Changing How People Live in HoustonUH students design affordable energy efficient homes.

Spring Symposia Tackle Energy Policy and Future TransportationStudent Art Showcase features conceptual designs in transportation at final symposium.

If Cement Could Talk: UH Engineering Researcher Develops Piezoresistive MaterialCumaraswamy Vipulanandan creates new material for offshore drilling safety.

Department of the Interior Sponsors Tech Challege at UHScience, engineering and math high school students compete for $2,500 grand prize awarded by the Ocean Energy Safety Institute (OESI) and the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE).

CONNECTIONS Issue 4, Spring 2016

Changing How People Live in Houston: UH students design affordable energy efficient homes

eeking to turn a grand vision into reality, UH Energy and Direct Energy last semester created the Energy Efficiency Innovation Challenge, giving students the opportunity to design an energy-efficient house that backers hope will be built in historic Third Ward.

About 30 students -- representing the UH colleges of architecture, engineering, technology, business, law, and mathematics and natural sciences --paticipated in interdisciplinary teams to design a single-family dwelling. Spearheaded and guided by board members of the Energy Coalition, an interdisciplinary student organization on campus, the students had five months to design an 800-square-foot, energy-efficient house that could be built for $80,000. One of the more difficult aspects was to keep the utility bill under $25 per month, making

the house affordable for future residents.

“We helped to design the competition to make sure the students are tackling challenges that apply to the real world,” Direct Energy CEO Badar Khan said. “Direct Energy goes beyond believing in a more energy efficient future. We’re investing in the people who are going to help build it.”

“Affordable housing and energy efficiency are real problems…in society today,” he said. “[The students] are bringing fresh ideas, a fresh perspective, creativity, and we’re engaging the leadership of tomorrow.”

Students received advice from UH architecture and technology faculty, as well as industry experts from Direct Energy. A panel of judges, comprised of architects, builders and industry consultants, chose

the winning team based on their creativity, adherence to budget and another important aspect: the thought given to the family that would eventually live in the house. The winning design was Envirow House, designed by students Giovanni Peña, Jessica Hedge, Inbisat Zahara and Travis Franks, pictured left. They received the $6,000 top as prize; second and third-place teams included:

• EcoHouse 3W – Kathleen Sobczak, Kivanc Biber, Khoula Mehmood, Mahek Hooda and Himanshu Patel, $4,500.

• And Team Chimera – Oluseyi Fatayi Williams, Mark Williams, Eric Choe, Julio Constantino and Jesus Escobar, $3,000.

“For this project we really had to look at the Third Ward and what they really needed,” Hedge, a junior majoring in industrial design, said. “They have such a beautiful, vibrant culture there so we wanted to create a house that goes with the community.”

The students had to think of every aspect of building a house, not just basic materials. They had to use fixtures and technology that wouldpromote sustainability, including solar panels. Some teams incorporated geothermal, solar and wind energy, along with different

methods of capturing and using rain water.

“The most important thing was insulation,” architecture graduate student Peña said. “So we used something called EcoBatt insulation, made out of recycled glass bottles and sand that uses less energy to make.”

“We included more than 100 tips for the homeowner to implement to save a lot of energy,” Peña said, addressing what will happen after the houses are built.

With the winning designs selected, organizers are now working on plans to build several of the winning designs in Houston’s Third Ward, near the UH campus.

By Sarah Mae Jones

roviding the world with access to energy involves more than recovery of resources. The new Global Energy, Development, and Sustainability certificate will introduce energy professionals, graduate students from energy-related fields, and governmental officials from both the United States and abroad to the “best practices” that can promote beneficial outcomes for all stakeholders in energy projects in the developing world.

In many oil-producing developing nations, the advent of oil or natural gas production has not brought positive benefits to the society at

large. Despite large amounts

of foreign investment and a massive influx

of oil revenues, economies tend to fluctuate and stagnate, governments may fail, corruption often increases, standards of living do not rise for the majority of the population, and violence often erupts. It’s known as the “natural resource curse.”

