Title: Industry/University Cooperative Research Centers: Model Partnerships
(NSF 93-97, Revised 7/96)
Date: May 27, 1997
Replaces: NSF 93-97
Industry/University Cooperative Research Centers: Model Partnerships
The National Science Foundation's (NSF's) Industry/University Cooperative
Research Centers (I/UCRC) Program is effecting positive change in the
performance capacity of the U.S. industrial enterprise. Over the past two
decades, the I/UCRCs have led the way to a new era of partnership between
universities and industry, featuring high-quality, industrially relevant
fundamental research, strong industrial support of and collaboration in
research and education, and direct transfer of university-developed ideas,
research results, and technology to U.S. industry to improve its competitive
posture in world markets. Through innovative education of talented graduate
and undergraduate students, the I/UCRCs are providing the next generation of
scientists and engineers with a broad, industrially oriented perspective on
science and engineering research and practice.
Process Control for Glass-Making
Glass-making, an ancient art relying more on sight and trial and error than on
science, moves into a new era with the adaptation of computers to the process.
One I/UCRC has developed a statistical process control program for
glass-making, which is the first such program to be available to the entire
industry; a number of companies are now using the technology. Two Center
member companies broke a tradition of secrecy in this industry to share their
batch and oxide data with the Center, making the research possible. The
Center's collaborative research with its members and affiliates has led to a
wide range of advances in glass-making, the characterization of glass,
measurement of the properties of molten glass, and determination of its atomic
structure.
With industrial and other support totaling 10 to 15 times the NSF investment,
I/UCRCs are a premier example of "leveraged" funding -- a model for the
Federal Government in how to cost-effectively synergize the nation's research
and development process. Indeed, this model has directly influenced several
other Centers programs that were subsequently established by NSF and other
Federal agencies. Placed in this context, the I/UCRC Program is a distinctive
driver of the growing NSF-industry-university partnership.
Integrated Portable Communicator
One I/UCRC is focusing on the development of wireless networks that will
integrate mobile telephones, residential cordless phones, pagers, and wireless
business networks. For example, the Center's Integrated Cellular and Mobility
Simulator is now being used by cellular phone companies to predict traffic
loads.
The I/UCRC Program
Currently there are more than 50 I/UCRCs, all administered by the Engineering
Education and Centers Division of NSF's Engineering Directorate. More than 750
faculty, along with 1,000 graduate students and 200 undergraduate students,
carry out the research at these Centers, which encompass 14 broad areas. A
primary purpose of the I/UCRC Program is providing high-quality
interdisciplinary education. The Centers have produced several thousand MS and
PhD graduates, who can be found throughout American industry and academe.
NSF supports these Centers through a cooperative leveraging mechanism. NSF's
financial contribution to the Centers is relatively small -- about $4 million
in FY 95. Funding from sources other than NSF is much larger, totaling more
than $63 million in FY 95. Currently, the Centers have well over 600
memberships. Of these, about 90 percent are industrial firms, with the
remaining 10 percent including State governments, National Laboratories, and
other Federal agencies. Most universities also provide direct and/or indirect
support (e.g., cost sharing) for their Centers. These Centers are truly
cooperative.
How Does It Work?
An I/UCRC often begins with a small planning grant to a university professor
who seems to exhibit the scientific, organizational, and entrepreneurial
skills necessary to form a team and initiate and run a successful Center. If
the prospective Center can obtain commitments of strong support from industry
and the affiliated university or universities, it may submit a proposal to NSF
describing the progress that has been made and documenting the team's
potential to operate successfully as an I/UCRC. Two or more universities may
also jointly propose a multi-university Center. Following successful merit
review of the proposal, NSF may make an initial five-year I/UCRC award of up
to $100,000 annually to the Center team. When the initial five-year grant
expires, NSF funding may be extended at a reduced level of up to $50,000
annually for an additional five years. In its final year of I/UCRC Program
support, a Center may compete for a new I/UCRC award based on a proposed
research and education program involving significantly new intellectual
substance.
Flow Probe for In Situ Chemical Analysis
A flow probe system developed by an I/UCRC is the basis for sensors that can
detect such things as heavy metals in drinking water, the presence of oil or
gasoline from leaking underground storage tanks, or the movement or presence
of an underground contaminant plume at a cleanup site. The fiber optic-based
chemical probe can also be placed in-line to monitor an industrial process.
Because the flow probe is placed directly down a well or into a process line,
chemical analysis can be done in place rather than at the laboratory, saving
both time and money while perhaps providing more representative information.
