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Undergraduate Catalog
2003-2005
Cullen College of Engineering
Other Information About the College
- Contact Information
- Objectives
- Honor Societies
- Student Organizations
- Scholarships
- Accreditation
- Facilities
- Fields of Study Overviews and Department Mission Statements
- Other Departmental Information and Degree Information Links
Contact Information
Office of the Dean 713-743-4200 Department of Chemical Engineering 713-743-4300 Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering 713-743-4250 Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering 713-743-4400 Department of Industrial Engineering 713-743-4180 Department of Mechanical Engineering 713-743-4500 Continuing Education 713-743-4233 Cooperative Education 713-743-4230 PROMES Office 713-743-4222 Web site www.egr.uh.edu
Dean: Raymond W. Flumerfelt, Ph.D., Northwestern University
Associate Dean: E. Joe Charlson, Ph.D., Carnegie Mellon University
Associate Dean: Stuart A. Long, Ph.D., Harvard University
Associate Dean: Steven Shin-Shem Pei, Ph.D., State University of New York at Stony Brook
Associate Dean: Larry C. Witte, Ph.D., Oklahoma State University
Assistant Dean: David Nghiem, Ph.D., University of Houston
College Business Administrator: Dorothy M. Barrera
Assistant to the Dean: Kitty Jo Karson
Engineers devise creative applications of scientific principles for the betterment of society through technological development. They do this by discovering methods of transforming resources into useful products, systems, and services that are used in every facet of life: housing, transportation, space exploration, medicine, manufacturing and automation, and communications. The marvels of engineering are everywhere.
An engineer bridges the gap between basic scientific research and industrial applications, helping to bring innovative ideas into society to benefit everyone.
Objectives
The college faculty strives to prepare students for their role as productive members of society by providing a comprehensive education.
Students first master the scientific principles upon which engineering is based and then examine the industrial and social structure that regulates the application of science to community life. Most important, they experience engineering and its creative nature as part of the learning process.
Recipients of a Bachelor of Science in Engineering have many options: employment in industry or government; further education in fields such as engineering, law, medicine, business, sales, management, and more. Engineering is the only undergraduate program that introduces students to such diverse studies as mathematics, pure and applied sciences, engineering sciences, synthesis, systems design, social sciences, and humanities and fine arts.
A comprehensive education is required for engineers. Engineering challenges are more complex, require a greater sophistication of skills, and will affect people even more directly than in the past. Engineers must be able to marshall their skills to grapple with legal, environmental, humanistic, political, social, and economic concerns.
Major issues addressed by engineers include pollution and hazardous waste management, energy resources and enhanced oil recovery, transportation, housing, and product safety. High-tech areas such as superconductivity and space-related research will hold engineers' attention for some time to come. In order to successfully solve the many challenges facing society, engineers must receive an education that informs, stimulates, and provides practical experience. The Cullen College of Engineering provides that education.
Honor Societies
The Cullen College of Engineering has six honor societies. They are described below:
Alpha Pi Mu
Industrial Engineering Honor Society. Initiates are required to be in
the top one-fifth of their class as juniors and the top one-third as seniors.
Chi Epsilon
Civil Engineering Honor Society. Initiates are required to be at least
of junior standing in civil engineering and to be in the upper one-third
of the class.
Eta Kappa Nu
Electrical Engineering Honor Society. Initiates are required to have a
3.00 minimum grade point average and to be at least of junior standing
in electrical engineering.
Omega Chi Epsilon
Chemical Engineering Honor Society. Initiates are required to have a 3.25
minimum grade point average as a junior and a 3.00 minimum grade point
average as a senior.
Pi Tau Sigma
Mechanical Engineering Honor Society. Initiates are required to have a
3.25 minimum grade point average as a junior and a 3.00 minimum grade
point average as a senior.
Tau Beta Pi
National Engineering Honor Society. Initiates are required to have a 3.25
minimum grade point average as a junior and a 3.00 minimum grade point
average as a senior.
