Neurological disorders like Parkinson’s, the aftermath of stroke, limb loss and paralysis significantly diminish the length and quality of life – affecting about one in six people worldwide. But a growing number of biomedical innovations, driven in large part by an aging population dealing with debilitating health issues, are improving both cognitive and motor function.

Just yesterday it seemed to be an empty office space you probably ignored as you walked off the elevator on the third floor of the Cullen College of Engineering Building Two. What a difference a day – and the Engineering Career Services Center – can make.

As one of the pioneering instructors in the subsea engineering program, Phaneendra Kondapi is a familiar name at the UH Cullen College of Engineering. Now Kondapi is forging new paths at the college once again, this time as the founding director of engineering programs in Katy, Texas.

Kondapi, who returns to UH after serving as the director of subsea engineering at Texas A&M University for the past year, will spearhead the expansion of UH Engineering program offerings in Katy.

Imagine an electronic “tattoo” on your skin that could continuously monitor your health, or tiny, biocompatible sensors that could treat a traumatic brain injury at the site. It may seem like science fiction, or at least a dream of a very distant future – but as John Rogers of Northwestern University explained to the UH community last week, these are both current examples of biocompatible devices that can integrate with the human body.