Venkatesh Balan, Associate Professor, Biotechnology Program, Department of Engineering Technology, University of Houston
Driss Benhaddou, Professor, Computer Engineering Technology Program, Department of Engineering Technology, University of Houston
Weihang Zhu, Professor, Mechanical Engineering Technology Program, Department of Engineering Technology, University of Houston
Graduate Students
Masha Alian, Doctoral Student, Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Houston, since Spring 2022 (advisor Dr. Venkatesh Balan)
Doctoral Student, Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Houston, since Spring 2022 (advisor Dr. Driss Benhaddou)
Jiming Kang, Doctoral Student, Mechanical Engineering, University of Houston, since Fall 2022 (co-advisor Dr. Weihang Zhu and Dr. Gangbing Song)
Muhammad Muzamil Hussain, Doctoral Student, Mechanical Engineering, University of Houston, since Spring 2020 (co-advisor Dr. Weihang Zhu and Dr. Li Sun)
Sandesh Risal, Doctoral Student, Mechanical Engineering, University of Houston, since Spring 2019 (co-advisor Dr. Weihang Zhu and Dr. Li Sun)
Ezra Wari, Doctoral Student, Industrial Engineering, University of Houston, since Spring 2020 (co-advisor Dr. Weihang Zhu and Dr. Gino Lim)
Yiyi Zhang, Master Student, Biotechnology Program, University of Houston (advisor Dr. Venkatesh Balan)
Undergraduate
Muhammad Ayser, Biology Program, University of Houston
Collaborator
Monterrey Mushroom, Madisonville, TX
Kitchen Pride, Gonzales, TX
Current Funding
US Department of Agriculture grant #13111855 IOT Based Smart Automated Mushroom Production System, PI Dr. Balan, co-PI Drs. Benhaddou and Zhu, June 2021 – May 2024, $500,000;
US Department of Agriculture grant #13424031 “Developing Automated Robotic System for Mushroom Harvesting”, PI Dr. Zhu, co-PI Drs. Benhaddou, Balan and Merchant, September 2022 – August 2025, $590,004;
UH Division of Research, “Large-Scale Testbed at UH Sugarland Campus for Promoting Biotechnology Research”, PI. Dr. Balan, with Dr. Benhaddou, Jan 2023 – Jan 2024, $320,803