News/Media

HARC has earned the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) ENERGY STAR® certification for superior energy performance.

HARC will partner with City of Houston to develop its Climate Action Plan. “In follow up to our work on the City of Houston’s Sustainability Action Plan, this initiative will support environmental sustainability community-wide,” states Dr. Gavin Dillingham, HARC's Program Director, Clean Energy Policy.

For the fourth straight year the Galveston Bay has earned a C grade in its annual report card.

Galveston Bay receives a grade of "C" in the 2018 Galveston Bay Report Card.

The 2018 Galveston Bay Report Card prepared by the Galveston Bay Foundation and the Houston Advanced Research Center was featured as part of an online interview with Houston Matters host, Craig Cohen.

2018 Galveston Bay Report Card featured in online article by Houstonia magazine. Important resources and follow up actions are included to help improve the health of waterways.

Researchers Gavin Dillingham and Carlos Gamarra, leading the DOE’s CHP Southcentral and Upperwest CHP TAPs, recently published an article in the American Public Gas Association (APGA) trade association publication “The Source.” The article discusses how CHP can improve a facilities resilience and keep the lights on during and after a major power outage event.

The May/June issue of Texas Architect features articles on how the state’s changing energy landscape is affecting architecture. Rives Taylor, Regional Sustainability Leader within Gensler’s Houston office and lead designer of the HARC facility, comments on the high performance features of the building in his article, Electric Eye.

HARC President Lisa Gonzalez discusses the Greater Houston Flood Mitigation Consortium report.

Houston Endowment gives Houston Advanced Research Center (HARC) and Galveston Bay Foundation (GBF) a $455,000 grant to provide the Galveston Bay Report Card for another two years.

Each year, the Houston Business Journal's Landmark Awards recognize real estate projects that are making a significant impression on the Houston landscape and improve the look, feel and image of the city. HARC was honored to learn that its LEED-Platinum facility is a finalist in the “Headquarters Move” category.

"That juxtaposition of development patterns with wetland and habitat loss are two things that have led to where we are, given our recurring flooding issues," said Lisa Gonzalez, HARC's President and CEO.

HARC’s green headquarters, constructed by Brookstone LP and designed by Gensler, was presented the Award of Merit in the Engineering News Record Texas & Louisiana's 2017 Best Projects on October 18, 2017.

HARC’s LEED Platinum headquarters was recently featured in Modern Steel Construction, the official publication of the American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC). The article highlighted the Whole Building Life Cycle Assessment (WBLCA) undertaken by the project’s civil engineering partner, Walter P Moore, and the resulting utilization of a steel-framed structure, one that led to a 20% reduction in embodied CO2 associated with the building’s structural and enclosure systems.

Decentralized Energy references HARC’s focus on clean energy policy in recent article.

HARC Coastal Ecologist Dr. Erin Kinney interview on NOS Dutch TV on Hurricane Harvey, its causes and impacts.

The New York Times discusses the history of Houston’s development and flooding, citing Dr. Erin Kinney’s research on wetland loss in the Houston-Galveston region. Read the original blog post and view our Watershed and Wetland Permit Planning Tool and Galveston Bay Report Card Wetland loss grade.

HARC President Lisa Gonzalez speaks on rapid development as a contributing factor to flooding in many Houston neighborhoods affected by tropical storm Harvey.

Houston Chronicle editorial board speaks on the Galveston Bay Report Card highlighting the need for coastal data.

Houston Matters host, Craig Cohen, speaks with HARC President Lisa Gonzalez about what contributed to this year’s overall grade of “C” in the Galveston Bay Foundation’s annual report card.

Houston Chronicle editorial on the Galveston Bay Report Card and the need to support programs providing data for important coastal issues.

HARC's Jennifer Ronk, Program Director, Environmental Science and Energy Efficiency, discusses the impacts of warming climate on Texas' economy.

KUHF speaks with HARC's Jay Olaguer on Houston's commitment to clean air and ways to reduce ozone.

“This building is not only a testimony to the legacy of my parents, Cynthia and George Mitchell, but also to the HARC staff and the important research that is carried out every day," said Todd Mitchell, Chairman of the HARC Board of Directors.

The effects of climate change and the future of flood mitigation in the region is debated by local officials, but HARC’s Lisa Gonzalez says a paradigm shift in how we deal with these issues is needed.

The City of Houston recently announced an expansion in renewable energy. The city agreed to purchase an additional 20 megawatts of solar power. Today, we examine solar energy with Dr. Gavin Dillingham, program director for clean energy policy at the Houston Advanced Research Center (HARC), and Bill Swann, TXRX Labs.

HARC Board members John Hall and Ramanan Krishnamoorti discuss renewable energy and natural gas in Texas.

