[CCoE Notice] January Update

Wed Jan 25 11:24:05 CST 2012

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http://egr.uh.edu/newsletter/deansmemo/images/tedesco.jpgDear Cullen College
Faculty and Staff,

Welcome back to the start of the Spring semester! Though most of you have
been back for several weeks, the start of a new semester is undoubtedly very
busy. I hope that you enjoyed your holiday break.

Here are a few announcements and updates that I'd like to share with you:

CAREER Awards: I am thrilled to announce that three of our junior faculty
have received 2012 NSF CAREER Awards. Please join me in congratulating Dr.
Debora Rodrigues from civil and environmental engineering, Dr. Jiming Bao
from electrical and computer engineering, and Dr. Gila Stein from chemical
and biomolecular engineering, for these very prestigious honors!

Dr. Rodrigues’ award, worth up to $450,000 over five years, will allow her
to study the environmental impact of nanoscale materials that utilize
graphene. She will explore how the toxicity of graphene-based nanomaterials
impacts bacteria that are essential to the treatment of wastewater. Dr.
Rodrigues plans to work with samples taken from local wastewater treatment
plants in order to learn how changes in real world factors, such as water
chemistry and temperature, affect graphene’s interactions with these
microorganisms. 

Dr. Bao received $400,000 to explore the optical and electronic properties
of graphene and graphene nanostructures. His particular focus will be on
using these materials as optical waveguides for surface plasmon, which would
allow them to serve as optical interconnects between electronic components
for large-volume data transmission. 

Dr. Stein received a grant worth up to $500,000 to characterize and improve
polymer-based solar cells. She will use nanolithography to build model
devices and then develop a system to study the effects of active layer
structure on electronic function. These findings could lead to the creation
of commercially viable products.

New Faculty: This spring, the Cullen College welcomes two new faculty
members. Please join me in welcoming Professors Philippe Masson and Saurabh
Prasad to UH!

Assistant Professor Philippe Masson <mailto:pjmasson at uh.edu>  joined our
Department of Mechanical Engineering from the Advanced Magnet Lab in Palm
Bay, Florida, where he worked as a senior scientist developing high-power
electric motors and superconducting generators. He holds a Ph.D., a
D.E.A.-P.R.O.T.E.E. (advanced research degree), an M.S. and B.S. in
electrical engineering from the University Henri Poincaré in France. His
research interests include design and optimization of superconducting
systems, characterization and modeling of superconducting material,
multiphysics FEA simulations, and systems dynamics analysis and
optimization.
 <http://bme.uh.edu/faculty/gifford/main> 
Research Professor Saurabh Prasad <mailto:sprasad2 at uh.edu>  joined our
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering from Mississippi State
University, where he served as an assistant research professor. He received
a Ph.D. from Mississippi State in 2008 and an M.S. from Old Dominion
University in 2005, both in electrical and computer engineering. He also
earned a bachelor's of technology degree in electrical engineering from
Jamia Millia Islamia in New Delhi, India in 2003. His research interests
include statistical learning, pattern classification, adaptive signal
processing, hyperspectral image analysis and remote sensing. He will be
working with the National Center for Airborne Laser Mapping (NCALM) and will
begin a tenured-track appointment as an assistant professor in the
department this fall.

Upcoming Events:

EAA EWeek Reception & Program
February 21, 2012 
Hilton University of Houston 
More information <http://egr.uh.edu/alumni/events/eweek> 

Amundson Lecture
February 24, 2012, 3 p.m.
Hilton University of Houston 

UH Engineering Golf Tournament
April 9, 2012
Sienna Plantation Golf Club
More information <http://www.egr.uh.edu/alumni/events/?e=golf> 

ASME/UH Cajun Crawfish Boil
April 29, 2012
Lynn Eusan Park
More information <http://egr.uh.edu/alumni/events/?e=crawfishboil> 

UH ChE 60th Anniversary Gala
May 5, 2012
Hofheinz Pavilion
More information
<http://chbe.egr.uh.edu/calendar/0512/60th-anniversary-chemical-engineering-
gala> 

Engineering Commencement
May 11, 2012
Hofheinz Pavilion
More information <http://egr.uh.edu/students/current/?e=commencement> 

Engineering Awards Gala
June 1, 2012
Four Seasons, Houston 
More information <http://egr.uh.edu/eaa/activities/?e=gala> 

Thank you, as always, for your continued dedication and support.

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Joe Tedesco 

  _____  

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