HARC Program Areas, Projects & Expertise

An Independent
Research Hub
Helping
People Thrive and
Nature Flourish

Program Areas & Projects

Air Quality & Climate

Air Research Information Infrastructure (ARII)
PI: Jay Olaguer
ARII combines Google Maps and Google Earth tools, data warehousing/On-Line Analytical Processing (OLAP) software, and data mining algorithms to enable researchers and the general public to access and analyze air quality observations, model predictions, and emissions inventories, including the visualization of air pollution trajectories in three dimensions.

New Technology Research & Development Program
PI: Yiqun Huang
HARC serves as the research management organization for the Texas Enviromental Research Consortium to implement Texas' New Technology Research & Development Program. This program assists those who are developing new technologies to reduce nitrogen oxide emissions from diesel engines. Approximately $8 million dollars are awarded for research grants each year.

Sustainable Transportation Programs
PI: David Hitchcock The Sustainable Transportation Program has been created to provide a focal point within HARC for transportation, air quality, energy and technology projects that involve the skills and experience of HARC's multi-disciplinary staff and mission.

Texas Climate Initiative
PI: Bob Harriss
The Texas Climate Initiative (TCI) is a unique public resource dedicated to the advance of climate change science and education in Texas. In addition to other publications, Texas Climate News editor Bill Dawson reports on climate and sustainability in Texas.

Third Ward Sustainability Project
PI: Bob Harriss
The project will document environmental, economic, and demographic trends in Houston’s Historic Third Ward, 1950-present. The quantitative environmental information will be complemented by qualitative interviews with three generations of Third Ward residents recording their personal memories and experiences with environmental and land use changes.

Update on HARC Air Quality Model
Since the publication of the article entitled The potential near-source ozone impacts of upstream oil and gas industry emissions (E. Olaguer, Journal of the Air and Waste Management Association, vol. 62, issue 8, pp. 966-977, 2012), there have been two industry blog articles critiquing the HARC model.

Clean Energy

5-Star Program
PI: David Hitchcock
Part of the City of Houston’s HOPE Homes Program to reinvest in some of Houston’s historic neighborhoods, the 5-Star Program uses ARRA funds to purchase energy efficient upgrades. Builders contract with the City to install stand-alone energy efficient upgrades on newly completed HOPE homes that qualify with a minimum Home Energy Rating System (HERS) rating of 60. Upgrades may include photovoltaics, solar thermal, wind turbines, and Energy Star appliances.

Energy Efficiency Incentive Program (EEIP)
PI: Jennifer Ronk
The City of Houston, in partnership with the GeoTechnology Research Institute / Houston Advanced Research Center (GTRI/HARC) and the Clinton Climate Initiative (CCI), is launching the City’s first energy efficiency incentive program for commercial buildings.

Environmentally Friendly Drilling Systems
PI: Rich Haut
Environmental issues are a significant part of every energy industry endeavor whether exploiting new natural gas resources in Western U.S., or extending field development in coastal areas of the U.S. Aware of the need to address environmental issues, Texas A&M University, HARC, and Noble Drilling have created an engineering/environmental research program to address the engineering challenges and protection of our environment while exploring and producing natural gas and oil.

Gulf Coast Clean Energy Application Center
PI: Daniel Bullock
The Gulf Coast Combined Heat and Power Application Center is based in the Clean and Renewable Energy Group at the Houston Advanced Research Center in The Woodlands, Texas. It was created with funding from the US DOE to promote the use of CHP in Texas, Louisiana, and Oklahoma. The objectives of the Center are to reduce the perceived risk of CHP to users, foster CHP as a viable technical and economic option for CHP adopters in the three-state region, and to leverage existing

Pasadena ISD Solar Initiative
HARC has partnered with Pasadena Independent School District (PISD) to provide engineering, design, procurement, construction, educational outreach support, installation and commissioning of solar energy systems and associated research measurement equipment and educational displays.

Solar Houston Initiative
PI: Richard Haut
HARC facilitates the Solar Houston Initiative on behalf of the City of Houston, which is one of only 25 cities named a Solar America City by the US Department of Energy.

Texas Hydrogen Roadmap
PI: David Hitchcock The Texas Hydrogen Roadmap was developed to help create a framework for Texas. The Roadmap is the result of work by the Houston Advanced Research Center (HARC) and the Texas H2 Coalition. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) provided scenario analysis based on the National Academy of Sciences 2008 report on hydrogen. The State Energy Conservation Office (SECO) provided project support.

Land, Water, People

Aquarium Owners and Fish Release
The overall goal of this project is to develop an understanding and preliminary model of the social drivers and decision processes leading to release of freshwater aquarium species into public waters. Both knowledge and values are important factors in an aquarium owner’s decision to release a fish and new knowledge does not necessarily trump long held values. Results of the study will be used to evaluate candidate outreach strategies to discourage release.

Galveston Bay Invasive Species Field Guide
PI: Lisa Gonzalez
The Galveston Bay Invasive Plant Field Guide highlights prohibited and high risk invasive plant species found in or having the potential to invade habitats of the Lower Galveston Bay Watershed. The field guide provides color photos, descriptive information, control techniques, and native plant alternatives for home owners, land managers, and gardening enthusiasts in the Houston-Galveston region.

Galveston Bay Status & Trends
PI: Lisa Gonzalez
The Galveston Bay Status and Trends Project is funded by the Galveston Bay Estuary Program. The Status and Trends Project gathers, analyzes, and makes available historical and recent data describing physical characteristics, biological resources, and human uses of Galveston Bay and the surrounding watershed.

Indicators of Well Being in Fishing Communities
The purpose of this project is to identify potential threats to the commercial and recreational fishing communities in the South Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico.

Watershed Characterization: Double Bayou
Watershed Characterization of Water Quality in Double Bayou - The East and West Forks of Double Bayou are located northeast of Galveston Bay in Chambers County in and area largely non-urbanized, with the majority of land use characterized by agricultural fields.