“There’s a whole new generation of analytical techniques that allow us to do much more than what we were able to do some time ago" said HARC's Jay Olaguer.

HARC's Jay Olaguer "BEE-TEX study found very different results from those being touted by the TCEQ as the reason to de-list Galena Park."

HARC's Jennifer Ronk discusses the importance of developing both wind and solar for electrical energy production.

HARC's Rich Haut co-authors article on the "rising consensus that our nation’s future economic competitiveness depends upon strengthening our students’ skills in STEM."

HARC President Lisa Gonzalez and Galveston Bay Foundation President Bob Stokes discuss the 2nd annual Galveston Bay Report Card.

The 2016 Galveston Bay Report Card cites 19 indicators impacting the Bay, grouped into six critical issues.

"You look at Galveston Bay and you compare it to any other large estuary around the country and we are doing pretty well," said HARC President Lisa Gonzalez.

“The Galveston Bay Report Card was undertaken to identify the most immediate needs of this vital natural resource” Galveston Bay Foundation President Bob Stokes.

HARC President Lisa Gonzalez and Galveston Bay Foundation President Bob Stokes discuss the health of Galveston Bay and the purpose of the Galveston Bay Report Card.

HARC's Stephanie Glenn discusses water quality and water safety issues in rural areas.

HARC supports Bruce Race and local innovators' discussion of new waste management strategies.

"We think people are going to be talking about it because it's going to be the greenest building in The Woodlands," said Jim Lester on HARC's future headquarters.

“The goal is economic development of clean energy,” said HTC Managing Director Charles Wohl on paving the way for clean energy start-ups in The Woodlands.

"If we could change the system, do much more immediate analysis and modeling right away in areas prone to this stuff, it could change the whole game entirely” said HARC's Jay Olaguer.

Jay Olaguer discusses the environmental impact of oil flowing through and being stored around the Houston area. “These are not obvious events. They’re basically invisible vapors,” says Olaguer.

"People have this idea that every time they turn on the faucet, water ought to come out of the tap, and they have an idea that that will happen the rest of their life," says Jim Lester, HARC's President and Chief Executive Officer.

HARC's Alex Cuclis speaks on the smog problem in the Houston area. "We're not out of the woods yet, but at the same time, we are a lot better than we were 10 years ago," Cuclis said.

"The little amount of downtime we’ve had, for this being a pilot project and how well it’s functioned, it’s been first-class all the way through.” said Rich Haut on the success on the completion of a unique gas-capture technology in the Bakken.

HARC's EFD Program, with GCGE and Hess Corporation, operated ElectraTherm's Power+ Generator to reduce flaring while generating low-emission electricity in the Bakken.

HARC's Carolyn LaFleur, Research Associate, Energy Production, speaks on working toward bringing two new projects to the Bakken. “We’re prepared to mobilize whenever they can work it out,” LaFleur said. “It’s a very nice synergy with the need to use flare gas, stranded gas, particularly in the Bakken where it’s such an issue.”

Officials of Iraq Ministry of Oil tours gas capture research project at a Hess Corporation well site conducted by HARC’s EFD Program.

"Any endeavor in the Arctic faces a world of challenges oil companies don't encounter in most other places," said HARC's Rich Haut, moderator of the symposium.

HARC's Stephanie Glenn and Jim Lester pens article on the critical need of groundwater management in Montgomery County.

HARC's Jim Lester discusses the newly launched collaboration with HTC. “Our partnership with HTC North gives HARC a significant opportunity to advance real solutions to sustainability problems," said Jim Lester.

Each method—pipeline, rail, boat or truck—has its pros and cons. The Wall Street Journal looks to HARC for information on spills of oil and related liquids a year in Galveston Bay.

In its first Galveston Bay Report Card, HARC and the Galveston Bay Foundation gave the bay a “C” grade, indicating it is “adequate for now” but conditions will deteriorate without further action. “The overall grade of a C for Galveston Bay is not the end, but just the beginning,” HARC Vice President Lisa Gonzalez said in a news release.

The oil-spill settlement will be utilized to restore underwater seagrass and to acquire acres of Clear Creek to serve as a buffer to help reduce the amount of pollution entering Galveston Bay. According the recent report card issued by Galveston Bay Foundation and HARC, action is needed to prevent more assault on the bay.

Galveston Bay is facing a shortage of oysters and surplus of pollution. The assessment was prepared with data analyzed by HARC researchers.

Jim Lester, President and Chief Executive Officer, and Lisa Gonzalez, Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, speak on the loss of wetlands by developers in the greater Houston area.

Jennifer Ronk, Program Director, Environmental Science and Energy Efficiency, speaks on what Houstonians need to expect with more extreme heat days in incoming years.

HARC's Gavin Dillingham pens letter to the editor on energy efficiency.

