ConocoPhillips Donates to University of Houston's Energy Research Park

Continuing its commitment to education at the University of Houston, ConocoPhillips is donating $1 million to UH's growing Energy Research Park (ERP) and $125,000 to various engineering, science and business programs.

The $1 million gift will support the ConocoPhillips Petroleum Engineering Building, which serves an expanding number of undergraduate and graduate students. ConocoPhillips has now given a total of $3 million to this facility, with previous gifts of $1 million in 2012 and also in 2011.

UH Energy is a key strategic focus for faculty research and teaching, and the ERP is at the heart of these efforts. The vision for the ERP is to build a premier research and education facility for students and faculty, as well as establish a unique environment for the best minds to forge new business approaches to the way energy is created, delivered and used.

An important element of this vision is the ConocoPhillips Petroleum Engineering Building, which in 2011 became the new home for UH's popular petroleum engineering program. The building houses three teaching laboratories, three classrooms, a computer lab, faculty offices and a student lounge.

"ConocoPhillips is pleased to continue our support of the University of Houston's Energy Research Park and the petroleum engineering program," said Jeff Sheets, ConocoPhillips' Chief Financial Officer and the company's executive sponsor for the University of Houston. "The University of Houston plays a vital role in educating the next generation of top-quality and diverse engineering graduates for the energy industry."

In addition to its long-standing master's degree option, UH's petroleum engineering program launched a bachelor's degree option in fall 2009. The undergraduate program, which is designed to fill the gaps in the industry's aging workforce and equip graduates with the skills needed in the evolving energy world, has grown from about 20 students in the inaugural semester to more than 400 students this spring.

"We are grateful to ConocoPhillips for making this important investment in the university," said Dow Chair Professor Ramanan Krishnamoorti, special assistant to the president/chancellor for UH Energy. "This is a tremendous commitment to a number of great energy initiatives we have here at UH. We are truly fortunate to have ConocoPhillips' continued support in helping us achieve our goal of becoming 'the energy university.'"

ConocoPhillips also is giving $125,000 to UH to help fund a number of programs in the Cullen College of Engineering, the C.T. Bauer College of Business and the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics (NSM).

"We appreciate the unwavering commitment that ConocoPhillips has for our programs, particularly our petroleum engineering program and the ever-expanding Energy Research Park," said Joseph W. Tedesco, dean of the UH Cullen College of Engineering. "The unique partnership we forged in 2011 continues to be a win-win. It's a win for the industry because we are helping to provide the workforce they need to compete in 21st century technologies. And it's a win for the university because it further validates our mission."

Cullen programs receiving money include the Program for Mastery in Engineering Studies, the Society of Women Engineers, the National Society of Black Engineers and the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers. At Bauer, the Emerging Leaders Academic Success Program, Beta Alpha Psi and the Diversity Case Competition are among the groups receiving some of the funds. The NSM program beneficiaries are the Scholar Enrichment Program, the American Association of Petroleum Geologists (ABSA) and the Society of Exploration Geophysicists.

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University of Houston to Develop Energy Initiative

University of Houston (UH) President Renu Khator has named Dow Chair Professor Ramanan Krishnamoorti as a special assistant to the president/chancellor for UH Energy, a collection of the university's preeminent energy research and education programs.

Krishnamoorti will lead UH's efforts to develop a strategic plan for UH Energy involving education and training, research and the expansion of UH's Energy Research Park.

In recent years, UH has identified energy as a key strategic focus for research and teaching. The overall vision for UH Energy and the ERP is to build a premier research and education facility for students and faculty as well as establish a unique environment for the best minds to forge new business approaches to the way energy is created, delivered and used.

UH Energy includes the brightest minds in UH engineering, law, business, natural sciences and technology. These researchers and educators help shape energy policy and forge new business approaches in the energy industry. They also educate the innovators of tomorrow by providing a dynamic environment for students and faculty.

"The UH Energy initiative is an exciting and important mission, given its location in the world's energy capital," Krishnamoorti said. "I will be working on developing a comprehensive strategic plan designed to capitalize on the abundance of energy-related talent and resources here at UH.

