Dr. Dan Luss

Veteran Professor Continues to Play Key Role at UH

You could say that Dan Luss (at center in photo) is one of UH’s most established and experienced professors and researchers on campus. You could say that his more than 30 years experience at UH have been some of the most productive and exciting years UH has had. You could also say that Luss is one of UH’s most engaging, talented and optimistic minds, helping shape UH as a leader in higher education. And you would be right on all accounts.

One of the featured faculty members in UH’s groundbreaking marketing campaign, Luss joined UH in 1967, partly at the urging of another longstanding UH researcher, Neal Amundson, and partly because he was attracted to the freedom of academic research as opposed to the rigid demands of the private sector.

“I came to Houston to interview with Shell. Then I spoke with Neal and he told me to go to UH. I saw the program, its potential and goals, and I liked what I saw. So I came here and succeeded in building an internationally recognized program,” explained Luss. “In industry, your research has a specific goal. Once you accomplish it, you stop, no matter how intrigued you are by it. In a university you are allowed to continue research for as long as that problem intrigues you. You don’t have to stop just because you have accomplished one specific goal.”

Under his and his colleagues’ leadership, the chemical engineering program at UH has risen to a position competitive with renowned universities such as MIT, Princeton and UCLA, according to many polls and surveys.

His work has hardly gone unnoticed as he has earned several awards, including being elected to the National Academy of Engineers in 1984. In addition, Luss has authored more than 250 articles.

Despite his accomplishments and awards, however, Luss is always looking ahead and is most enthusiastic when he is asked about his current projects and future goals.

“Right now we are conducting research related to fuel cells. Their direct chemical-to-electrical energy conversion is far more efficient that any other route. They already are in space stations, and in the future, they are expected to provide cleaner power to buses, cars and homes,” he said. “Right now the cost of fuel cell materials is still too high to compete with conventional power stations, but we are working on developing more economical materials, which ultimately should enable a more economical production of electrical power using fuel cells.”

Having a tremendous sense of humor and a smile that lights up a room, Luss defies conventional notions of what a gifted chemical engineer should conform to. He jokes about the various aspects of his research and enjoys telling stories.

“I would never even consider leaving the university for industry. Here you study what you want as long as you want and I have total freedom,” said Luss. “You just have to convince some funding agency to support the work…which is sometimes even harder to accomplish!”

Outside of the university, Luss enjoys the opera, the theatre and various museums. He cites modern art as his favorite genre. While his work and other pleasures leave him little time, he does try to take in a swim from time to time.