President Khator, faculty and industry representatives cut the ribbon at the dedication ceremony for the new ConocoPhillips Petroleum Engineering Building in the Energy Research Park. | Courtesy of the University of Houston
UH’s petroleum engineering program is on track to help UH meet its Tier One goals by becoming a more energy-focused university.
To help with these efforts, the petroleum engineering program has worked with local corporations to introduce an undergraduate program and hire new faculty, with plans in the works to introduce a doctorate program as well.
“Two of the focus areas (of President Khator’s Tier One strategy) are energy and medicine, and those two are recognitions of the fact that Houston is the center of the world petroleum industry, and we have what is now the largest medical center in the country,” said Tom Holley, director of UH’s petroleum engineering program.
In response to the industry’s demand for new workers, UH introduced an undergraduate petroleum engineering program in the fall of 2009. Partnering with corporations will help UH reach research goals that will have a practical use in the industry, Holley said.
“You’ve got to have some sort of integration or some sort of partnership, collaboration with industry because ultimately they’re the ones who use the workforce and the research, so having their input is key,” said Mark Putnam, director of corporate relations for UH.
UH has an advantage over other universities building up their petroleum engineering programs because of the level of support from the industry in Houston, which was made evident when ConocoPhillips made a donation of $1 million last week, with additional proposed donations of $1 million each year for 2012 and 2013.
“Universities such as UH are well-positioned to prepare the workforce for tomorrow and the opportunities that lie ahead and to inspire them in this passion for the many exciting facets of this evolving industry,” said Carin Knickel, vice president of human resources for ConocoPhillips at the dedication ceremony for the new petroleum engineering building. “We rely upon universities such as UH for top notch candidates, both for internships and for fulltime employment.“
The petroleum engineering program also has plans to introduce a doctorate program, with hopes it will eventually lead the program to becoming its own department. Holley said that there are currently about 20 petroleum engineering departments in the United States, with two leading programs being offered at the University of Texas and Texas A&M.
“We’re very grateful to ConocoPhillips and the other donors as well,” Holley said. “(Donations are) a critical part of what is needed to make this program go, and we intend to use (them) to make a success of the program.”
I strongly believe that every path of study should be available to science. That said, I question the wisdom of UH tying its future so tightly to the oil industry. It's easy money, to be sure, but given the looming problems (both financial and environmental) associated with fossil fuels; perhaps if we took the harder path of securing research dollars for the only viable energy alternative, nuclear power, we could have not only the dignity of our convictions, but also play a role in the future development of society (instead of impeding it).
I will say that petroleum engineering is far, far preferrable to the blindingly inappropriate pursuit of solar and wind power – so at least we've avoided that blunder.
If only there were some way to take the oil companies' money and run – run far, far away from their grimy carbon-filled future.