image: Fazle Hussain, professor of mechanical engineering at UH's Cullen College of Engineering, was the sole recipient of the Gordon and Betty Moore Distinguished Scholars Program appointment issued this year for Caltech’s division of engineering and applied sciences. view more
Credit: University of Houston
The California Institute of Technology has invited a longtime University of Houston engineering professor to spend next spring doing research and presenting seminars on its campus.
Fazle Hussain, professor of mechanical engineering at UH's Cullen College of Engineering, was the sole recipient of the Gordon and Betty Moore Distinguished Scholars Program appointment issued this year for Caltech's division of engineering and applied sciences. The program, started in 2000 with a $300 million gift from Intel Corp. co-founder Gordon Moore, invites to the campus technologists, scholars, researchers and artists of great distinction.
"I was thrilled to learn of the selection and readily accepted the invitation," said Hussain, director of UH's Institute of Fluid Dynamics and Turbulence. "I am looking forward to having exciting discussion and collaboration with Caltech faculty and students, who are among the best in the world."
In January, Hussain will begin his six-month visit to the Pasadena, Calif., campus, where he will collaborate with aeronautics and bioengineering professor Morteza "Mory" Gharib, whose research includes bioinspired design and mechanics and nano fluid mechanics.
"There are no teaching or other obligations during the appointment, allowing the Moore scholars to focus on research," said Caltech's Marlys Murray. "The program is unique and brings exceptional researchers to Caltech to infuse our community with vigorous, inspired discussions and share the details through seminars and lectures."
Gharib, who called Hussain "a world-renowned authority in fluid mechanics," is eager to collaborate. "The Gordon Moore award brings high-quality scientists to campus so we have the chance to experience research and academics alongside them," he said. "We hope this experience will be as rewarding for him as it will be for us."
Hussain, who also is a professor of earth and atmospheric sciences, physics, and health and human performance at UH, holds a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology. He received a master's and Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from Stanford University in 1966 and 1969, respectively. After post-doctoral work at Johns Hopkins University, he joined the UH faculty in 1971.
Throughout his career, he has received more than $10 million in research funding from state and federal sources and has published more than 250 scientific papers. He has received four coveted awards in fluid dynamics from the American Physical Society, the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, and the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. A member of the National Academy of Engineering, Hussain in 2007 was awarded the University of Houston's highest faculty honor, the Esther Farfel Award.