Research
The College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics is a research powerhouse. The college is dedicated to excellence in research in the physical, biological, and computational sciences, and promotes a strong national and international research agenda.
Faculty members across the college are involved in cutting-edge research, with NSM reporting $42 million (FY 2024) in annual research expenditures. The range of expertise among our six departments makes it possible to match student and faculty interests closely.
Focus Areas
Energy
NSM faculty study superconductivity, exploration geophysics, and the environmental and atmospheric science that underpin energy research — from subsurface imaging to air quality monitoring. This work is anchored by centers including the Allied Geophysical Laboratories, the Institute for Climate and Atmospheric Science, and the Rock Physics Laboratory.
Biosciences
Research spans behavioral genetics, neuroscience, evolutionary biology, and biomedical imaging and modeling, connecting molecular-level discovery to whole-organism and population-level questions. The Biology of Behavior Institute and the Center for Nuclear Receptors and Cell Signaling bring together faculty across these areas.
Materials & Nanoscience
Faculty investigate the properties and applications of materials at the smallest scales, with particular strength in superconducting materials through the Texas Center for Superconductivity at UH — one of the nation’s leading superconductivity research centers.
High Performance Computing
NSM researchers use advanced computational methods to model complex systems across the sciences, supported by resources like the Research Computing Data Core and the Hewlett Packard Enterprise Data Science Institute.
Institutes & Centers
Interdisciplinary research is strong at NSM, and our faculty has established many institutes and centers that focus faculty and student interest in topics that draw upon multiple areas of expertise.
Many institutes and centers support undergraduate and graduate students as research assistants, and all play an integral role in the academic programs of the university. These organizations attract many scientific visitors to campus who engage in cooperative research with UH faculty and students, participate in seminar series, and supervise independent research projects.
Centers and institutes with significant College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics faculty involvement are listed below.
- Allied Geophysical Laboratories (AGL)
Director: Robert Stewart, Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences - Biology of Behavior Institute (BoBI)
Director: Brigitte Dauwalder, Department of Biology and Biochemistry - Center for Nuclear Receptors and Cell Signaling (CNRCS)
Director: Weiyi Peng, Department of Biology and Biochemistry - Conjugate Basins, Tectonics and Hydrocarbons Project (CBTH)
P.I.: Paul Mann, Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences - Institute for Climate and Atmospheric Science (ICAS)
Director: Bernhard Rappenglueck, Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences - Low Frequency Seismic Technologies Consortium (LFST)
Director: Mark A. Meier, Department of Physics - Mission-Oriented Seismic Research Program (M-OSRP)
Director: Arthur B. Weglein, Department of Physics - Research Computing Data Core
Housing the Hewlett Packard Enterprise Data Science Institute (HPE DSI) resources to advance high-performance computing at the University of Houston. - Rock Physics Laboratory
Director: Yingcai Zheng, Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences - Texas Center for Superconductivity at the University of Houston (TcSUH)
Director: Zhifeng Ren, Department of Physics - University of Houston Coastal Center (UHCC)
Director: Ramanan Krishnamoorti, Vice President for Energy and Innovation, UH Energy
Interdisciplinary research also is strong within and among the college’s six departments, with other UH colleges, and with other institutions. Many faculty members have joint appointments within the college and with other departments at UH, facilitating collaborative research and providing rich training opportunities for both graduate and undergraduate students.