. We bring professional engineers in to “What we are trying to do is harvest sig- a part of that, each chapter should be geared That’s what NSBE feels like. discuss what recruiters want to see from you nals from the air,” said Sangare. “Instead energy directly to operate or we get the to helping achieve that goal and that’s where and how you can best present yourself, even of using a power source through a plug or - jameel jordan energy and store it in the device,” said San- we come in.” how to dress.” battery, we are trying to get energy from gare. “The advantage of using a super-ca- radio signals that we can harvest and pacitor is that it can be charged very fast That advocacy for engineering caught the Equally prestigious internships abound on the convert into a DC voltage used to power From left: Jameel Jordan, Amira Spikes, Nnamdi Emebo and Kayla Nash and it has more recharge cycles. It also lasts eye of the NSBE national board at the annual executive team. Jordan nabbed a position at the device.” longer, making it more environmentally conference in Kansas City, Missouri. It’s one Northrop Grumman in Los Angeles, and Emebo friendly.” of the reasons national officials selected the at Goldman Sachs in New York. This emerging technology involves state- UH group as Outstanding Chapter of the Year, demic excellence, provides opportunities and high school, she said she felt lost when she of-the-art circuitry that allows the device to The device must also be multichannel, so chosen from more than 250 others. NSBE at reduces financial barriers for a select group first came to UH until she joined NSBE. But not all members of NSBE at UH are ready yet search proactively for the strongest radio if a Wi-Fi signal becomes weaker over time UH sent 56 engineering Cougars to the con- of outstanding students of color. to score the big job or internship. For the younger signals and a super-capacitor that stores the device is able to search to find another vention, a large showing by any measure. “This is definitely a family environment,” students or those that need extra tutoring, the the energy within the device. frequency that it can channel and harvest. Like Jordan, Spikes wanted to be an engineer said Nash. “I remember when I first came in chapter provides collaborative studying environ- NSBE is one of the largest student-governed since she was in elementary school. Also like as a freshman, I didn’t know anybody. I just ments and study nights where anyone in need “When we find the energy, there are two “Currently we are looking at low power organizations based in the United States. Jordan, she wanted to be an “architectural knew I wanted to get involved and every- can learn from their peers. All of them say they ways for us to store it. We either use the devices. For example, a carbon monoxide Its mission is “to increase the number of engineer,” a job title she, too, thinks she one was welcoming and so I was able to have been through that period, where assistance sensor that is embedded in your house,” culturally responsible black engineers who might have made up. find my mentor. Any time I had a question is needed. excel academically, succeed professionally about anything – a résumé or a career fair said Sangare. “This sensor could have a tag that harvests the energy needed to operate and positively impact the community.” A “I remember when I was in seventh or eighth – people that had been through it before Jordan says it’s a comfortable environment that and communicate with your cell phone to quick review of its UH roster and you can see grade people would say, ‘That doesn’t even were able to help me.” breeds success. they are well on their way to completing that exist.’ But then others said engineering was I just want to do alert you if something is wrong.” mission. a great field,” said Spikes. In her early high None of them seemed to need family more “You know that feeling after a long day when When asked about the future, Sangare said school years in Denton, Texas, she attended than Nnamdi Emebo, a junior in petroleum you go home? That’s what NSBE feels like,” something that makes he hopes to continue this research and The dream executive team an Upward Bound Math and Science camp engineering and NSBE UH treasurer, who said Jordan. and her goal gelled. Now she’s an environ- left his parents in Nigeria to study here. In an an impact on the world. expand its applications. mental science and biology major. effort to develop himself professionally, he Home indeed. And recognized as one of the Amira Spikes, membership chair for NSBE at “I just want to do something that makes an joined NSBE at UH. finest addresses in the U.S. - Fahira Sangare UH, is the only Gates Millennium Scholar on impact on the world. My dream is to find a the UH campus. Funded by a grant from the It took Kayla Nash, a junior in civil engineer- ing, only until her senior year of high school “The more I got introduced to the members way to get low amounts of energy in the air Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Gates to power bigger devices like cell phones.” Millennium Scholars program promotes aca- in Spring, Texas, to decide on engineering. and the executive board I felt we became Even though she went to a specialized career friends and they became my mentors who

88 Parameters Fall 2017 University of Houston Cullen College of Engineering 89 students Why This Grad Student Who Studies Batteries is Success Swarms Around Electrical and Charged Up Computer Engineering B y Ashley Schwartz Students Karun Kumar Rao, a first-year chemical en- Together NSTRF and NASA sponsor U.S. gineering doctoral student in the UH Cullen citizen and permanent resident graduate B y Ashley Schwartz College of Engineering, has been offered a students who show significant potential to place in the esteemed NASA Space Technolo- contribute to NASA’s goal of creating innova- gy Research Fellowship (NSTRF) program for tive new space technologies for the nation’s Last April a team of four undergraduate his research on solid-state batteries. science, exploration and economic future. students from the UH Cullen College of Engi- Each student will be matched at a NASA neering’s electrical and computer engineer- Standard lithium-ion batteries, which power location with a technically relevant and ing (ECE) department competed in the 2017 much of the modern world, are composed of community-engaged researcher, who will NASA Swarmathon at the Kennedy Space two solid layers, called electrodes, separated serve as the student’s professional research Center in Florida. The team placed second by a membrane infused with a liquid or gel collaborator. The research collaborator will out of 19 teams. electrolyte. Recent research has explored serve as the conduit into the larger technical replacing the potentially flammable liquid community corresponding to the student’s The team was made up of undergraduate layer in these batteries with a solid elec- research interests. students Austin Dodge, Luis Robles, Steven trolyte, which can increase the safety and Ventura and Vinh Vu. Master’s student energy storage density of the batteries. The fellowship spans the 2017-2018 academic An Nguyen and Assistant Professor Aaron year with the potential of a three-year exten- Becker advised the students. But several challenges remain before all-solid- sion. Fellows have the opportunity to spend The NASA Swarmathon challenges college state batteries can takeover their lithium-ion 10 weeks each year researching at a NASA Top: Karun Kumar Rao and high school students throughout the Bottom: Lars Grabow, left, and Yan Yao, country to compete in developing algorithms Top: UH Swarmathon team with advisors Aaron Becker, top right, and An Nguyen, top left right, guide Karun’s research and computer code to control large numbers Bottom right: credit - NASA/Dmitri Gerondidakis [Karun’s] motivation and initiative is rather gifted student whose research in solid-state of small robots, known as “swarms,” to per- batteries and how they can be improved for form specific tasks on the surface of Mars. es without using maps. Provided only with the programming of robots,” said Robles. remarkable and something I haven’t seen with space applications is of special interest to robots that are programmed for specific uses, NASA.” “Every year the competition organizers add a such as cleaning up hazardous waste or res- The team also appreciated the opportunity to cuing people in disaster areas, the competi- meet fellow future engineers while attending many students. - lars grabow new element to the contest, so this year our Grabow, equally impressed with Rao’s re- swarmies had to pick up cubes and deliver tors had to write algorithms that allowed the the competition. search, added that his self-starter attitude them to a home base while roaming the robotic swarms to perform the new tasks. sets him apart from the crowd. surface of mars,” said Dodge. “I made friends with other students and we counterparts. As a NASA Space Technology facility or center and are given a travel budget With only two months to prepare for the talked about the algorithms and the code we Research Fellow, Rao will further develop to attend conferences. “Karun is incredibly independent. He iden- This year’s competition required teams to competition, the UH team found the project were given by NASA, so that was great” said computational methods used in chemistry tified Yan and I and approached us with his use the swarms to find and collect resourc- to be a crash course in engineering, computer Ventura. “We were also able to talk to the and material science to build a fundamental “I was extremely excited to hear I was accept- own project idea,” added Grabow. “He has science and robotics. NASA engineers and that made me want to understanding of solid-state batteries and ed into this program,” said Rao. “NASA’s work used his creativity, his imagination and his work with NASA one day.” verify the simulations experimentally. NASA has impacted so many people in so many independent thinking in preparing the NASA “In two months we had to learn about the is particularly interested in Rao’s research ways, and to be able to both contribute to, and fellowship proposal. His motivation and robot operating system,” said Vu. “Since Becker said the most rewarding part of work- because it may yield safer, lighter and more learn from that, is an amazing opportunity.” initiative is rather remarkable and something you cannot modify the robot, we had to rely ing with the team was watching the students temperature-resistant batteries, which can I haven’t seen with many students.” solely on our software skills.” work through the problems and grow in the eventually be used in space exploration. Rao is co-advised by electrical and computer process. engineering Assistant Professor Yan Yao When asked about what he hopes to learn The Swarmathon competition also doubled “We want to take materials that we know and chemical and biomolecular engineering during his fellowship, Rao explained, “NASA as the UH team’s senior design project, “I love when the students say, ‘We got this work and apply computational models to Assistant Professor Lars Grabow, both of researchers have expertise in a wide range helping the undergrads connect-the-dots be- demo ready and it works!’ Seeing their vic- understand their properties at an atomic whom were impressed with the quality of his of fields, from fundamental electrochemistry tween classroom lessons and their real-world tories is the fun part. They broke down a big level,” said Rao. “Once we know how those research and character. to manufacturing principles and techniques. applications. problem into a set of small challenges, then materials work, can we design better ones for I am eager to learn from them, and can’t added these components together to build a these batteries.” “I am not surprised that he was offered this wait to work with so many different amazing “I liked the connection to NASA and that the winning combination,” Becker said. fellowship,” said Yao. “Karun is an extremely researchers and laboratories.” project went beyond hardware and explored