“Foreign policy is involved, geopolitics are involved, the very historical moment when an energy project is undertaken is also important to consider,” said Dr. Kairn Klieman, Associate Professor of History at UH. She developed the certificate program with Tom Mitro, who has more than 30 years of experience in the oil industry. They wanted to create a program that systematically explores research and data about the resource curse and examines complex solutions to complex problems.

The GEDS certificate combines perspectives from industry and a wide range of academic disciplines (Law, History, Industrial Occupational Psychology, Anthropology, and Technology), and case studies are drawn from sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean, Eastern Europe, and North Africa and the Middle East. No comparable programs exist in the U.S. or elsewhere.

According to Mitro, the industry is looking for people with more than just technical skills. Adding the GEDS certificate to their resume will show that the candidate has the analytical tools necessary to assess the long-term social, economic,

and environmental impacts of the projects they carry out.

The multidisciplinary certificate program is comprised of three courses, team-taught by UH faculty (academic and industry) and completed over weekends (Friday/Saturday 8 hours) plus 10 additional hours online. The weekend courses are:

ILAS 6397: Foundations: Understanding the “Natural Resource Curse” (weekends 1 and 2)

ILAS 6398: Promoting Sustainability I: Legal Frameworks and Value Chain Strategies for International Oil and Gas Projects (weekends 3 and 4)

ILAS 6399: Promoting Sustainability II: Workforce and Local Community Issues in

International Oil and Gas Projects (weekends 5 and 6)

Kairn A. Klieman, Associate Professor of History, UH; Co-Director GEDS Certificate Program. Dr. Klieman specializes in African History, African and Global Energy History and Global Environmental History. She is currently working on a book entitled Before the “Curse”: Petroleum, Politics, and U.S. Oil Companies in Africa, 1890s-1980s.

Tom Mitro, Visiting Lecturer, Center for Public History, UH; Co-Director, UH GEDS Certificate Program. Mr. Mitro has over 40 years of experience in management, consulting and teaching all aspects of upstream and midstream petroleum financial, commercial and government related activities, working and living in six countries. For the last 10 years he has been an advisor and trainer to governments and national oil companies in Africa.

Global Energy, Development and Sustainability An interdisciplinary graduate certificate to launch careersS

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Department of the Interior Sponsors Tech Challenge at UH Science, engineering and math high school students compete for $2,500 grand prize awarded by OESI and BSEE

bout 120 Houston high school students had a chance to experience offshore drilling platform operations last month during the High School Offshore Science and Technology Stars Challenge at the University of Houston’s TDECU stadium. The event was geared toward students interested in pursuing a science, technology, engineering or mathematics (STEM) career.

Energy Institute High School, Charles H. Milby High School, Westside High School and Young Women’s Preparatory Academy all participated in the challenge.

The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) and the Ocean Energy Safety Institute (OESI) sponsored the event. BSEE has made efforts to focus on youth and STEM education outreach. OESI was formed by BSEE in 2013 to promote offshore safety and includes UH, Texas A&M University and the University of Texas at Austin.

Using piezoelectric technology, the student teams were asked to simulate the safe landing of a helicopter onto an offshore drilling platform at the UH stadium. They built circuit boards to yield energy to power

association with 3,000 companies dealing with offshore technologies. “These are people who care, this is the future workforce that is going to come and innovate and make a difference for that industry,” Krishnamoorti said.

Graduate student Graham Mullings, who works under Paul Robinson, said it was fun for both students and the volunteers. “It felt great to see students working together to design and assemble an engineered solution using cutting-edge technology from NASA to solve real world challenges in the ocean energy industry while having fun at the same time.”