Houston Advanced Research Center was instrumental in launching Education for Tomorrow Alliance 25 years ago.

We need to be ahead of the curve and operate as efficiently as possible," said Gavin Dillingham, on the importance of Houston's energy efficiency action plan.

Jim Lester, President and Chief Executive Officer of HARC, discusses Houston looking to save water before seeking money to build a bigger distribution system.

HARC's Jim Lester weighs in on expansion and affordability of groundwater supply in Houston.

HARC's Gavin Dillingham, Clean Energy Policy, speaks on the state of energy efficiency and renewable energy policy for the state of Texas and City of Houston.

Jay Olaguer discusses ways to measure pollution plumes in North Texas. Given the measurement challenges, “traditional methods are really inadequate for the task at hand,” he said.

"Without knowing the reasons, it's too early to conclude what the drop in clams says about the bay's well-being", said Jim Lester, president of HARC.

The Galveston Bay Foundation and Houston Advanced Research Center have launched the first phase of the Galveston Bay Report Card, and are seeking your input about bay health.

“The use of this state-of-the-art gaming software and graphics application is intended to familiarize users with the best practices associated with hydraulic fracturing, as well as increase the public’s understanding of these operations,” Rich Haut said.

"Given all that, where would you plant the trees, and how would it help?" said Alex Cuclis on planting trees to combat Houston air pollution.

Alex Cuclis, Research Scientist, Air Quality and Emissions, discusses whether fence-line monitors were the right approach to solve the impact of pollution being released by refineries.

Three years ago this week, crews capped and sealed two pits of paper mill sludge that had long poisoned the San Jacinto River..."The cap has gone a long way to reduce short-term risk," states Jennifer Ronk.

HARC's President and Chief Executive Officer, Jim Lester, discusses the consequences of the Antarctic melt on the Gulf Coast.

“It's like death by a thousand cuts, especially when you combine the oil spills with all of the other stressors to the bay,” says Lisa Gonzalez on impact of the oil spill into Galveston Bay on March 22, 2014.

The heavy oil spilled into Galveston Bay causes concern for the nation's great natural nurseries. HARC's analysis reveals that oil spills are typically small, averaging about 100 gallons per incident. The latest spill is the largest in the Ship Channel since a facility leaked 70,000 gallons of bunker fuel in 2000.

HARC's Stephanie Glenn and the Double Bayou Watershed Protection Plan team review stakeholder ideas on potential voluntary solutions to water quality concerns in Double Bayou.

HARC Researcher, David Hitchcock, serves as a member of Bike The Woodlands Coalition pushing for bicycle lanes and shoulders to make the area more rider-friendly.

HARC's Vice President, Lisa Gonzalez, presents The State of Galveston Bay at the Deer Park Community Advisory Council final meeting of the year.

Jim Lester discusses the importance of funds created by Proposition 6 should be prioritized for conservation and more innovative water strategies.

HARC’s Jim Lester weighs in on critical view of Tx water plan.

HARC Research Scientists, Rich Haut and Birnur Guven, discuss the importance of capturing and reusing natural gas and ways to reduce the amount of air pollution associated with the equipment.

Few business people have done as much to change the world as George Mitchell.

Scott Tong was the last person to interview George Mitchell back in December of last year.

"If you're not measuring, you're just guessing," says Alex Cuclis, a chemical engineer who worked at a refinery for 15 years and now studies air pollution at the independent Houston Advanced Research Center.

Despite the many advantages of storing water underground, water utilities typically don't understand that the technology is tested and ready to use, according to HARC President Jim Lester. "It just makes so much more sense" than surface reservoirs, he says.

Through another HARC and City of Houston partnership, a new sustainable transportation alternative is made available for Houston residents. HARC’s role was to secure funding and manage the implementation of the new bike sharing program.

Rising sea levels are likely to cover the coastal highway on the unprotected west end of Galveston sooner than previously predicted.

Integral to the cadre of scientists and engineers concerned about undercounts is Alex Cuclis, an air pollution researcher with the Houston Advanced Research Center. He's also determined to broaden the use of advanced instruments to measure rather than estimate emissions.

David Hitchcock, member of The Woodlands GREEN and director of sustainable transportation programs at the Houston Advanced Research Center, was equally pleased. "We often have more to recycle than would fit in the smaller containers, as do several of our neighbors. Hitchcock added that the lids on the new carts will keep the contents from getting wet or from attracting wildlife.

Developed decades ago, hydraulic fracturing involves the process of breaking up heavy oil- and gas-bearing shale formations by pumping millions of gallons of chemically tainted water through vertical and lateral wells at intense pressure. Only in recent years has the practice become cost effective for industry, as advances in technology have been matched by rising energy prices.