90 Parameters Fall 2017 University of Houston Cullen College of Engineering 91 students

University of Houston mechanical engineer- full-size blueprint, which contractors could ing senior Evan James is developing soft- build on top of to ensure precision construc- ware for a device that creates an immersive tion. Holograms could help medical students augmented reality experience. The Microsoft understand how the human body works by HoloLens can be used to aid engineers in zooming in on specific organs to observe Senior’s Hologram Software Could be Used to visualizing and interacting with their ideas in their function. three-dimensional space. The technology could even host a game that “HoloLens is the true and most superior scans the room and layers virtual walls and first-generation mixed-reality device that objects on top of the real world to create an projects for a user a layer of relevant immersive augmented-reality video game. James can manipulate the size and information on top of the physical objects position of a hologram – in this case, Augment Reality or environment,” said computer science Virtual holograms could also revolutionize a 3D topographical map. Photo courtesy of research assistant professor Chang H. Yun. the way people live their daily lives. Evan James

B y Isabel Pen, Daily Cougar Reporter The technology enables the wearer to see you’re working on something else.” holographic versions of objects or people and view them from all angles as if they were in James imagines a world where someone the same room. wearing a HoloLens, which is controlled either by in-air hand motions or voice “As a mechanical engineer, it’s all about It’s the commands, can pull up the user manual developing technology that can help our work while they’re fixing their car, or have a recipe process,” James said. “So, what I’ve built is a imagination from a cookbook in their field of vision while holographic topographical map of the Gulf of they’re trying to prepare a new meal. Mexico to visualize where the oil pockets are.” that comes With his military background, James James is no stranger to getting creative with envisions a future in which he can commu- technology; his creative insights were recog- first. nicate with his loved ones while overseas nized after making it to the finals in the U.S. via “holoportation.” By fitting a room with Microsoft Imagine Cup 2015. Windows Insid- special cameras, he would be able to see the ers, a select group of developers given the first holographic form of his mother and children opportunity to experiment with new Microsoft Everybody who using the HoloLens as a viewing device. technology, invited James to be a member. While they haven’t had any takers in the big Once approved, James received a developer created something oil world, they have piqued the interest of a edition of the Microsoft HoloLens in order to drill bit company. In the meantime, James de- begin designing applications to see the tech- started with a velops other apps that utilize this holographic nological world in a whole new dimension. capability. In the not-so-distant future, mixed great reality could become a part of the everyday Though James uses the wearable computer experience for the American household, Yun to generate three-dimensional models of the said. ocean floor, he says the applications of this imagination. technology are limitless. “You can make a lot of stuff with this technol- ogy,” James said. “It’s the imagination that “Right now, the field is taking off,” said comes first. Everybody who created some- computer science graduate student Daniel thing started with a great imagination.” Biediger, who researches augmented reality - Evan James for visualization, education, simulation and This article was originally published in the training. “There are many projects that in- Daily Cougar. Wearing a bulky version of La Forge’s visor from “Star Trek,” volve construction, planning, medicine, data “Unlike watching TV, which requires you to a man pinches and pulls the air in front of him; behind the visualization and even games. It’s much more sit or stand in front of the device, or talking Read the original story at natural to interact with higher-dimensional on the phone, which requires you to hold the http://thedailycougar.com/2017/03/22/ lens of his futuristic goggles, reality is altered. data in higher dimensions.” device to your ear, this technology requires seniors-hologram-software-used-augment- no specific posture,” said James. “Your hands reality/ James said the HoloLens could prove to be are completely free and you’re not required useful in providing a three-dimensional to sit down; you can look at the data while

92 Parameters Fall 2017 University of Houston Cullen College of Engineering 93 students

Aparna Balasubramani poses between her proud parents Graduate Student While completing her doctorate in environ- To get that proof, Balasubramani tested Sediments, one of the most prestigious mental engineering Aparna Balasubramani historical samples of Galveston Bay water professional gatherings in her field. Sweeps Awards With found that carbon nanotubes may be the one and used computer modeling. of the best ways to stop poisonous poly- Now that she’s won first place on the state chlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs, from enter- Where they come from level, the Texas Water Convention will send ing waterways. Officials at the Texas Water her to the American Water Works Association Convention noticed the gravity of her work Back in the day, before stricter environmental Annual Conference and Exposition in Phila- and awarded her first place at the annual laws, poisonous man-made organic chemi- delphia. There she will represent the state in university forum for her paper called “Influ- cals – PCBs – seemed to flow into the water the Fresh Ideas Poster Session competition. ence of carbon content in sediment towards at full strength, unchanged by anything in Ways To sequestration of polychlorinated biphenyls Then she’ll publish her findings in a journal their way. Domestically manufactured begin- (PCBs) by carbon-based materials.” ning in 1929, they were banned in 1979, after article so the rest of the world can benefit decades of this electrical byproduct had pol- from her discovery. In her study, Balasubramani compared luted waterways. Because of their presence emerging nanomaterials with existing in lakes and rivers, PCBs eventually made Controlling the poison carbon-based materials to see which best their way into the food chain, consumed first Clean The adsorbs PCBs to reduce contamination. by fish and eventually by people who ate the With her findings, Balasubramani says (Absorption is when molecules become fish. And though they’re not manufactured release of PCBs into waters can be controlled assimilated throughout a solid or liquid. anymore, there is an enormous amount by mixing carbon into sediment. In fact, by Adsorption is when molecules gather on the of PCB residue that continues to infect doing so she found the amount of PCB could surface of a solid or liquid.) waterways. be reduced by 35 percent.