A Westside High School team, pictured left, won the challenge and the $2,500 grand prize. As recognition of their accomplishment, BSEE invited team members to the Offshore Technology Conference in May.

remote-controlled helicopters, adapting NASA’s piezoelectric technology for offshore use. “NASA was selected as this year’s alternate industry for technology adaptation and simulation,” said Paul Robinson, program manager of OESI. “The concept is taking a NASA innovation and adapting it for oil and gas industry to help solve a problem.”

Ramanan Krishnamoorti, interim vice president and vice chancellor for research and technology transfer, said hosting the competition was a great opportunity due to Houston’s

Next year, OESI will extend the Technology Challenge to the New Orleans and California. Robinson said he plans to “establish a ‘showcase’ emerging technical challenge program that integrates the value of safe practices in early learning through interaction and support from government, industry and high school students.

“We want to build an inclusive pipeline of STEM candidates, increase science literacy, and engage youth by connecting them with the nation’s natural resources, with a specific exposure to offshore oil and gas programs,” he said.

lobalization has challenged the way corporations manage their resources and as a result, business leaders have become more critical and strategic in designing their supply chains. Supply chain management encompasses all the activities needed to provide goods and services to the economy and is known to help organizations focus on adding value, while lowering operating costs for customers.

The undergraduate supply chain management program at the University of Houston’s Bauer College of Business is designed to expose students to the most relevant areas of supply chain management

– analytics, demand management, enterprise resource planning, logistics, procurement, productivity management, project

management, purchasing and sourcing.

Students are encouraged to participate in internships. Because UH is located in the nation’s energy capital, with a large and growing health care industry,

students have interned at companies including ExxonMobil, Chevron, Houston Methodist Hospital and Texas Children’s Hospital. The department has the second highest enrollment in the Bauer College, and student groups include the Supply Chain Student Association and the Student Procurement Organization. The organizations host case competitions that engage employers and industry representatives in judging and mentoring students towards becoming excellent, well-versed supply chain professionals. The supply chain management program is currently ranked 14th in the nation by Gartner Inc.

By Sarah Mae Jones Supply Chain Management Dynamic Leadership at the “Energy University”

By Asit Shah

Pictured left: A student from the Energy Institute High School prepares to launch a remote-controlled helicopter.

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Spring Symposia Tackle Energy Policy and Future Transportation Student Art Showcase features conceptual designs in transportation at final symposium. he final

events in the 2015-2016 UH Energy Symposium Series, discussing the hot topics of the Iran nuclear deal and the future of personal transportation, drew hundreds of people as national experts offered insight into the issues.

The Iran deal, the speakers concluded, will prove to be a win for both the United States and for Iran, despite legitimate concerns. And driverless cars, ride-sharing services and other innovations are likely to spark another type of disruption, panelists said.

Speakers for “Energy Policy: Did the U.S. Win or Lose in the Iran Nuclear Deal?” included Joe Barnes, the Bonner Means Baker Fellow at the Baker Institute for Public Policy at Rice University; Cliff Kupchan,

chairman of Eurasia Group, a globalrisk and consulting firm; and, joining via Skype, Sara Vakhshouri, founder and president of SVB Energy International, an energy consulting firm based in Washington, D.C. The event was moderated by Chris Tomlinson, business columnist for the Houston Chronicle.

The discussion focused on the complex economic and political issues surrounding the deal. The sanctions have

squeezed Iran’s economy in recent years, and as they are lifted, the country has begun to increase its oil production.

Kupchan, pictured above (left), said that, because the deal has seriously limited Iran’s nuclear weapons capabilities the U.S. can consider itself to have won in this deal. But he also said both the deal and Iran’s political environment are imperfect and doing business with Iran will remain difficult for international companies.

Barnes, pictured above, said the deal is a win for the U.S., despite the difficulty of determining how it will affect global markets as world demand for oil remains tenuous. He intimated he did not believe producers will temper production and said it isn’t necessary to cut production, as the global market will eventually stabilize.

“Any impact that Iran’s increase will have will be on the margin,” Barnes said.

