Dr. Ramanan Krishnamoorti, Vice President of Energy and Innovation

Dr. Ramanan Krishnamoorti is the Vice President of Energy and Innovation at the University of Houston. Prior to his current position, Krishnamoorti served as interim vice president for research and technology transfer for UH and the UH System.

During his tenure at the university, he has served as chair of the UH Cullen College of Engineering’s chemical and biomolecular engineering department, associate dean of research for engineering, professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering with affiliated appointments as professor of petroleum engineering and professor of chemistry. Dr. Krishnamoorti obtained his bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology Madras and doctoral degree in chemical engineering from Princeton University in 1994.

Dr. Joe Powell, Founding Executive Director

Joe Powell (Joseph B. Powell, PhD) joined U of H in Fall 2022, is Fellow and former Director of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers and served as global Shell’s first Chief Scientist – Chemical Engineering from 2006 – 2020, culminating a 36-year industry career where he led R&D programs in new chemical processes, biofuels, enhanced oil recovery, and advised on strategy for the energy transition to a net-zero carbon economy.

He is co-inventor on more than 125 patent applications (60 granted), has received AIChE / ACS / R&D Magazine awards for Innovation, Service, and Practice, and is co-author of Sustainable Development in the Process Industries: Cases and Impact (2010).

He chaired the U.S. Department of Energy Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technical Advisory Committee (HTAC) and was elected to the U. S. National Academy of Engineering (2021) after serving two terms on its Board on Chemical Sciences and Technology. Dr. Powell obtained a PhD from the U. Wisconsin-Madison (1984); and a BS from the U. Virginia (1978), both in chemical engineering.

Dr. Debalina Sengupta, Chief Operating Officer

Debalina Sengupta is the Chief Operating Officer of the UH Energy Transition Institute. In this role, she will work alongside Joe Powell, founding executive director of the institute, the executive team and the ETI Advisory Board to develop and implement strategic plans, enabling the institute to achieve its many goals and objectives.

A chemical engineer with over 18 years of experience working on sustainability and resilience issues, Sengupta Sengupta joins UH from Texas A&M University where she was the Coastal Resilience Program director for Texas Sea Grant, a federal-state partnership program funded by the U.S. Department of Commerce National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Previously, she has served as the associate director of the Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station’s Gas and Fuels Research Center; coordinator of the Water, Energy and Food Nexus at Texas A&M Energy Institute; and lecturer at the Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering, also at TAMU.

Her work has included developing collaborative projects with researchers from Colombia, Mexico, Brazil, Spain, China, France, Greece, India, Ireland, South Africa, Thailand, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Egypt and other countries. She has also led projects that engage underrepresented communities following principles of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Justice, and Access, STEM based research, extension, and education.

She has a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from Jadavpur University in India and a doctorate from Louisiana State University focusing on process systems engineering. Sengupta also worked as a postdoctoral research fellow at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency through a fellowship from the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education.