“We found that carbon nanotubes performed Those are some of the issues that Balasubra- “It gives you an idea of what can be achieved,” Water better than the other four sorbents tested,” mani is prepared to base her life’s work she said, excitedly, about the future. said Balasubramani. “If there was a decrease on remediating. It was at the heart of her B y Laurie Fickman in the organic carbon then higher concentra- dissertation, and this is not the first time She’s a good one to talk about achievements tions of PCBs are seen in the water.” That was she’s won an award for a study on ridding and the future. With her doctorate in hand, proof that carbon nanotubes were adsorbing waters of toxic chemicals. Previously the she’ll be testing the waters and making many PCBs, which pose human and environmental Battelle organization awarded her at their more of them for years to come. concerns. Ninth International Conference on Reme- diation and Management of Contaminated

94 Parameters Fall 2017 University of Houston Cullen College of Engineering 95 students

When Jon Genty, an 18-year-old computer en- as a scientist.” That’s why Prosperetti went gineering major and student of the Honor’s door-to-door in math and science classes, Industrial Engineering College, heard about Prosperetti’s new class, searching for his students. His summer Students Awarded for he had one thought: “I had to get in!” program will help them, but it just might help the rest of us, too. Thinking Like “This is exactly where I want to go with my career and most students don’t even get into “At this point the only way to get more coding until their junior or senior years,” results out of computers is to be smarter Captains of The winners of Team Bottomliners are said Genty, one of those rare freshmen who in programming them,” said Prosperetti. (l-r) Srivignesh Somasundaram, Anand already knows where his future lies. His plans “Instead of relying on the brawn of com- Krishnamoorthy, Dinesh Babu Sivasamy and include a Ph.D. in computer engineering and puters, you have to rely on the brain of the Dhinesh Thiru Narayanan Muralitharan then the discovery of something in his field programmers.” Industry because, as he said, “It’d be cool.” B y Laurie Fickman Faced with the choice of outsourcing, the Advanced Computing Summer Course Thomas Jackson, a 19-year-old UH physics team went to work like a well-oiled C-suite Now’s the time major, is one of the students Prosperetti of executives, identifying cost drivers, found and is now taking the course. Jackson A team of four Cullen College master’s calculating variable costs, performing sta- According to a 2014 report by the U.S. did his homework, even before the class candidates in industrial engineering is quick tistical analyses and analyzing risks. In the Taps Into Talent Early National Academies, there is an urgent need started. to tell you that industrial engineers make end, they proposed staying put to benefit B y Laurie Fickman “to prepare, nurture and grow the national the best CEOs. the long-term prospects of the company, scientific workforce for creating, utilizing and “I found a senior-level mathematics course though a move would have saved $7 million and this was going to be the same kind of “Sundar Pichai,” throws out Dhinesh Thiru in the short term. As the team concluded, A ndrea Prosperetti, Distinguished Professor have never gotten so early in college. supporting advanced cyberinfrastructure.” stuff,” he said, excitedly. When Prosperetti Narayanan Muralitharan, who also is a “Supply chain is all about value creation and of mechanical engineering, takes pride in And the only way to do that, according to came around to his class and explained teaching assistant in the C.T. Bauer College not just cost cutting.” discovering talent in unusual places. Like, for “The idea is that we are giving them a com- the program, he had a similar reaction to of Business. No less than the CEO of Google instance, the pool of freshman students at pass to guide them in their future careers,” Prosperetti, is to teach, and maybe to catch Genty’s. “I jumped at it,” said Jackson. “It’s is Muralitharan’s pick when talking about “We acted as the owners of the company, the UH Cullen College of Engineering and the said Prosperetti. “We are going to open their students early. great to do what you want to do for once, industrial engineers and their business not as consultants, and that helped us a lot,” College of Natural Sciences and Mathemat- minds to the breadth of advanced computing you know, instead of bagging groceries,” prowess. said Somasundaram, who served as team ics. For a National Academy of Engineering and explain to them how cool computing is.” “The University of Houston has such great di- which he’s done for a while. lead. He said the judges indicated that kind member who mostly teaches seniors and versity,” said Prosperetti. “In the underserved “Of course the CEO of Microsoft is an en- of thinking propelled them to first place graduate students, soon-to-be sophomores Funny thing, some of them already under- populations there could be the next Einstein, who would never have a chance to blossom But mainly, he’s having a great time. gineer, too,” adds Dinesh Babu Sivasamy, among 12 Texas teams. are an untapped resource, and one for which stand that part. citing Satya Nadella as his illustrious he created an advanced summer program, “I have had so much fun with some of these example. “Vistas in Advanced Computing.” equations. I didn’t think I’d see some of this Building the team stuff until my senior year and I’m already “Oh, and they’re both from India, too!” said His logic regarding throwing them into doing it!” Muralitharan, as the group laughs in agree- Before ending up in the same class and the figurative deep end of science is pitch ment that as Indian Americans they are in heading to the competition, the four perfect. good company. members of Team Bottomliners were all I have had so much Computing the future neighbors in Houston’s Linkwood area, but “If you start playing the piano, you have Muralitharan, Sivasamy along with Srivi- they didn’t know each other well. Since scales for months and that doesn’t help you fun with some of For Prosperetti, computing is “one of they formed the team, they all became best the greatest things that has happened in gnesh Somasundaram and Anand Krish- fall in love with the piano,” says Prosperetti, these equations. I namoorthy have reason to be counted friends. launching into poetic expression about the science in centuries,” helping solve some of the world’s most complicated problems. among their prosperous peers. Collectively science that sparks his passion. “So what we didn’t think I’d see called “Team Bottomliners,” they brought “Oh, we probably spend too much time are doing is giving them the easiest pieces by home first place in the annual Institute together now,” laughed Sivasamy. Chopin earlier than they would get them, to some of this stuff until And as his young students are learning, it demands rigorous study. for Supply Management’s Houston Case whet their appetite for science and numerical Competition. Krishnamoorthy admits his presentation simulation.” my senior year and skills were a little rusty when he joined the “These students are so motivated, and team. “I last participated in a competition Now nine students who exhibited advanced I’m already doing it! that goes a long way,” said Prosperetti. A case for change in second grade,” he said. “So I was a little skills in calculus and physics during their first “They’ve also learned the fun of computing nervous, but it was a very good experience year of college are part of Prosperetti’s eight- - thomas jackson and now they’re launched. We are going to In the competition, the group was present- and we even beat a team where someone week, eight-hour-a-day summer program read news about these students one day. ed with an actual business case that had had 20 years of experience.” at the UH Center for Advanced Computing They’re going to stick with science and really taken place in a company’s history. & Data Systems (CACDS). Each student has they’re going to love it and lead wonderfully In this case, Scotts Miracle-Gro was under He says winning gave him a direction for been awarded a $4,000 scholarship to learn productive lives.” pressure due to high plant and labor costs at his future. “Since winning the competition coding, mathematics and computer archi- their plant in Temecula, California. I have confidence I can go in this path of tecture, an opportunity many of them would What more could you ask from a summer supply chain management,” he said. computing course?

