September 10, 2018 | UHCL Staff
With a doctorate in a STEM field, University of Houston-Clear Lake’s Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering Mohsen Daghooghi knew he had many career options across many industries in Houston. “I came to Houston with the intention of working in academia because I know I am inherently a teacher,” he said.
Daghooghi came to the U.S. in 2009 from Iran, where he completed his undergraduate
and one master’s degree in mechanical engineering. “I came here to apply for a Ph.D.
program and continue my education.”
He is one of two new faculty members to join UH-Clear Lake’s new Mechanical Engineering program, that now operates within the university’s state-of-the-art Science, Technology, Engineering and Math and Classroom Building. The university celebrated the STEM and Classroom Building’s grand opening on Aug. 24.
He received his second master’s degree and later, his doctorate from State University of New York at Buffalo in 2015. Before coming to UH-Clear Lake, he worked at The Research Foundation for SUNY, and later as a postdoctoral research associate in the Texas Engineering Experiment Station, a research agency within the Texas A&M University System.
“I had a very warm interview here, and I saw a huge potential for the growth of the mechanical engineering program,” he said. “To be at the front edge of a new program and feel that I’m part of its development makes me very proud. It’s very ambitious and I am motivated and inspired to help build this into a well-recognized program.”
He said that he looked forward to working with Professor and Mechanical Engineering Program Chair Jeff Mountain. “Dr. Mountain has great experience and he’s been a great mentor,” he said. “He has made impressive developments in mechanical engineering programs in other universities all over the country, and it’s an honor for me to work with him.”
Daghooghi said that he was drawn to UHCL because of the positive feedback he’d received from other professors, and because he’d be working in a new building. “It’s more than new. It’s state of the art,” he said. “Professors have all they need to teach. Every detail in classrooms and engineering equipment in labs shows that they did a wonderful job purchasing. If you compare the equipment we have to other universities, you would say this is nothing less than a Tier One university, if not better.”
In this setting, he said, undergraduate students are lucky to be able to experience a real mechanical engineering environment. “Students here have the best opportunity to engage with engineering challenges. The class size is optimal,” he said. “There’s a great chance to communicate one-on-one with instructors that you can’t find everywhere. The core ME courses at big universities often have over 200 students in a class. What is the chance for students to ask questions in a class that size? How can a professor make sure they are getting the concepts?”
Here, he continued, a professor can speak to each individual and he can see each student is focused and participating. “It’s a great time for students to get their degree in mechanical engineering here,” he said. “With these new facilities, everything is optimal.”
For more information about UHCL’s Mechanical Engineering program, visit www.uhcl.edu/academics/degrees/mechanical-engineering-bs.
