The GURI grant program was one of Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s legislative priorities in the 2015 legislative session, with the goal of bringing more of the world’s top researchers to Texas. It offers matching grants to help eligible institutions of higher education in recruiting distinguished researchers. During the inaugural year, Texas institutions recruited 10 researchers, all members of national honorific societies including the National Academies and The Royal Society in the United Kingdom.
Dr. Ganesh C. Thakur, NAE, received the GURI grant in 2016 and was recruited by the University of Houston to serve in dual roles. As Distinguished Professor of Petroleum Engineering, Dr. Thakur conducts research and guides PhD students in the field of integrated petroleum reservoir management, surveillance and monitoring of primary, secondary and EOR (enhanced oil recovery), production, production forecasting using data analytics and physics, waterflooding and EOR unconventional and heavy oil reservoirs. As UH Director for Energy Industry Partnerships, Dr. Thakur promotes a high level synergy and teamwork of integrated petroleum reservoir management throughout UH as well as Houston and Texas.