96 Parameters Fall 2017 University of Houston Cullen College of Engineering 97 students

Jacinta Conrad (center) with REU student Phuong Bui (left) and UH student mentor Vivek Yadav For 10 weeks during the summer, 12 under- for Sustainability in Energy and Manufactur- graduate students from across the country ing.” Other universities in the United States got the chance of a lifetime on the UH designated as REU sites have other themes. campus, becoming engineering researchers in the Cullen College’s Research Experience for “Making sure future generations have suffi- Undergraduates (REU). cient resources is one of the most critical topics in our society,” said Ardebili. Sustain- The UH engineers leading the program, able energy means renewables; sustainable From left: student mentor Mengying Yuan, REU student Kimi Bourland and Professor Haleh Ardebili Haleh Ardebili, Bill D. Cook Associate Profes- manufacturing means using nanotechnology sor of mechanical engineering, and Jacinta and science to improve the large-scale pro- C. Conrad, Ernest J. and Barbara M. Henley cesses that create them. Associate Professor of chemical and biomo- ing younger students and whether mentoring “The program just solidified that I want to lecular engineering, share a motivation for “A common theme in both of those topics is affects their career plans,” said Conrad. continue to do materials for sustainability leading students into the future. The National that we require materials that can be sustain- and that I can definitely go to grad school,” Science Foundation designated the University ably derived,” said Conrad. “And there are Those questions get easy answers from Ber- she said. of Houston as an REU site and awarded Arde- research needs in every step.” nard and her student mentor, Cullen College bili and Conrad $360,000 for three years to chemical and biomolecular engineering Ph.D. She works under Ardebili performing exper- reach students early in their college careers. Jennifer Bernard, a senior chemistry major candidate Ryan Roberts, who says Bernard iments at the interface of electrolytes and from Hastings College in Nebraska, is one of is doing well and, in fact, mentoring her electrodes in flexible lithium-ion batteries “Nationwide there is a critical objective to Conrad’s student researchers in the REU pro- benefits him, too. to improve their performance. As Ardebili is increase the number of students pursuing gram and is co-advised by Jeremy Palmer, [Haleh Ardebili is] well known in this field, Bourland is plenty careers in the STEM fields,” said Ardebili. She assistant professor of chemical and biomo- “What I like about the REU program is being impressed with her teacher. thinks the REU program will inspire students lecular engineering. She is deeply immersed able to communicate overall research objec- to continue in the science, technology, engi- in computer simulations of materials made tives and methods to someone who would fantastic; I love her! “She’s fantastic; I love her!” exclaimed Bour- neering and mathematics (STEM) fields. of glass. be considered a layman going in and getting land. “She’s one of my new role models in them to competency when they leave the She’s one of my terms of women in STEM as a whole; just to “There’s a large body of research that shows “We’re trying to figure out why glass does program,” said Roberts. meet her is so cool. Especially in engineering, we lose students at all stages in the pipeline,” what it does, because glasses are not normal you just don’t meet a lot of women who run said Conrad. “Typically for students you need solids or liquids, they’re in between,” said Ber- As for Bernard, yes, the program has made new role models. labs and let you work in their labs.” The Research role models and research experience early.” nard. “When we find out then we can make an impact. better and stronger glass.” If excitement and passion is the yardstick, Experience for The REU students are getting plenty of both “It’s made me really want to go to grad school REU is paying off. But there’s little wonder – it in the program, each working under a UH Conrad said the success of the program will and do more research,” she said. was conceived of passion. Undergrads Inspires engineering professor and graduate student be measured quantitatively. mentor as they conduct their daily research. A similar story - Kimi bourland, REU Student “I’m in science partly because I had a trans- Students “We’re focused on two outcomes: Does our formative research experience when I was in program change the goal of our student Sustainability is key Kimi Bourland, an REU chemical engineering high school,” says Conrad, recalling a summer participants to enter careers in science and B y Laurie Fickman senior from the University of Colorado Boul- research camp at MIT that lit her fire. “REU is engineering? We’re also asking our graduate The theme of the UH REU sight is “Materials der, sings a familiar refrain. a long pathway in paying it forward.” student mentors how they feel about mentor-

