2 NRI families provide financial support to University of Houston

Houston: Two Indian-American families in US state of Texas have provided considerable financial support for a new research and engineering building in the University of Houston campus. The new building, designed to encourage collaboration, will house core facilities shared by researchers from departments around the campus, including high-performance computing facilities, a nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometer lab and imaging facilities.

Construction on the USD 51 million Multidisciplinary Research and Engineering Building began this fall with occupancy scheduled for 2016, a statement issued by the university said without divulging the amount it received from the two families. With four siblings, all are alumni of the UH Cullen College of Engineering, the Mehta family, together with UH engineering graduate Durga Agrawal and his wife, Sushila, have made significant contributions to the building.

UH President Renu Khator said the gifts highlight the university's global student body. "We continue to take pride in the University of Houston's international stature, serving students, scholars and researchers from around the world who are working to address global problems," she said.

"The enlightened generosity of the Mehta and Agrawal families is helping to build a world-class facility that allows UH to remain a welcoming and innovative place for this important work," she added. The new building will be constructed in the footprint of the historic Y-Building, a 1950s-era airplane hangar that was originally intended to be a temporary structure. Agrawal, who is now a member of the UH System Board of Regents, was serving on the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board when the new building was approved.