With ground breaking research projects, UH professors are paving the way for the university to achieve a top-tier ranking. On April 24, the Norman Hackerman Advanced Research Program approved research grants for 21 UH professors for a total of more than $2.5 million, the second highest amount between 25 Texas universities.
"These grants seed research that has the potential to be transformational. They are important for the University because they build the foundation for critical research areas that are key to the university’s leadership globally. They are important from a student’s perspective because they provide research opportunities and are a key ingredient in an education that is up to date and cutting edge," said Donald L. Birx, vice chancellor for the UH System and vice president for research at UH.
Winning UH proposals were from faculty members at the Cullen College of Engineering, the College of Optometry, the College of Pharmacy and the College of Natural Science and Mathematics.
"The College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics’ mission is to conduct research that solves global problems. The fact that NSM researchers received nearly half of UH’s $2.5 million speaks to the quality of our research," said College of Natural Science and Mathematics Dean John L. Bear.
Zhigang Deng, assistant professor of computer science will use his $107,000 grant to enhance 3-D animations by adding the psychological aspects of human movement to make aviators more realistic.
One UH professor was the only researcher in Texas who was awarded two separate grants for his work. Ioannis Kakadiaris, Professor of Computer Science received grants for his research to detect and code facial expressions in autistic people as well as his work to develop 3-D face recognition programs that would enhance current surveillance methods.
Kakadiaris, who is also a faculty member at the Department of Electrical, Computer and Biomedical Engineering is collaborating with UH professor Shishir Shah, Texas Southern professor Olufisayo Jejelowo and Katherine A. Loveland, a University of Texas Medical School Houston professor and internationally known expert on autism. Kakadiaris’ collaborative research is an example of many UH professors are conducing interdisciplinary research by working with experts from different fields and institutions.
Two of the awarded professors were from the College of Pharmacy.
"In the past few years we have been successful in increasing our research funds. One of our principal goals has been creating an environment that encourages collaboration. We will continue to increase our collaboration with other institutions in Houston," said College of Pharmacy Dean Sunny E. Ohia.
Tahir Hussain, associate professor at the College of Pharmacy was one of the professors who was awarded the full $150,000. Tahir will use this grant to investigate treatments for kidney function and blood pressure.
"We have great students, world class faculty, skilled administrators, and a visionary leader. What we sorely lack is a top-tier funding and investment. There is no question that resources are our greatest challenge," Birx said.
The grant program, which is administered by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, was established in 1987 to provide competitive, peer-reviewed funds to science and engineering researchers in Texas colleges and universities.
According to the program’s legislation, the funds are provided by appropriations, gifts, grants and donations. This award year, the total amount of available funds was approximately $16.4 million.
The selection process consisted of eight steps to ensure that projects were selected impartially. An advisory committee consisting of eight distinguished Texas scientists oversaw the program’s guidelines and award distributions. Among the committee members were Robert F. Curl, Pitzer-Schlumberger Professor of Natural Sciences Emeritus at Rice University and the winner of the 1996 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.
The highest total funds were awarded to 36 faculty members at The University of Texas at Austin, a sum of nearly $4.7 million. Trailing UH was Texas A’M University with 13 grants that totaled almost $1.6 million.