98 Parameters Fall 2017 University of Houston Cullen College of Engineering 99 students Packing for Awards & Accolades Wu’s research focuses on the development of new optical Grad School techniques for various biomedical applications. His goal is to balance resolution and penetration depth in current imaging as a National Science Writing Papers Tips the Scales techniques. for Chong Dai Foundation Research “Optical coherence tomography (OCT) developed in our lab can Fellow Chong Dai, Ph.D. candidate in environ- achieve high resolution and satisfactory imaging depth at the mental engineering at the Cullen College same time,” said Wu. “I have made several technical improve- of Engineering, has won the American ments to make OCT more suitable for mouse embryonic B y Laurie Fickman Chemical Society (ACS) Environmental research, and also investigated the possibilities of applying it to elastographic study for crystalline lens.” The chances of not winning a National Chemistry Graduate Student Award. The Science Foundation (NSF) research fellowship prestigious honor is bestowed on 25 Read the full story at are much greater than walking off with the students, at most, annually. The award www.egr.uh.edu/news/201705/international-organization-sees- coveted award. The odds go down substan- recognizes graduate students working in areas related to envi- light-awards-cullen-college-phd-student tially if you’re still an undergraduate who ronmental chemistry. That’s Dai’s passion. No doubt the award hasn’t yet been accepted to graduate school. committee saw it. But Rawan Almallahi, a Cullen College senior majoring in chemical and biomolecular engi- “My dream is to clean-up special pollutants. In some develop- neering and student of the Honors College, is ing countries the environment is pretty bad, so I’d like to help accustomed to winning; and so as she contin- find a way to eliminate the hazards,” said Dai. Doctoral Student Wins IEEE Superconduc- ues to hear back from graduate schools, she lets them know that she’ll be coming aboard To clean the environment, Dai focuses on nanoparticles made tivity Award Second Year in a Row used as composites in wind turbine blades with the NSF prize wrapped up. A full-time winner of iron hydroxide. to adhesives and electrical and automotive For the second year in a row, a Cullen components.” The problem with the tradi- The NSF fellowship is often credited with Along with her research proposal about “I study how we can use nanoparticles to treat environmen- College graduate student has won a tional epoxy resins used in industry today, helping recipients become life-long influ- epoxy, Almallahi had to submit a personal tal pollutants,” said Dai. “The material is very cheap and it prestigious award in the field of supercon- Almallahi says, is that they are developed encers who contribute meaningfully to both statement for the NSF application. She chose is not harmful.” She’d like to develop new materials that ductivity. Meysam Heydari Gharah- from bisphenol-A, a non-degradable chemical scientific innovation and teaching. Many to talk about her photography. could one day be sent out to industry to help oil and chemical cheshmeh, a materials engineering that is harmful both to human health and the Nobel Prize winners are past fellows, as are production become less expensive and more environmentally doctoral student, received a 2017 graduate environment. Google founder Sergey Brin and “Freako- She was a freshman when she won first place friendly. study fellowship in applied superconduc- nomics” co-author Steven Levitt. in a photography competition called “Open tivity from the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Almallahi is working to find a new source that the Door.” Her winning entry was a photo Read the full story at (IEEE) Council on Superconductivity Committee (CSC) on the heels is degradable and not harmful. “Rawan is a talented undergraduate researcher featuring keys peeking out beneath a door- www.egr.uh.edu/news/201704/environmental-graduate- of taking home the same prize in 2016. in my laboratory and highly deserving of this mat with an accompanying quote she wrote student-wins-highest-acs-honor prestigious award,” said Megan Robertson, offering that your success, or open door, may The annual fellowship is awarded to full-time graduate students assistant professor of chemical and biomolec- be right beneath your feet. You just have to who have made significant contributions in the field of applied ular engineering. “The NSF graduate research keep looking. superconductivity. Applicants are selected based upon the quality fellowship will provide many opportunities to of their prior research, impact of their current research and poten- Rawan as she pursues her doctoral degree.” Almallahi never stops looking for her chances tial impact of their future research. As a recipient of 2017 IEEE-CSC I want to inspire more to succeed. Last summer she attended a International Organization Sees the Light, graduate study fellowship, Heydari Gharahcheshmeh received a This year more than 13,000 applicants prestigious summer biotechnology research Awards Cullen College Ph.D. Student complimentary membership in the IEEE and a $5,000 honorarium. competed for 2,000 awards. Of the winners, people to do research, program at Harvard. She was also a finalist for 700 were seniors in college. The fellowship a Marshall scholarship. Now she’s set on con- Chen Wu, Cullen College Ph.D. student in Heydari Gharahcheshmeh works on fabrication of second-gen- includes three years of funding at $34,000 especially minority vincing more students to conduct research. biomedical engineering, is the winner of eration high temperature superconductors under the supervi- per year, plus $12,000 in cost-of-education a $2,500 Optics and Photonics Education sion of Venkat Selvamanickam, M.D. Anderson Chair Professor allowances paid to the school. Almallahi won students and female “I want to inspire more people to do research, Scholarship from SPIE, the international of mechanical engineering and director of the Texas Center for her award for research in the field of deriving students. especially minority students and female society advancing light-based science, Superconductivity Applied Research Hub. epoxy resins from a renewable source, the students,” she said. engineering and technology. SPIE subject of her senior research paper. - rawan almallahi (formed as the Society of Photographic Read the full story at With all her successes, her inspiration will Instrumentation Engineers) honors those, like Wu, for potential www.egr.uh.edu/news/201707/doctoral-student-wins-ieee- “Epoxy resins have a wide variety of applica- probably stick. Like epoxy. contributions to the field of optics, photonics or related fields. superconductivity-award-second-year-row tions,” said Almallahi. “They go from being

100 Parameters Fall 2017 University of Houston Cullen College of Engineering 101 students Credit: 20th Century Fox daily life and a hand neuroprosthetic should be able to achieve this function with high ac- curacy,” said Tianxiao Jiang, whose research Members of SWE-UH paper on hand flexing was selected as a best pose for a photo after paper at BRAININFO, the First International seeing “Hidden Figures” Conference on Neuroscience and Cognitive in the theater Brain Information held in Barcelona, Spain.

African Americans in a segregated America and as women in The 5 a male-dominated workplace. As the film’s closing credits rolled, I admittedly had to wipe Conference denver, colorado away a few tears. As both a minority and a female engineer, I 3 could relate to some of the adversities the three protagonists Three Cullen College chemical engineering faced – particularly the feeling of being outside of your com- Ph.D. students have returned from Denver, fort zone, which is not unfamiliar to me. I wear a two-piece th Circuit Co. where they were special guests at the 25 dress, called a rida, which consists of a colorful hooded-pon- North American Meeting (NAM25) of the cho and a matching full-length skirt. My wardrobe guarantees North American Catalysis Society. Sashank that I stand out in any professional setting. Like the women san francisco, Kasiraju, who studies under the direction of in the film, I am perpetually outside of my comfort zone. I am california Assistant Professor Lars Grabow, Wendy usually the only female in engineering groups or teams, and I Lang, who studies under Mike Harold, chair am always the only person wearing a rida. There’s a scene in of chemical and biomolecular engineering, the movie where a room full of male engineers stop working Vivek Yadav, studying for his Ph.D. in and Wei Qin, mentored by Jeff Rimer, Ernest to stare at Katherine Johnson as she walks into the room – a chemical engineering at the Cullen College, 1 J. and Barbara M. Henley Associate Professor scene I’ve seen played out in real life many times over. earned third place for his presentation at the of chemical and biomolecular engineering, “Excellence in Graduate Polymer Research” were all Richard J. Kokes Travel Award win- As a graduating engineering senior with two internships session at the American Institute of Chemical ners, which allowed them access to the pres- under my belt, I have learned to be comfortable outside Engineers (AIChE) 2016 Annual Meeting held tampa, florida tigious meeting and the opportunity to make my comfort zone. “Hidden Figures” is important because it in San Francisco. Yadav’s research involves presentations to the esteemed audience. shows what you can accomplish if you do just that. Kather- polyelectrolyte brushes used in applications R- yan Poling Skutvik, a Ph.D. candidate in ine Johnson overcame demeaning colleagues to become a including drug delivery, enhanced oil recov- chemical and biomolecular engineering at prominent NASA mathematician. Dorothy Vaughan mastered ery and antifouling coatings. the Cullen College, took first place in the a computing language no one else knew and was promoted graduate student poster competition at the to head of the Analysis and Computation Division at Langley Society of Rheology Conference in Tampa, SIGNIFICANT FIGURES: Research Center. Mary Jackson fought in court for the right to Florida. Poling-Skutvik presented research on study engineering at an all-white school and became NASA’s understanding the behavior of nanocompos- Reflection on the film ‘Hidden Figures’ first black female engineer. All three women faced immense ite materials. Nanocomposites are materials discrimination and resistance. They aspired to opportunities that combine nanoparticles with polymers. 6 by an engineering student who hides that were not available to African American women at that time. They persevered, securing their own success while Washington, D.C. her figure paving the way for others to follow. 4 Doctoral candidate Sara Pouladi won the B y Ruqaiya Shipchandler, Now I aim to stay outside my comfort zone. I try to surround Abu Dhabi, Best Poster Award for her work on thin chemical engineering student, myself with people who challenge me. I seek projects and th United arab emirates film solar cells at the 44 IEEE Photovoltaic VP-External, Society of Women Engineers leadership positions that intimidate me. I do not shy away Specialists Conference in Washington D.C. from opportunities that are unconventional for a rida-clad Petroleum engineering Ph.D. student Titled “Flexible GaAs single-junction solar cells female engineer. And when I want to be comfortable, among 2 Youssef El Waziry nabbed first place in the based on single-crystal-like thin-film materials engineers I most relate to, I have my Society of Women Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) Gulf directly grown on metal tapes,” the work I had high expectations as I walked into the theater with 20 of my fellow UH Engineers family. offers that III-V compound semiconductor barcelona, spain Coast North America regional student paper Society of Women Engineers (SWE) members to watch “Hidden Figures.” contest and represented UH at the inter- materials are the top candidates for thin-film Our SWE counselor, Cullen College alumna Cynthia Oliver Coleman, saw I encourage everyone to watch “Hidden Figures.” Man or photovoltaics. woman, engineer or not, everyone can glean inspiration from Of all the concepts that a Ph.D. candidate in national contest. El Waziry’s paper, “DFIT/ the film twice and encouraged us to watch it as a group. The movie is about MiniFrac analysis of hydraulically fractured three African American women, Katherine G. Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan and those three incredible women to push their boundaries and biomedical engineering has to grasp, grasp- achieve their potential. ing is at the top. “Grasping is one of the most dual-porosity formations,” tells the story of Mary Jackson, who each made extraordinary contributions to NASA during important hand movements performed in how to analyze fractured rock to make sure the Space Race in the early 1960s. The film sheds light on their struggles as no oil is left behind in the extraction process.

