08/07/2017 05:22:57 PMA University of Houston civil engineering researcher has received a $2.6 million grant to develop a new type of “smart” cement that could make offshore drilling safer. Cumaraswamy “Vipu” Vipulanandan is working on developing a material that offshore oil rig operators could use to monitor the health of a well during its construction as well as throughout its operational life.Laura Tolleyljtolley@uh.eduResearch