Student Organizations
Because student organizations play an important part in helping students to become responsible members of their profession and the university, all students are encouraged to become active members. The following organizations are open to engineering students in good standing:
American Institute of Chemical Engineers - Student Chapter
American Society of Civil Engineers - Student Chapter
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers - Student Branch
Institute of Industrial Engineers - Student Chapter
American Society of Mechanical Engineers - Student Section
Society of Automotive Engineers - Student Chapter
Society of Women Engineers - Student Chapter
M.A.E.S. - Mexican American Engineering Society
N.S.B.E. - National Society of Black Engineers
S.H.P.E. - Society of Hispanic Professional Engineer
Scholarships
The college awards four-year scholarships based on academic performance in amounts ranging from $500 to $5,000 per year for beginning students. Currently enrolled and transfer students may also be eligible for college awards and for other scholarships through their major departments. Applications for engineering scholarships are available in the Engineering Dean's Office (room E421-D3) or by calling 713-743-4200.
Accreditation
Five undergraduate degree programs are accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology. The Computer Engineering degree program has been approved by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board but has not been reviewed for Engineering Accreditation by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology.
Facilities
The college is housed in several buildings on campus. The newest building houses the Engineering Computing Center (ECC).
All students receive extensive experience with computers. Windows NT, DEC Alpha and Sun Microsystem workstations, as well as access to VAX and UNIX mainframes, are part of a college-wide total of almost 600 computer workstations. The ECC offers more than 86 hours per week of open laboratory time for all engineering students. Software, printers, and five rooms of workstations enable students to integrate computers into all phases of their educational experience. All computers are linked to the university network, which provides intracampus communications as well as links to various national and international networks.
In addition to the usual engineering classroom and laboratory equipment, the college has more than 25 major experimental facilities.
Fields of Study
- Chemical Engineering
- Civil and Environmental Engineering
- Electrical and Computer Engineering
- Industrial Engineering
- Mechanical Engineering
Chemical Engineering
Chemical engineers investigate and develop techniques to convert basic raw materials into useful products. The field extends into many areas of manufacturing and refining, as well as resource management and environmental concerns.
Chemical engineers investigate the processes used in the manufacture of products and materials and are interested in the concerns of manufacturing processes: pollution control and hazardous waste management.
Chemical engineers address large-scale problems. While the chemist investigates the interaction of chemicals in the formation of a new product in a laboratory environment, the chemical engineer develops the processes and procedures needed to produce marketable quantities of the new product. While the physicist analyzes the makeup and properties of a superconducting material, the chemical engineer plans the facility that will manufacture the material in the volume and configurations needed. Many career opportunities await chemical engineering graduates including those involving computer systems and process control, environmental control, biochemical agents, electronic materials, superconducting materials, pharmaceuticals, petroleum engineering, petrochemicals, and synthetics.
An individually structured curriculum will introduce students to interesting subjects such as materials, fluid mechanics, economics, and computer science. Students also investigate the design, construction, and operation of process units. Oral and written communications, teamwork, and management are also emphasized.
Aside from foundation courses-math, physics, and chemistry-and engineering sciences, students may select specialty study areas in process engineering, process control, biotechnology, electronic materials, environmental engineering, and petroleum engineering. Students' backgrounds are developed with courses such as mathematics, reaction kinetics, thermodynamics, and transport phenomena.
Mission StatementThe mission of the Chemical Engineering Department at the University of Houston is to educate students to become highly qualified chemical engineers, conduct innovative research in chemical engineering and related interdisciplinary areas, and provide service to the profession and to society.
The Department aspires to educate chemical engineering undergraduate students that:
- Can apply the fundamentals of chemical engineering to the synthesis and analysis of processes in both traditional Chemical Engineering industries as well as emerging disciplines (such as biotechnology, environmental engineering, electronic materials and ceramics).
- Have a firm grounding in chemistry, mathematics, and physics.
- Can effectively use computers to solve problems in chemical engineering and related interdisciplinary areas.
- Can design, perform, and analyze the results of experiments relevant to the analysis or synthesis of chemical processes.
- Can communicate effectively, orally or in writing, with technical and non-technical audiences.
- Understand the intertwining among chemical engineering, society, and the environment, and are aware of the ethical responsibilities of engineers.
- Appreciate the importance of lifelong learning and teamwork.
Civil and Environmental Engineering
The field of civil and environmental engineering is a creative, people-oriented field. These engineers improve society's quality of life by enhancing the surroundings in which people live and by designing public works, transportation systems, buildings and structures, and much more.
Environmental engineering tackles problems such as hazardous waste management, drinking water treatment, municipal waste disposal, and other issues that affect the environment.