102 Parameters Fall 2017 University of Houston Cullen College of Engineering 103 alumni IE Alumnus E ric Ayanegui Engineers Safety, Reliability and Lifelong Relationships B y audrey grayson

It was 1995 and Eric Ayanegui (BSIE ’95) was an factors, facilities planning, analysis of industrial industrial engineering undergraduate student at the activities. It was a mix of engineering and business, University of Houston Cullen College of Engineering. which really attracted me,” he said. He found himself in unfamiliar surroundings – at the Cintas Facility and Uniform Services plant a few Ayanegui excelled in his engineering coursework, miles from UH – nervously presenting findings from devoting himself to the field while working full-time his class project on improving quality control in their to pay his way through school. “I only went to one garment inspection department. UH football game,” he said. “I had rent and tuition to pay. But that hard work brought a sense of maturity.” The presentation went well, you could say: Ayanegui was offered an internship at Cintas that day. Project-based learning is the rule at the UH Cullen College of Engineering. In many undergraduate Now, 22 years later, he walks by the conference courses, students are assigned projects – often room inside Cintas and remembers standing at the sponsored by industry – to find solutions to critical head of a long conference table, delivering the first engineering challenges faced in the field. presentation of his professional career to the group of Cintas managers. While pursuing his bachelor’s degree, Ayanegui worked on projects proposed by NASA, a local ma- “This conference room has a lot of significance chine shop and an oil company before tackling the to me,” said Ayanegui, director of quality and quality control project at Cintas that landed him an engineering at Cintas Corporation. “This is where internship with the company. it all started.” Working as an industrial engineering scholar at And where it has continued ever since. Through Cintas in his final year of college, Ayanegui took on the opportunity afforded him as a Cullen College projects streamlining and improving processes in the student, he was allowed into a growing company he Houston plant. is still working for today. “As I was learning at UH, I was literally applying it at Combining engineering with Cintas,” Ayanegui said. industry and education In addition to the technical work he was doing at Cintas, Ayanegui said his supervisors provided him “I’m an extrovert – a very people-oriented guy,” with opportunities for management training and Ayanegui said. Originally inspired to follow in his leadership experience. father’s footsteps by becoming a chemical engineer, a pamphlet on industrial engineering changed the “I learned about motivation, leadership, different course of his career forever. engagement phases employees go through as they learn and how to get different personality types to “The pamphlet explained what industrial engineering be top performers. We are a very people intensive in- is, how the field focuses on people and processes. dustry, so they teach you that very early on,” he said. It listed the courses for the curriculum – human

104 Parameters Fall 2017 University of Houston Cullen College of Engineering 105 alumni

The experience ignited Ayanegui’s passion Cougar climbing the In the early 2000s, Cintas began an effort to leadership and management in his current role. for his field. “My internship completely improve safety processes across the compa- rounded me out and solidified the fact corporation ny’s global plants and offices. Ayanegui’s “One of the things that works well with me is I never see that industrial engineering was the degree industrial engineering skills were once again myself as your boss. I see myself as your most effective as- for me.” After his internship, Ayanegui was hired on put to the test when he accepted the position sistant,” he said. “I’m the person that will work really hard to full time as a production supervisor, oversee- of regional health, safety and environmental make sure you have all the tools you need to be successful.” Ayanegui’s focus and drive at Cintas caught ing plant processes and rolling out new ones coordinator in 2004 – a job that would bring the eyes of his supervisors, as did his ability to increase efficiency. From there he moved him back to the Cintas offices in Houston Ayanegui is now applying the skills and lessons he’s learned to speak fluent Spanish. Cintas operates to the Cintas headquarters in Cincinnati where he gave his first professional presenta- as a member of the company’s executive diversity commit- plants in North America, Canada, Mexico, to assist in the construction of new plants. tion as a University of Houston undergradu- tee, which is charged with ensuring its workforce, suppliers Honduras and China, and Ayanegui’s way Another promotion took Ayanegui to the ate student. and customers are inclusive and ethnically diverse. with people and lack of language barriers manufacturing division, where he imple- mented process improvements at garment helped him quickly move up the company Engineering safety, reliability “Cintas has a very deliberate and active diversity initiative. I’m ranks. extremely proud to be involved in employee resource groups and diversity devoted to improving diversity at all levels,” he said. Cintas and you Employing a combination of the technical The science of relationship building The biggest piece of engineering skills he gained in college and You might not know it yet, but Cintas is a the leadership skills he learned during his company that likely touches many aspects advice I give to engineers time with Cintas, Ayanegui analyzed several It seems that one of Ayanegui’s natural strengths is of your workday. processes to improve safety across all of its bridge-building. At Cintas, Ayanegui connects-the-dots early in their careers is plants. Once new processes were developed, between high-level engineering principles and the people The uniform you put on for work, the en- Ayanegui and the Cintas safety team were and processes they impact the most. He connects managers trance mat you wipe your feet on in front to choose a company responsible for training employees and to the workers on the floor of the plants; he effectively com- of the office, the fire extinguisher you walk managers on the new safety measures being municates technical information to non-engineers, bridging past in the hallway, the hand soap and rolled out. the gap between the technical side and the people side of paper towel dispenser you use in the public with a corporate culture business operations. restroom – Cintas designs and distributes all that fits your personality “I had to influence leaders to buy into new of these products and much more, providing ideas. I was applying the leadership skills I So it only makes sense that Ayanegui would also build bridg- specialized services to businesses. and your values. It’s very learned over the years to people who didn’t es between Cintas and the UH Cullen College of Engineering, directly report to me. I had to influence their where he actively recruits students and alumni for internships The company is one of the largest in the in- important to find out decisionmaking process and earn their trust and full-time positions. dustry, employing more than 35,000 people and buy-in,” Ayanegui said. to service more than 900,000 business cus- what a company’s values That’s not the only reason Ayanegui says he keeps coming tomers. Cintas has grown tremendously in Since 2007, Cintas’ total recordable injury back to his alma mater. “Being around industrial engineering recent years, most recently acquiring its third are and how they align rate fell more than 67 percent, with 36 Cintas students at UH energizes me. It reminds me why I chose this largest competitor, G&K Services, last March. locations achieving the Voluntary Protection field and fell in love with this work.” He serves as a member Known for their commitment to impeccable with yours. Program Star Certification, the highest safety of the Industry Advisory Board for the Cullen College’s indus- customer service and employee relations, designation by the Occupational Safety and trial engineering department and has served as the industry Cintas has been named among the “Most Health Administration. advisor for the regional student conference of the Institute for Admired Companies” for eight consecutive Industrial and Systems Engineers. years by Fortune Magazine. - Eric Ayanegui For the last 10 years Ayanegui has served as director of operations engineering, providing In a recent workshop for students in the Program for Mastery At the center of Cintas’ success is its position technical direction for plants across North of Engineering Studies (PROMES), Ayanegui offered career that people always come first. “At Cintas, if manufacturing plants in South America, America and China. He currently oversees advice: “The biggest piece of advice I give to engineers early you don’t have the people behind you the Central America and Mexico before moving the professional development of engineers in their careers is to choose a company with a corporate process isn’t going to work the way you want. to California to manage plants in San Diego and develops and coordinates implementa- culture that fits your personality and your values. It’s very The results won’t be there,” Ayanegui said. and Los Angeles. tion of reliability programs to reduce equip- important to find out what a company’s values are and how ment downtime and maximize throughput they align with yours.” And in that place where people and pro- “Around every corner when they’d change across Cintas’ plants. cesses meet, Ayanegui thrives, employing my assignment I had some sort of basic In the case of Cintas, a company that prominently displays its his industrial engineering skills to increase understanding of that topic from my course- To ensure the proper implementation of safe- corporate values, policies and goals on its website, Ayanegui the safety, quality, reliability and efficiency work at UH, so my learning curve was ty measures, Ayanegui provides hands-on couldn’t have found a better fit. of the company’s processes while maximiz- shorter,” Ayanegui said. training to Cintas’ over 500 plant technicians. ing employees’ trust, happiness and room As you can imagine, he’s learned a lot about for personal and professional growth.