"I also will be working on growing our global partnerships with industry in regards to education and research," Krishnamoorti said. "This strategic plan also will involve the development of degree and non-degree programs using online and offsite delivery mechanisms."

Additionally, Krishnamoorti will work closely with the UH Energy Advisory Board, a distinguished panel of global industry leaders to build a vibrant partnership with industry.

For the past four and a half years, Krishnamoorti has been department chair of the UH Cullen College of Engineering's chemical and biomolecular engineering department. He has stepped down as department chair to assume the newly created special assistant's position. Mike Harold, M.D. Anderson Professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering, has been named the new department chair.

Krishnamoorti earned his Ph.D. in chemical engineering from Princeton University. He joined UH as an assistant professor in 1996 and became a professor in 2005. He also was a visiting researcher at ExxonMobil Chemical Company in 2003 and was UH's associate dean of research for engineering from 2005-2008.

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Colorado State University wants to talk to farmers about U.S. drought

Font ResizeSuburbsBy Monte Whaley
The Denver Postdenverpost.comPosted: 12/17/2012 12:10:23 PM MSTDecember 17, 2012 8:21 PM GMTUpdated: 12/17/2012 01:21:19 PM MST

FORT COLLINS — Agriculture experts at Colorado State University are asking the state's farmers and ranchers to talk about the crippling effects of this year's drought.

The survey will gauge the impacts of one of the driest years on record but will also be used to fashion tools to manage drought in the future, say CSU agriculture economists.

"The question we ultimately want to address is, 'How do we improve the resiliency of agriculture and rural communities in Colorado?' because we expect more drought," said James Pritchett, associate professor in the CSU Department of Agriculture and Resource Economics, who is leading the survey project. "It's time to make these systems more resilient, so they can adapt to changes ahead."

The CSU survey called "Telling the Story — Drought in Colorado," is funded with $35,000 from the Colorado Water Conservation Board and the Colorado Department of Agriculture.

CSU is especially interested in responses from an estimated 600 Colorado farms and ranches with annual income surpassing $100,000. These producers are at the core of the state's agriculture industry, which chips in $40 billion each year to the Colorado economy.

The survey asks producers about the likelihood that drought could force them out of farming and ranching. It also asks about tools and strategies producers need to improve management effectiveness in the face of drought.

All of Colorado is currently suffering from drought conditions, ranging from moderate to exceptional, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.

This was the case during much of the 2012 growing season, with the most severe conditions in parts of the state which produce dryland crops, such as wheat, or cattle and operations that rely on forage, said Pritchett.

There are no indications that the drought will end anytime soon. Very little snow has accumulated in western Colorado, the state's chief water source. Also, temperatures have been above average, leading to melting of even low amounts of snowpack.

CSU's survey also wants to touch on the impact the drought has had on rural communities, where agriculture is still the key to economic survival.

"The ripple effects (of the drought) can last for years," Pritchett said.

The on-line questionnaire is available now for Colorado producers.

Monte Whaley: 720-929-0907, mwhaley

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Felonies filed in University of Colorado pot brownie case

Font ResizeLocal NewsBy Mitchell Byars
The Daily Cameradenverpost.comPosted: 12/14/2012 12:01:00 AM MST

Mary Elizabeth Essa, the second of two University of Colorado students accused of sickening a professor and seven classmates last week with marijuana-infused brownies, formally was charged with 18 felonies Thursday in Boulder County court.

Essa, 19, was charged with eight counts of second-degree assault and eight counts of inducing the consumption of a controlled substance. She also is charged with one count each of conspiracy to commit second-degree assault and conspiracy to induce consumption of a controlled substance. She and Thomas Ricardo Cunningham are alleged to have worked together.

Cunningham, 21, was charged with identical counts Wednesday.

Boulder County Judge Noel Blum granted a travel request allowing Essa to leave the state. According to police records, Essa is from Nevada.

Essa and her lawyer Jon Banashek declined to comment after the hearing.

She and Cunningham have been released on $5,000 bond each. They are due for arraignment Jan. 25.

According to police and court records, Cunningham and Essa brought marijuana-laced brownies to their history class last week but did not tell anyone else in the class that the food was laced with THC, the active ingredient in marijuana.

CU police said Cunningham and Essa have admitted that the brownies contained marijuana.

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