UH, Partners Awarded $4.2 Million DOE Grant for Magnet Energy Storage Research
The University of Houston and three other institutions have received a $4.2 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to develop a superconducting magnet energy storage system device that could revolutionize the nation’s electrical power grid.The collaboration consists of UH, ABB Inc. of Cary, N.C, SuperPower Inc. of Schenectady, N.Y., and the DOE’s Brookhaven National Laboratory in Upton, N.Y. Venkat Selvamanickam, M.D. Anderson Chair Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Director of the Applied Research Hub of the Texas Center for Superconductivity at University of Houston (TcSUH) will lead the UH effort. The project is one of 43 being funded with $92 million from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act through DOE’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E).Read more at http://www.egr.uh.edu/news/0810/?e=energystorage
Venkat Selvamanickam, M.D. Anderson Chair Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Director of the Applied Research Hub of the Texas Center for Superconductivity at the University of Houston (TcSUH), was named as one of the recipients of the 2010 R&D 100 award, along with scientists from Oak Ridge National Laboratory and SuperPower Inc. The R&D 100 awards are sponsored by Research and Development Magazine to recognize the “100 most technologically significant new products of 2010,” and are awarded through a competitive selection process.
The University of Houston Health Initiative has received a major boost from the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, which recently approved the establishment of a doctoral program in biomedical engineering at the UH Cullen College of Engineering. The new doctoral program will be launched alongside existing bachelor’s and master’s degree options in biomedical engineering, giving current and prospective students a greater opportunity to pursue a terminal degree while studying in Houston’s prolific medical research community.
The work of Mechanical Engineering Professor Venkat “Selva” Selvamanickam, will be highlighted in a UH Moment TV segment airing this week on PBS. Watch the video explaining his superconducting wire research:
High school science teacher Tammie LaBiche has spent much of her summer pouring over water samples from Lake Houston inside a laboratory at the University of Houston Cullen College of Engineering. LaBiche has used the samples, taken from one of the city’s sources of drinking water, in a series of experiments designed to remove contaminants and organic compounds that can affect the purity and color of the water. As a participant in the college’s Research Experience for Teachers (RET) program, she has been conducting these experiments alongside civil and environmental engineering professor Shankar Chellam for the last six weeks. Each brings them one step closer to understanding the role filtration can play in cleaning municipal water supplies. RET is one of two summer programs of its kind offered at the Cullen College.
The University of Houston Cullen College of Engineering is establishing a program that helps address the unique higher education needs of veterans and active military. The Camo to Classroom to Career Program is designed not only to guide them through college life, but also support them in finding a job upon completion of their engineering degree. The program will launch this fall in partnership with the university’s Veterans’ Services Office. “Whether they’ve just returned from combat or are adjusting to civilian life, veterans of the armed forces often face a host of challenges,” said Lawrence Schulze, the program’s director and an associate professor of industrial engineering at the Cullen College. “These students are often much older with more life experience and usually have difficulty relating to the other students who are coming straight out of high school. We owe it to this country to see that they have all the opportunities for success, so we designed a program that creates a sense of community for them while helping them to learn about veteran-specific topics.” Read the full story: http://www.egr.uh.edu/news/0710/?e=camo