Civil and environmental engineers participate in many of the major engineering projects that enhance the quality of life. They use the latest technological tools such as artificial intelligence, computer modeling techniques and advanced instrumentation. These tools are applied in such areas as flood control, safety and reliability of structures, water resources management, hazardous waste management, water treatment and wastewater disposal, design of earthquake resistant structures, interaction of soil stability and structural foundations, structural design (including oil rigs, platforms, nuclear reactors, dams, and high-rise buildings), and renovation and design of roads, bridges, and highways.
Students' skills are developed in courses such as engineering analysis and computation, mechanics of deformable bodies, introduction to electric circuits and systems, fluid mechanics, hydraulics, and hydrology. New-found skills come together in a two-semester design sequence. The Capstone Project design courses challenge students to think, conceive, and create while addressing an engineering problem.
Students can choose from several areas of concentration: geotechnical, environmental, structural, offshore, and hydrosystems.
Mission StatementThe mission of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering is to educate tomorrow's engineers in a field that deals with the essentials of people's daily life. Civil and Environmental engineers use the latest technology tools such as computer modeling techniques and advanced instrumentation in the planning, design, construction, and operation of civil engineering systems and in the safeguard of the living environment. As every aspect of the field touches on the broader social and economical issues of a modern society, it is necessary that a comprehensive education plan should include not only the relevant latest science and technology knowledge but also the understanding of how a modern society functions. Furthermore, the rapid advance of human knowledge requires life-long learning and continued self-learning. Thus, it is essential that a student learns not only the knowledge itself but also how knowledge is created, acquired, and put to use for the betterment of people's lives.
The Civil and Environmental Engineering program is designed to offer students a broad-based education in the freshman and sophomore years and a more focused learning experience in the junior and senior years. The jobs available in the field of Civil and Environmental engineering are varied. Our graduates are prepared to fill any number of entry level positions because of the broad base developed in our curriculum. Further specialization after the senior year is offered in Graduate school where students focus on specific aspects of civil or environmental engineering.
Since each student may have a unique background, he/she often needs to have the counsel of an experienced advisor. Thus, the department considers advising as a high priority. Typically each student will have his/her own degree plan, which is based on a departmental curriculum. The department does not offer a separate undergraduate environmental engineering degree. Depending on students' choice of concentration in their junior and senior years, however, they may have different elective courses in their own degree plan. They may choose to take more elective courses in the area of environmental engineering, or hydraulic engineering and water resources, or geotechnical engineering, or structural engineering, etc.
Electrical and Computer Engineering
Electrical and computer engineering is the application of scientific principles to the solution of electrical problems. Electrical and computer engineers conceive, design, and develop electrical, electronic, and computer products and systems. They work in the fields of antennas and radio wave propagation, biomedical engineering, computer engineering, control and communications systems, electrical equipment design, integrated circuit fabrication, lasers and fiber optics, power systems, robotics and semiconductor devices. All of these must have a firm foundation in basic electrical engineering principles as well as particular expertise in the specialty.
Students prepare for the diverse field of electrical and computer engineering by taking courses such as circuits and linear systems, electronics, digital design, microprocessor systems, and electromagnetic theory. Students pursuing the Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering degree choose between the EE option and the Computer option. The EE option provides breadth and depth in the concentration areas of electromagnetics and solid state devices, power and controls, signals and communications, and electronics. Students choosing the computer option take advanced courses in data structures and algorithms, digital and computer system design, operating systems, and computer architecture. Both options culminate in a capstone design course in which students propose and complete a major design project as part of a team. The Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Engineering is aimed at those students who want a more specialized focus in the computer area. The Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering degree is ABET accredited. The department will seek ABET accreditation for the Bachelor of Science in Computer engineering as soon as possible.
Mission StatementAt the undergraduate level, the mission of the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department is to insure that our students acquire the necessary knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform successfully in the modern world as engineers, and to instill in them an ability for life-long learning and a sense of professional responsibility that will enable them to continue their professional development throughout their careers.
To fulfill our mission, we have set the following specific goals for our Undergraduate Program.
- To insure that each student acquires a solid knowledge-base in the fundamentals of mathematics and basic science, as well as the basic skills of critical thinking and problem solving.
- To develop within each student in the Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering program a thorough knowledge of the electrical engineering discipline, including a broad knowledge of the main fields, and an in-depth knowledge in one or more of these fields, chosen by the student.
