Research for the Real World

Campus-based research activities attract more than $100 million in research funding every year. And the results are making a difference in our lives.

Consider the importance of a strong research base to just one sector: high technology. Texas has high-tech expertise in the energy, electronics, hardware, software, biotechnology, medical, and aerospace industries. In fact, the high-tech industry now employs 11 percent of our state’s workforce.

Predictably, the faculty and students of the University of Houston System are busy making significant contributions in virtually all spheres of high technology, as well as in such vital areas as public safety and homeland security. And because research advances are rarely “random,” many of the advancements made at the University of Houston System, while serving a global quest for knowledge, specifically reflect and respond to the needs of our region. The University of Houston, flagship of the system and the most ethnically diverse major research institution in the nation, routinely brings eminent scholars together to address the world’s – and our area’s – pressing needs. Their insights lead to innovations right in our backyard.

Surprisingly,while the University of Houston supports extensive and influential research, it doesn’t yet rank among the nation’s top-tier research universities. In fact, no university in Houston does. Nor does any in Dallas or San Antonio. Of the ten largest U.S. cities, only these three are without elite research universities. We’d like to change that.

Why? Because everyone benefits. Flagship research universities supply both an educated workforce and research and development programs. They fuel the advancements that help great cities stay great.

Today, the states with the leading high-tech business hubs are also the states with the largest number of top-tier research universities: ten in California, eight in New York, and five in Massachusetts. With only two in Texas,we’re lagging behind.

Despite being one of the nation’s youngest research universities, the University of Houston has researchers busy in hundreds of projects that span the scientific horizon.

Health Care

• University of Houston researchers are joining with the Methodist Neurological Institute to investigate disorders of  the brain and nervous system and develop treatments for such neurological diseases as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.
• UH mechanical and biomedical engineers are collaborating with Texas Medical Center physicians to develop a computational medical tool that would help  identify patients most at risk and diagnose brain aneurysms before they cause a stroke.
• The Abramson Family Center for the Future of Health, a collaboration of faculty from UH, The Methodist Hospital Research Institute, and the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, is combining research, education, and services to help people make informed decisions when diagnosed with a serious illness.
• UH researchers are working on a process to sequence the human genome at a 100-fold lower cost than currently possible, “personalizing” medicine and offering physicians a quicker, more thorough method of assessing genetically linked risk factors for diseases and adverse drug reactions.
• UH System researchers are engaged in more than 370 health-related projects, including partnerships with several Texas Medical Center institutions – and UH, along with Rice University, UT Health Science Center, Baylor College of Medicine, and M.D.Anderson Cancer Center, is a founding member of the Alliance for NanoHealth.

Homeland Security

• The Southwest Public Safety Technology Center includes collaborative efforts between UH’s Cullen College of Engineering and the Sheriffs’ Association of Texas that are at the forefront of public safety projects, from body armor research to video streaming for “smart” police cars.
• UH bioinformatics researchers are studying DNA probes to develop a method for identifying bacteria and viruses used in bioterrorism.
• UH nanomagnetics researchers are collaborating with naval researchers to detect biological agents, develop land-mine discovery techniques, and improve computer memory durability in the event of a nuclear explosion.

Energy

• University of Houston electrical and computer engineers are developing radios no larger than a grain of sand to increase the drilling efficiency of oil wells.
• To meet the near-term energy challenge, UH chemical engineers are working to improve oil recovery in abandoned oil fields.
• UH chemical engineers are joining forces with the City of Houston to test new technologies to reduce emissions from the city’s diesel fleet and improve the region’s air quality.

The presence of a quality university in a cooperative, university-community environment is irresistible to new and expanding businesses. It means they’ll have access to state-of-the-art, university-based expertise. Businesses also find that major research institutions foster an exciting “culture of knowledge” that attracts the type of people they want to hire.