Donors

Dr. Phaneendra “Phani” Kondapi is a visionary leader and educator with over 30 years of combined professional experience in management, engineering, research, education and teaching including 20 years in the industry as a manager, project manager, project lead and simulation engineer around the globe in the areas of upstream, offshore and process industries. Phani is currently serving as the Interim Assistant Dean of Engineering Programs at the University of Houston Katy Campus and as a Professor of Subsea Engineering. Until recently, he served as the Founding Director of Engineering Programs at the UH Katy Campus and Director of Subsea Engineering at University of Houston. Previously, he was the Director of Subsea Engineering and a Professor of Practice at Texas A&M University. Prior to joining Texas A&M, Phani has supported the development of the first subsea engineering program in the United States and has spent six years as an adjunct professor at the University of Houston in designing curriculum and teaching graduate courses. Phani has managed engineers in both projects and groups of process and flow assurance in his previous roles at ABB, TRAX, Wood Group, FMC and KBR. He was the lead architect in establishing a new group named Western Region Production Performance Services at FMC Technologies. His professional interests include leadership, business development, management, flow assurance, subsea processing, process simulation, flow management systems and operator training simulators. He has keen global perspective of work culture across the world, gained from work experience in the United States, , India, Saudi Arabia, and business travel to other countries including Norway, England, Brazil, Mexico, and Qatar. Phani is a founding member of AIChE-UEFA Forum and past chair of AIChE-UEFA Program committee. He chaired the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) International Faculty Innovative Teaching Awards committee in 2016, was past chair of Global SPE Flow Assurance Technical Section, and chaired the SPE “Flow Assurance: Future State-of-the-Art” Global Forum held in June 2015. He also leads Offshore Technology Conference Subsea Processing sessions and Flow Assurance sessions steering committees. He is an active member of SPE Projects Facilities Committee, Global Training Committee, Innovative Teaching Faculty Awards Committee, OTC Program Committee, AIChE UEFA Committee and also the founding faculty advisor of Subsea Engineering Society at UH. Phani gave over 40 technical presentations and invited talks at various international conferences and universities and has organized/chaired over 50 technical sessions/meetings. He also has published over 25 articles in various journals and magazines. Phani received his Ph.D. from Tennessee Technological University and his B.S. and M.S. from Andhra University, all in Chemical Engineering. He was a recipient of the Innovative Teaching Fellow Award from SPE International, the Outstanding Alumnus Award from Andhra University College of Engineering, the Projects Facilities & Construction Technical Award, the Distinguished Petroleum Engineering Faculty Award from SPE Gulf Coast North America, and SPE International Projects Facilities & Construction Technical Award. Phani thinks highly of all the professors he worked with during his time in education, especially Dr. Biernacki, Dr. Munukutla, Dr. Booth and Dr. Yarbrough, who knew him as a student. Phani is also a current member of the Chemical Engineering Board of Advisors. Phani created this award to support future Chemical Engineering students.