Rice University and Flowserve Corp., a manufacturer of equipment for the oil and gas industry, have finalized a partnership to support research into energy transition and flow control.
The collaboration was initiated in 2021 by Marcia O’Malley, associate dean for research and innovation in the George R. Brown School of Engineering at Rice, and Tauseef Salma, who earned her Ph.D. in chemical engineering from Rice in 1997 and formerly the vice president for global marketing, technology and strategy at Flowserve, based in Irving, Texas.
“We look forward to finding innovative solutions to industry challenges, thanks to the research being done at Rice,” said Owais Mughal, director of product marketing at Flowserve.
Flowserve has agreed to fund five research projects at Rice for a total of almost $500,000. The recipients are Matthew Brake, associate professor of mechanical engineering ; Laura Schaefer, the Burton J. and Ann M. McMurtry Chair in Engineering, and professor of mechanical engineering; Jun Lou, professor of materials science and nanoengineering; Muhammad Rahman, assistant research professor of materials science and nanoengineering; Daniel Preston, assistant professor of mechanical engineering; and Rafael Verduzco, professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering.
“This partnership exemplifies the innovation of our faculty, and the impact and translational potential of our research. It serves as an example of how faculty can partner with industry to move technologies from the lab to the field,” O’Malley said. “We transitioned quickly from our first interactions with Flowserve to launching the projects. We hope it can serve as a model for additional collaborative opportunities with industry and other external partners.”