- To develop within each student in the Bachelor of Science in Computer Engineering program a thorough knowledge of the computer engineering discipline, including a broad knowledge of the electrical and computer engineering fields, and an in-depth knowledge in the computer engineering field.
- To maintain a state-of-the-art set of laboratories and insure that students receive a significant and positive laboratory experience as part of their curriculum.
- To develop in each student the communication and team-working skills necessary to perform effectively as an engineer, and to impart to each student a sense of ethical and professional responsibility.
- To have each student obtain the type of real-world design experience that is crucial to the education of an engineer, including an appreciation for technical as well as economic and contemporary social issues.
- To give each student the ability to achieve life-long learning and a desire for professional development.
- To improve retention rates, promote academic success, and allow students to get the most from their educational experience by giving all students access to beneficial mentoring and advising.
- To instill students with an enthusiasm for electrical and computer engineering by offering exciting and interesting freshman engineering courses.
- To allow all students the opportunity to participate in a beneficial cooperative educational experience with industry during their program, if they choose to do so.
- To keep a sufficient percentage of the required courses in the program scheduled during the evening, so that part-time students can attend and complete the program.
Industrial Engineering
Industrial engineering is about productivity. It deals with people, their tools, and their work environment, and how to maximize output in an effective and safe manner. It is computer intensive.
Industrial engineers draw upon knowledge in mathematics, and physical and social sciences as they explore methods of better integrating employees, materials, and equipment in the work environment. They explore production from various perspectives: organizational structures, human factors, management methods, facility layout, manufacturing systems, expert systems, and artificial intelligence.
To prepare for the diverse opportunities in industrial engineering, students are instructed in four major areas of the industrial engineering curriculum: manufacturing systems, management systems, knowledge-based methodologies, and ergonomics. In the curriculum, students experience manufacturing processes, planning and control of costs, quality control, human factors, facility layout, management functions, and operations research. Students are also trained in basic engineering sciences, statistics, computer operations, materials science, and modern analytical tools such as digital simulation.
Mission StatementOur educational mission is to prepare students for successful Industrial Engineering careers in industry, academe, or government. The IE education emphasizes the analysis, design, and operation of those industrial systems which produce and distribute goods and services. Graduates develop the analytical and organizational leadership skills necessary to coordinate material, machinery, and manpower utilization while addressing human factors and safety issues.
Mechanical Engineering
Mechanical engineers create machines, materials, and systems that satisfy a particular function. They deal with problems in areas such as energy conversion, design of mechanical components and systems, man and machine environments, and instrumentation and control of processes.
Mechanical engineering has applications in all phases of industry, including such challenging fields as aerospace, materials, design, and product reliability and safety. Mechanical engineers consider acoustics, fluid mechanics, design, thermodynamics, mechanics, and heat transfer in addressing problems.
The department's curriculum provides students with the opportunity to learn how to think creatively and logically, and how to use new-found knowledge to address complex problems. A four-course design sequence challenges students with creative design problems. To solve these problems, students use skills learned from classes in mechanics of materials, experimental methods, engineering analysis, mechanical design, materials science, thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, heat transfer, mechanics, and acoustics.
Mission StatementThe mission of the undergraduate program is to produce graduates with a balanced education in mechanical engineering who are able to pursue learning and practice effectively in their profession.
Objectives for the undergraduate program are for the student to accomplish the following:
- A knowledge of basic mathematics and the natural-, engineering- and systems-sciences, as well as the basic skills of learning and critical thinking.
- a desire for intellectual discovery and exploration of the unknown.
- an awareness of and interest in the breadth of human intellectual achievement and cultural experience, including the accomplishments of the engineering profession.
- an appreciation of the ethical, democratic, economic and other value systems, and the formation of such values.
- the ability to perform the integration of knowledge in the practice of engineering.
Other Departmental Information and Degree Information Links
Engineering (ENGI) Coordinator:
Larry C. WitteEngineering PROMES (EGRP) Coordinator:
Gerald F. PaskuszPetroleum Engineering (PETR) Coordinator:
Christine Ehlig-Economides
Web: www.chee.uh.edu/petroleumLinks to Degree Information:
Chemical Engineering
Civil and Environment Engineering
Electrical and Computer Engineering
Industrial Engineering
Mechanical Engineering
Files Archived: Friday, April 28, 2005