Vakhshouri said Europe will be one of Iran’s biggest customers in future years, and that oil quality will be a large factor in how well the nation competes with U.S. production. “Iran’s main challenge is finding customers and selling oil in the current market,” she said.

The final symposium of the series was “Navigating the Future of Personal Transportation” and featured speakers Quincy Allen,

district engineer for the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT); Emil Frankel, interim president for the Eno Center for Transportation; Ken Laberteaux, senior principal scientist for the Toyota Research Institute-North America, and Joshua Schank, chief innovation officer at the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Gail Delaughter, transportation reporter for Houston Public Media, moderated the event.

Quincy Allen, pictured below (middle), said his top priority for Houston transportation is safety. Five hundred people are killed each year in Houston-area in traffic accidents, he said. He thinks self-driving cars could be safer, if they include features that regulate the speed of the car and otherwise reduce fatalities.

Emil Frankel, pictured below (left), said the public transit sector hasn’t caught up to available technology that could make it easier for riders. He focused on policy as a road block to new transportation developments, such as self-driving

cars. Implementing new systems could be slowed by transit agencies and law enforcement.

Laberteaux pointed out some practical aspects of a transition to electric vehicles, such as lagging battery technology, which has driven up the price of electric cars. Also, while most people like low gas prices, higher prices are more likely to spur innovation.

“We have for a long time built an economy around the notion that transportation is cheap,” Laberteaux said. “Fundamental massive change . . . will come with some friction, and not just because people love oil,” he said about driverless cars. People are split about autonomous vehicles and whether they should be operated without any human action.

Schank is working to reduce the number of cars on the road and said providing parking near bus stops and similar provisions are is in some ways counter-productive.

Ridesharing businesses like Uber and Lyft may take business from public agencies, such as Metro, which he said could hurt people who can’t afford those options. Still, he supported private sector involvement, noting the public sector is slow to change.

“There are just too many people” for everyone to own their own car, Schank said.

In conjunction with the final symposium, UH Energy hosted an art showcase, and students submitted ideas for the transportation future through artwork. They were judged by staff from the Blaffeur Art Museum on adhering to the theme, aesthetics and originality.

Matt Caballero, pictured below (right) was selected by the judges for “Layering the Machine: Creating Urban Energy Concentrations with

New Forms of Energy.”

“Bull-E” by Shadman Qaisar, pictured below (left) was named audience favorite.

By Sarah Mae Jones

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If Cement Could Talk: UH Engineer Develops Piezoresistive Material | Professor Cumaraswamy Vipulanandan creates material for offshore drilling safety ith the

rattle and hum of a giant drilling bit churning through clay, a new frontier in oil and gas exploration began at the University of Houston this spring.

A 40-foot well, designed to test “smart” cement developed by Cumaraswamy Vipulanandan, professor of civil and environmental engineering, was drilled on the outskirts of the University’s Energy Research Park, a complex of research labs, technology incubation space and administrative offices just two miles from the main campus.

The results could be far-reaching. Knowing where to find oil or natural gas is the first step in drilling a successful well, but what happens next — and how those next steps are performed — is crucial.

Vipulanandan’s smart cement is a new piezoresistive material that can

be monitored from an offshore platform thousands of feet above the well or even from hundreds of miles away. He is also developing the monitoring system.

Cement slurry is pumped into a well to hold the casing to the natural geological formations, as well as to isolate the formations, even thousands of feet under the ocean floor.

“Currently, how do you know the cement is setting?” Vipulanandan asks. “You don’t know. With smart cement, you can monitor it.”

The cement has been tested

in the lab, but the test well will allow the researcher and graduate students working with him to see how it works under more natural conditions.

Smart cement isn’t regular concrete studded with sensing materials — Vipulanandan said embedding sensors in the cement mixture would result in weaker cement. Instead, the sensing materials — less than 0.1 percent by weight — are actually incorporated

into the mixture, forming a “bulk sensor” with sensing properties several hundred times higher than current cements. The performance is further enhanced using nanotechnology and surfactant technology.