106 Parameters Fall 2017 University of Houston Cullen College of Engineering 107 support & giving Dressing For William A. Engineering Success With Help From Cullen College Brookshire Career Closet and Fluor Leaves Legacy of Generosity and Dedication to the Cullen College

B y Laurie Fickman

UH alumnus William A. Brookshire (BSChE ’57), co-founder and chairman of the board Fluor project manager Allison Welch cuts the of S&B Engineers and Constructors, died on ribbon on the Cougar Career Closet Remembering Proud UH Engineer April 21, 2017.

B y Laurie Fickman Joseph Tedesco, Elizabeth D. Rockwell Dean William C. Miller, Jr. of the Cullen College of Engineering, said, Just yesterday it seemed to be an empty office space “Dr. Brookshire was a fine gentleman and His legacy will continue to live on at the you probably ignored as you walked off the elevator one of our great philanthropists, always in B y Laurie Fickman on the third floor of the Cullen College of Engineer- search of new ways to help students and University of Houston and we will remain ing Building Two. What a difference a day – and the professors. We will forever feel his generosity UH alumnus and prominent South Texas oilman William C. Miller, Jr. (BSPE ’55) Engineering Career Center – can make. Now, with and his loss in equal measures.” died April 16, 2017. He was 94. forever grateful to him. the support of Fluor Corporation, the transformed space is a filled-up closet, ready to offer engineering stu- Brookshire graduated from the University of Miller was a lifelong supporter of the UH Cullen College of Engineering. In 2004 he dents the finest apparel for interviews, career fairs and Houston in 1957 with a bachelor’s degree in received the Distinguished Engineering Alumni Award and in 2012 he was honored work-related mixers, where they might need to dress to chemical engineering. He went on to earn his - russell dunlavy with the Lifetime Achievement Award from the UH Engineering Alumni Association. the nines but don’t even have that much of a budget. master’s of science and Ph.D. in chemical engi- His family said he was inspired at UH by Professor Charles V. Kirkpatrick, the second neering from Louisiana State University, but his dean of the Cullen College, to study petroleum engineering. In 2008 Miller honored “Every year we give an annual donation to the Uni- roots were firmly planted in Houston, where Houston and we will remain forever grateful It was a hardship he overcame and sought his mentor by donating $1 million to establish the William C. Miller Endowed Chair versity of Houston and this is such a unique idea. It he founded S&B Engineers and Constructors to him.” to reward in others. Brookshire founded two in honor of Charles V. Kirkpatrick at the UH Cullen College, a position currently held was something that the students wanted and when in 1967 with his partner James Slaughter, Sr. At scholarships to help ease financial burdens by Mohamed Soliman, chair of the department of petroleum engineering. we heard students might need clothes to help get that time, the pair made up the entire roster of That legacy includes a recent donation of $1 of working students while recognizing their jobs, we thought it was a wonderful idea,” said UH a company that would grow to employ 7,500 million to the Cullen College of Engineering continued dedication to their engineering ed- “I want to share my gratitude for Dr. Miller and his generous gift, which makes it Engineering alumna Allison Welch, Fluor project people around the world. to create the William A. Brookshire Teaching ucation. Students who qualify for the William possible for me to support students performing cutting-edge research in petroleum manager and executive sponsor of the company’s Excellence Award Endowment. The annual A. Brookshire Scholarship take a full course engineering,” said Soliman. partnership with UH. It seemed the UH Engineering Alumni Asso- distributed income honors faculty members load (12 hours) and work at least 20 hours ciation’s Distinguished Engineering Alumni in the Cullen College “who demonstrate an a week. Another of his endowments, the This is the second such closet opened on the UH cam- Farm hand to roughneck and beyond Award, won by Brookshire in 1989, was tailor unwavering commitment to exemplifying the William A. Brookshire IMPACT Scholarship, is pus. In March the first closet opened for campus-wide made for him. His work to improve the lives highest levels of teaching excellence inside for students who are working, taking a full use in the Student Service Center. Miller grew up on his family’s farm in Freestone County, a couple hours north of of UH engineering students and faculty alike the classroom.” course load and paying for college on their Houston, where he tended mules and tilled the land, readying it for corn and cotton was legend. own with no outside financial support. When the ribbon was cut on the engineering closet, harvesting. He often credited his hard-working upbringing for the grit it took him to Brookshire understood well the significance the door was opened to reveal a beautiful selection succeed as an independent oil producer and his UH education for taking him from “Dr. Brookshire was an inspiration to so many of classroom mentors. Raised without means, In 2016, the lives of 85 UH Engineering of men’s and women’s suits, shoes and accessories. roughneck to executive. people around him. He truly believed in hard he was the first in his family to earn a high undergraduate students changed drastically Eventually the closet will take donations and alumni work, dedication and earning your stripes,” school diploma. College wasn’t encouraged, when they received scholarships donated seem especially excited to help. After army service in World War II, Miller attended the University of Houston, said Russell Dunlavy, chief advancement but he made it happen, mostly at night. by Brookshire’s incredible largesse. On Feb. graduating with a degree in petroleum engineering. With several years of corporate officer at the Cullen College. “His gifts have “I had to work a full-time job during the day 9, the students had the opportunity to meet “We’ve had a lot of alumni express their interest in experience under his belt, he formed the San Antonio-based W.C. Miller Operating helped hundreds and will one day help thou- while attending night classes to finish my and thank the man who helped fund their giving to the closet so students can have access to the Company, which has successfully explored for oil and gas in South Texas for 50 years. sands of students complete their dream of bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering at education and made such a lasting impact in professional wardrobe they need,” said Russell Dunlavy, obtaining an engineering degree. His legacy the University of Houston,” Brookshire their lives at the annual Brookshire Scholar- chief advancement officer at the Cullen College. Miller is survived by his wife, two children and two grandchildren. will continue to live on at the University of has said. ship Luncheon held at the UH Hilton.

