We have a great city. We’re making it even better. We are, after all, Houston’s research university. And we’ve put quite a few nationally known researchers on the case—they’re working to find answers to some of our city’s urban problems such as air pollution and homeland security.

Professor Richard Murray, longtime director of the Center for Public Policy and professor of political science, says most of our problems come down to sprawl.

Sprawl, he says, is a city “spreading out without a plan or design—like water—into the path of least resistance.” Ranked by amount of sprawl, Houston is second in the nation, just behind Atlanta.

But sprawl isn’t all bad. Sprawl makes land cheaper—Houston is one of the least expensive major cities for real estate. Sprawl makes the assimilation of new people easier, a point illustrated in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. About 150,000 people evacuated to Houston, and the city absorbed the influx gracefully.

In the end, though, sprawl is the root of many urban problems. Houston’s 4 million residents are spread across 2,000 square miles—all that travel to work, school, and shopping takes a toll. Besides air quality problems, sprawl causes traffic congestion, long commutes, and more wear-and-tear on infrastructure, especially roads. It makes evacuation in the event of an emergency an ordeal—remember Hurricane Rita?

We’re finding real-world solutions to these problems of sprawl and more. Here are just a few.

A KINDER, GENTLER DIESEL TRUCK
Michael Harold
Dow Chair Professor of Chemical Engineering
Principal Investigator, Diesel Vehicle Research and Testing Facility

We’ve all been stuck behind that diesel truck—the one that billows blue-black exhaust into the air. Michael Harold’s research group is out to clean up those trucks, and they’ve already made a huge difference in Houston. Starting with the city’s fleet of 2,800 diesel trucks, the group found a way to retrofit the entire fleet to reduce harmful nitrogen oxide emissions by 70 percent. Harold’s research is centered in the UH Diesel Vehicle Research and Testing Facility—one of only a few such testing venues in the nation. “We develop and test technologies that reduce fuel emissions and then verify that they’re ready for commercial application,” says Harold. Once test results are analyzed, vehicles are retrofitted and sent back to the streets—not only cleaner, but in many cases more fuel efficient.

RECRUITING MR. WIZARD
Laveria Hutchison
Associate Professor of Curriculum and Instruction
Codirector, Quality Teacher Recruitment and Assistance Consortium (Q-TRAC)

Our kids need an education with a solid grounding in math and science. The problem: skilled teachers in those fields are hard to find. Enter the university’s Q-TRAC program—a partnership between UH, the U.S. Department of Education, and five Houston-area school districts. The program’s goal is precise—to recruit, train, and certify more qualified math and science teachers for Houston’s schools. So Q-TRAC is recruiting professionals with math, science, and engineering degrees to become teachers. “We want to show people who hold these degrees that teaching is a great career option, and Q-TRAC provides a lot of incentives and support to make the transition,” says Hutchison. It’s working. The program’s pilot class began in January, and Houston will have a new group of well-trained math and science teachers as early as next summer.

EYE ON THE SKIES
Daewon Byun
Professor of Atmospheric Science
Director, Institute for Multi-Dimensional Air Quality Studies (IMAQS)

The clock is ticking. If Houston doesn’t meet the EPA’s ozone standard by 2007, we may lose highway funding and face a moratorium on expansion, among other penalties. Fixing the problem requires precise data on the city’s pollution. Day by day, IMAQS’ data adds to a body of knowledge about Houston’s air. Through real-time air quality monitoring and forecasting, the institute keeps tabs on the ways the city’s heavy industries, traffic, and weather patterns converge to affect the air we breathe. The institute also works with national, state, and local agencies to track how chemicals in our atmosphere are affected by temperature, wind flow, and even by the shut-down and start-up of plants during and after a natural disaster like a hurricane. “Our research gives a precise view of the city’s air quality,” says Byun. “Cleaning up Houston’s skies cannot begin without this level of detail. With this information, the city and state will be able to legislate new policies and regulations to reduce air pollution.”

GETTING 3 MILLION TO SAFETY
Steven Pei
Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Executive Director, Southwest Public Safety Technology Center (SWTC)

Saving lives becomes much more difficult when law enforcement agencies can’t talk to each other during a major emergency, as in the evacuation of more than 3 million Houstonians during the threat of Hurricane Rita. Efforts to improve communication, among other homeland security initiatives, have been spearheaded by the Southwest Public Safety Technology Center, a collaboration of the Cullen College of Engineering and the Sheriffs’ Association of Texas. “We serve the entire first responder public safety workforce—from developing technology to helping them communicate with one another to training them to use the equipment,” says Pei. The center also is a national testing ground for some unique homeland security projects, including the next generation of body armor and “smart” police cars.

YOUR COMMUNITY, TAILORED TO FIT
Susan Rogers
Visiting Assistant Professor of Architecture
Director, Community Design Resource Center (CDRC)

What if you could create a community to meet your needs? Susan Rogers and a team from the Community Design Resource Center (CDRC) can step in to help make a community’s vision a reality. Rogers and her team became involved early on in a ten-year strategic vision project for Houston’s East End—a community struggling with new development, increasing property taxes, and a changing business climate. “Change will happen, whether we plan for it or not,” Rogers says. “We’re using design as a strategy for change.” The East End’s plan began by defining the community’s assets and constraints, then meshing them with the community’s vision of their future. Thanks to Rogers and CDRC, the East End will become a more user-friendly neighborhood filled with tree-lined walks, accessible shops and stores, while preserving the community’s rich history. A great plan indeed.