The modifications enhance the mechanical properties of the smart cement, without affecting the rheological properties.

The sensors measure changes within the material, allowing those who monitor the well to determine if it has set or is cracking, if pressure is increasing and other performance variables.

Cement’s critical role in offshore

wells came into sharp relief after the 2010 Deepwater Horizon explosion, which killed 11 people and spilled almost 5 million barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico. Regulators and government investigative panels found the accident was caused by

deficient cementing. Smart cement could help to avoid similar accidents.

Vipulanandan, director of the Center for Innovative Grouting Materials and Technology at the Cullen College of Engineering, as well as director of the Texas Hurricane Center for Innovative Technology, began working on the cement in 2012 with a $2.6 million grant from the Department of Energy. Oilfield services company Baker Hughes provided additional funding.

Vipulanandan compares the smart cement to the sensors in your skin. “When someone touches you, it will tell you when they do it, how much pressure they are applying,” he said.

But the brain might be a better analogy, as the cement reports its status to engineers and other monitors — Is it curing? Has it set? Has there been fluid loss or circulation loss? Are cracks forming that could allow hydrocarbons to escape?

And that reporting doesn’t stop once the well begins pumping oil or natural gas, Vipulanandan said.

People can monitor the cement throughout its entire lifetime.”

By Jeannie Kever

it is imperative the EAB collect data on the success of students and faculty in energy. From there, he wants to increase opportunities for partnerships between UH and local industry.

Nyquist feels the industry leadership represented on the board will help to accomplish these goals and that through their outreach, UH can become a better-known source for future employees.

As far as what is happening in energy research, he said advancements have been made continuously, especially in subsea engineering. It is important to join all the working parts together to create a united whole, he said.

“It’s unbelievable, the changes that are going to happen in everything we do in society, but particularly in our energy industry,” Nyquist said about the future.

cott Nyquist, the newest member of the Energy Advisory Board, is the director for the Houston branch of McKinsey & Company, a global management and consulting firm. He has 35 years of experience in the energy industry, and has worked with oil companies around the world. Nyquist’s contribution to the EAB is significant.

He said one important task of the

EAB is to help advance and promote the university in its energy-related work. Industry has a responsibility, Nyquist said, to invest in UH.

“When we think about what is going to make Houston a great city, it is always about making sure our energy industry is really strong… which is an area of expertise for me,” Nyquist said. “So I said I would love to find a way to … help energy (programs) at the University of Houston be great.”

“UH is important because of its remarkable students and where it is located, in the Energy Capital of the World,” he said. Nyquist believes

Scott Nyquist: Newest Energy Advisory Board Member Director, McKinsey & Company (Houston branch)

By Sarah Mae Jones

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By Nimra Haroon

lexander Pankiewicz is a junior majoring in chemical engineering and chemistry and minoring in Energy and Sustainability.

Why did you choose the energy field?

“In high school, I had no idea what my specific field of interest would be at the time. As I wrote essays for college, I discovered Jeffrey Sachs’ movement on Sustainable Development that he leads with the UN and at Columbia University. I began to understand that the principles of sustainable development will not be put into place by businesses and government, unless it starts from the people. I decided to do my part as a citizen of our world, to maintain a path of sustainable development.”

Why did you choose engineering?

“As a chemical engineer, not only is the opportunity to make a difference in society limitless, but we look at things differently. Personally, the most crucial system I believe we should be considering is our global

population, with all its industries and consumption. This can be seen as a large economic engine that is ever so expanding at an exponential rate. I thought it would be my responsibility to go through the sacrifices of the difficult chemical engineering curriculum in order to become an engineer with the mindset of sustainable development.”

How has being a UH Energy Ambassador helped you?