108 Parameters Fall 2017 University of Houston Cullen College of Engineering 109 culture & events Lienhard’s lens B y john lienhard If you ever doubted that There’s more: OU coach Bob Stoops had tried to call a time out before the kick. football was a game where But he was too late by a fraction of a centimeters and milliseconds second. The referee had already set the counted, consider this: play in motion. But the kicker had seen him, and that threw his rhythm off – probably the reason the kick was low. The Houston Cougars opened their 2016 season against No. 2 ranked Oklahoma Had the kick been just a bit higher, OU University (OU). We miraculously led by would have made the field goal. Had two points when we were 8:35 minutes Stoops called for a timeout a fraction of into the third quarter. Then OU attempt- a second sooner, they might well have ed a 53-yard field goal and missed. Our done so. Had Malveaux managed to just Brandon Wilson caught the ball at the touch the ball… back of the end zone and ran it back for a touchdown. He was credited with Any of a host of ifs, and everything a 109-yard run, but he began with his would have been different. OU prob- foot barely on the grass. His 110-yard run ably would have won the game. Tom broke OU’s back, and we sailed on to Herman would likely still be our coach. win the game, 33 to 23. As Churchill remarked, “The terrible ‘ifs’ accumulate.” Well, so many ifs went our But let’s look at a photo that I took just way at 8:35 in the third quarter of that seconds before Wilson’s historic run. OU game. I took it just as another great Cougar athlete, Cameron Malveaux (No. 94), broke through OU’s defensive line and This fall of 2017 we find leapt to block OU’s kick. There he is, Brandon Wilson playing for alone on this side of the OU line, rising the Cincinnati Bengals, and up, his arm outstretched. See his hand, then see the ball. See Malveaux’s arm Cameron Malveaux with the rising to meet it. Miami Dolphins. We find our- selves with a new coach and Football is indeed a game of centimeters. Had the ball been lower by centimeters, a new set of “ifs,” “centime- we would’ve blocked a field goal that ters” and “milliseconds” – all would have missed in any case. We poised to give us another would have cheered, of course; but we would still be clinging to a two-point year of hairsbreadth ex- lead. Two great athletes were on the citement. field that day and we triumphed because one of them could not quite make a Photo by John Lienhard marvelous block. We quite possibly won that game because OU’s kick was high View more photos at by centimeters. enginespics.smugmug.com

110 Parameters Fall 2017 University of Houston Cullen College of Engineering 111 culture & events

2017 EAA Gala Women in Engineering Become Women in Red at Spring Event

The 2017 UH Cullen College of Engineering Alumni Awards Gala was held at the Bayou City Event Center on The Cullen College hosted its spring Women in Engineering event in March. The free event, funded by alumna Cynthia Oliver Thursday, June 8, 2017. The annual event, hosted by the Engineering Alumni Association (EAA), celebrates Coleman, P.E. (BSChE ’71), took place at the UH Hilton and included female engineering students, faculty and alumnae. the professional achievements and contributions of college alumni and faculty. Those in attendance were inducted into the Women in Red Movement, which serves as a registry of female students and alumnae to serve as mentors for one another. The Cynthia Oliver Coleman Rising Star Award was presented to Tam Nguyen for being named the outstanding senior for the Cullen College of Engineering.

112 Parameters Fall 2017 University of Houston Cullen College of Engineering 113 culture & events

First-Year Students Shine at First Year Experience Summit

First Year Experience students presented their projects at the First Year Experience Summit sponsored by Chevron in May. The event provided a platform for 88 First Year Experience students to present their research posters, meet industry representatives and mingle with fellow students, faculty, staff and Chevron representatives during a private luncheon.

114 Parameters Fall 2017 University of Houston Cullen College of Engineering 115 culture & events last word

View more photos at www.flickr.com/photos/cullencollege/ albums ENGINES OF OUR INGENUITY: Excerpted from “THE MALDIVES” Episode No. 501

Today, harsh reality moves in on a dream. The University of Houston’s College of Engineering presents this series about the machines that make our civilization run, and the people whose ingenuity created them.

We all have secret places we dream about running off to. For some, those places are rooms. For others, they’re forests. My secret place is the Maldive Islands. Actually it’s not much of a secret. I often express the dream. When I do, people usually say, “The Maldives! Where’re they?”

The Maldives are a string of 1,200 coral islands stretching down into the Indian Ocean, well south of India. Only 200 of them are inhabited. Their people are liberal Muslims, and they have a history of hospitality with visitors.

The islands are a well-kept secret – a little-known island paradise. But their people’s easy warmth took a beating in 1988. A group from Sri Lanka tried to overthrow the government. The Maldives survived; but they didn’t quite make it back to the same easy state. And my daydream begins to unravel.

There’s another reason, more dire than the first, that the dream is coming apart. The Maldives lay low in the water. The highest elevation on the capital island of Malé is only 15 feet.

In 1987 Malé suffered a nasty surprise. For no apparent reason, the waves were high- er than usual. Suddenly, two-thirds of Malé lay under water. Those flukey waves did $40 million worth of damage. It was a new kind of disaster for the Maldives.

When we ask what the flood meant, we get an unsettling answer. The world is warming up. As we dump more and more carbon dioxide into the air, we form a heat trap. The short wavelength energy of the sun can still get in. But carbon dioxide won’t let the energy get back out of the atmosphere.

We now think Earth’s average temperature could rise 5 degrees in the next century. That’d melt enough polar ice to raise ocean levels more than 2 feet.

Malé’s average elevation is only 6 feet. You can imagine what raising the ocean 2 feet will do. The recent flooding was a grim preview of the probable death of the Maldives. John Lienhard

Maldivians have called on the industrial nations to burn less fossil fuel. That, of course, is like the mouse telling the camel to get his nose out of the tent. They’re The Engines of Our Ingenuity is a nationally also trying to build protective sea walls. recognized radio program authored and voiced by Fall Engineering Career Fair a Success John Lienhard, professor emeritus of mechanical So my favorite day dream is collapsing. I have to find a more secure mental escape. engineering and history at the University of Houston and a member of the National Academy But then, the time has come to leave mental escape, and replace it with mental fight. Nearly 2,000 UH Cullen College of Engineering students polished up their résumés and put on their business suits to meet of Engineering. The program first aired in 1988, and If we don’t, all the beauty of this Earth will one day be no more than a lingering dream. since then more than 2,800 episodes have been with recruiters from over 100 companies at the fall Engineering Career Fair held at the UH Student Center on September 14. broadcast. For more information about the program, I’m John Lienhard at the University of Houston, where we’re interested in the way visit www.uh.edu/engines. inventive minds work. 116 Parameters Fall 2017 UH Cullen College of Engineering Office of Communications Engineering Building 2 4722 Calhoun Road, Suite E311 Houston, Texas 77204-4009

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