Manmohan Singh Kalsi and Marie-Luise Schubert Kalsi have committed $4 million to the University of Houston’s Cullen College of Engineering to expand research opportunities and faculty support.
The Indian American couple’s gift is directed to the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering. It establishes two endowed professorships, a faculty research fund, graduate fellowships, and a seminar series.
“This gift provides a tremendous boost to our department’s strategic momentum. By simultaneously supporting faculty, graduate researchers and collaborative seminars, the Kalsis are strengthening every part of our research enterprise and creating new opportunities for discovery, collaboration and student mentorship” said Karolos Grigoriadis, chair of the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering.
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Manmohan Kalsi earned both his master’s degree and PhD in mechanical engineering from the University of Houston. His educational path and career were heavily influenced by mentorship from the late professor Gabriel Fazekas. In 2014, the Kalsis previously honored that connection by establishing an endowed professorship in Fazekas’s name at the college.
In 1978, Manmohan Kalsi founded Kalsi Engineering, a firm specializing in hydrodynamic rotary sealing technology and valve technology for nuclear power plants. The company has maintained a longstanding relationship with the university by employing its graduates.
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“Manmohan Kalsi’s journey from UH graduate student to industry innovator and entrepreneur embodies the transformative impact of the Cullen College of Engineering,” Dean Pradeep Sharma exclaimed. “This gift will help us to recruit and retain world-class faculty while providing our graduate students the financial support and research infrastructure needed to solve real-world challenges.”
University leaders noted that the contribution supports the institution’s Centennial Campaign goals to advance public research and innovation.
Through sustained philanthropy and deep ties to their academic roots, the Kalsi family continues to shape the future of engineering education and research at the University of Houston, ensuring that tomorrow’s innovators receive the same foundational support that launched their own journey.