“Being an energy ambassador has connected me with the some of the wisest and most active students our university has. All of us are driven, constantly networking, being involved in our departments. It is an incredible network of talent that has made me even more curious and passionate about energy.”

You had an interesting past semester. Tell us about that.

“I had a chemical engineering internship with a specialty chemicals company, Albemarle Corporation, in Magnolia, Arkansas. Magnolia sits on the second largest reserve of Bromine in the world. Albemarle has assets that tap into this reservoir, recover and purify the bromine out of the water, and react it into highly specialized chemicals. These chemicals containing bromine are used in a wide variety of end products, with the most important being flame retardants.”

What did you do there?

“My responsibility on this plant was to apply my chemical engineering knowledge into solving projects across the plant. These projects involved a wide variety of different applications, such as analyzing the economics of upgrading equipment, finding the costs of utilities, installing a recycle stream in order to cut back water consumption, and designing a new level automation with corresponding piping. All of these tasks were essentially an introduction to the type of work that a chemical engineer would encounter after graduation. As for personal development, this was a great opportunity for me to truly disconnect from the school dynamic and witness what it’s like to be an engineer working in these remote locations.

Alex wants to work as a chemical engineer and anticipates enrolling in a full-time MBA program.”

Student Spotlights Alexander Pankiewicz and Elita de Abreu

lita Selmara de Abreu is a third year geophysics student pursuing a Ph.D. student in multi-attributes analysis using spectral decomposition. Her research is mostly applied to petroleum seismic exploration. Elita is also the SEG Wavelets president, EAS grad committee chair and a teaching assistant.

Tell us about your background.

“I was born in São Caetano do Sul, Brazil but grew up in a small city in the country part of São Paulo State, called Casa Branca. During my childhood I developed the curiosity about everything, and became known as the “why girl.” I received a Bachelor’s (2006) and Master’s degree (2010) in Physics from Universidade Estadual de Campinas - UICAMP. In 2006, I joined the Exploration team in Petrobras, Rio de Janeiro, where I performed quantitative seismic interpretation and rock physics simulation in the Campos, Santos and Sergipe-Alagoas basins.”

Why did you choose the energy field?

“After working for a while as a geophysicist, I became more interested on the topic and felt the necessity to go deeper in it. My decision on studying the topic related to multi-attribute analysis was made based on the fact that in

many areas of knowledge we have to deal with different sources of data in order to build a predictive model. Even in our own lives we do this all the time. This correlation is fascinating to me and keeps me motivated.”

How has being a UH Energy Ambassador helped you?

“Being a UH Energy Ambassador has helped me on this perception that there are different models. I’m not speaking just about people now, but about my research field as well. Being able to be in touch with different point of views about important topics on energy has broadened my view about my future and the choices I make. I also benefited by talking with industry people. I’m pretty sure I’ve grown as a person, but also my career as energy related, reserves a better future for me after this experience.”

What did you do this past semester?

“I learned a lot. With SEG Wavelets, we had some talks related to geophysics to motivate students, we started a program to help international students with their written assignments, and we had our first UH Geoscience Challenge Bowl. As grad committee chair, I’ve been organizing the 31st Research Student Day, held on April 29th. We had 76 abstract submissions between undergrad and grad students, the greatest number the event has ever had. As a UH Energy Ambassador, I’ve helped organize

the symposiums, which has also taught me a lot about others aspects’ related to energy and also assisted with the UH Energy ScavengEARTH Hunt during Earth Week. Besides that, I’ve also been a teaching assistant in physical geology.”

What did you learn most from the experience(s)?

“Definitely dealing with people! It broke many “ barriers”. When you are in a position where you have to lead people from different

backgrounds and different cultures, you have to learn everything again. I’m observing and listening more to people, in order to understand and extract of them the best they have, so I can plan things in a more effective way.”

After graduating, Elita hopes to continue working in a team setting and organizing education-related events through a geophysics career. 

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