The I/UCRC teamed with Sandia National Laboratories to design and build a
robust flow probe prototype for field testing at industrial sites. The
versatile, inexpensive chemical analyzer is available through a commercial
vendor beginning in 1996.
NSF's investment in the I/UCRCs is intended to seed partnered approaches to
new or emerging research areas, not to sustain the Centers indefinitely. The
Foundation intends for I/UCRCs gradually to become fully supported by
university, industry, state, and/or other non-NSF sponsors. Each I/UCRC is
expected to maintain at least $300,000 of industrial support through
membership fees, at least six industrial members, and a plan to work toward
self-sufficiency from NSF.
In addition to the basic I/UCRC award, Centers and Center researchers can
compete for other NSF support for research and education projects. At any
point -- even at the end of its life cycle -- NSF may provide funding to the
Center under special arrangements involving joint participation by other NSF
program offices. NSF supplemental support may include collateral programs
such as a TIE project, whereby two or more Centers and their industrial
members engage in a cooperative research project of interest to all parties
(with NSF and industry sharing costs). Industry/University Cooperative
Research Fellowships are offered to Center faculty, whereby the faculty member
can spend time in a corporate research lab or factory, again with NSF sharing
the cost. Other supplements to I/UCRC awards may be made in the form of joint
sponsorship of projects with other federal agencies, Research Experiences for
Undergraduates and other educational activities, workshops, and other purposes
consistent with the goals of the Program.
The structure of a typical I/UCRC is illustrated in Figure 1. The Center
Director reports to university management -- in most cases, directly to the
Dean of Engineering. An Academic Policy Committee composed of the deans of
engineering and science and other top university officials such as the provost
and vice president for research is available to address important policy
issues such as patents and licensing, promotion, and tenure. The various
research programs usually consist of several projects with a coherent focus on
an industrial interest; they are pursued by graduate students under the
direction of faculty researchers.
Across the Program, these Centers have established an extraordinarily
effective partnership with industry. This partnership takes full advantage of
the strength of each participant. University faculty contribute their skills
in research and their understanding of the knowledge base; industrial
researchers contribute their knowledge of both the technical needs of industry
and the challenges associated with competing successfully in the marketplace.
The partnership is formalized in each Center's Industrial Advisory Board
(IAB), which advises the Center's management on all aspects of the Center,
from research project selection and evaluation to strategic planning. It is
important to note that all IAB members have common ownership of the entire
I/UCRC research portfolio; however, individual firms can provide additional
support for specific "enhancement" projects.
The partnership is given even greater depth through the direct involvement of
industry re-presentatives in research projects. Each project in the Center has
a principal researcher (typically the project's research professor) and a
monitor from industry (who may be an IAB representative or an engineer
assigned from an IAB member company). The principal researcher maintains close
oversight of the progress of the research by the student(s) and briefs the
industrial monitor on a regular basis. The monitor can, and often does, have
direct input into the direction of the research.
Advanced Driving Simulator
One I/UCRC has created real-time mechanical system simulation methods and
software that form the foundation for a National Advanced Driving Simulator
(NADS) being developed by the U.S. Department of Transportation. This $32
million facility will be operated by the Center's host university to support
both highway traffic safety research and automotive system design by
Government and industry. The NADS represents a quantum jump in research
capability, offering simulation in which the driver interacts with the
vehicle's controls, views an ultra-realistic scene, and experiences realistic
sounds and feelings of motion.
This extensive industrial involvement in research planning and review leads to
direct technology transfer, bridging the gap that traditionally has kept U.S.
industry from capitalizing fully and quickly on the fruits of research at
American universities. The close involvement of industry in the Centers also
eliminates the perennial problem of "Not Invented Here"; in the cooperative
research model, all Center-developed research products are owned by all the
members.
The participation of NSF, although small financially, nevertheless sets the
tone for the I/UCRCs. Strong program management ensures that each of the
Centers continues to follow the I/UCRC model -- each in its individual fashion
-- and that each remains strong. With such extensive industrial support and
participation, NSF's role is crucial in influencing industry to take a
longer-term view of its needs, with appropriate attention to research quality.
This ensures that the fundamental research conducted in the Centers continues
to add to the knowledge base that will be vital for solving the problems and
meeting the needs of the future.
Smart Design Optimizes Batch Processing
Batch chemical manufacturers strive to bring new products to market quickly
and cost-effectively while minimizing environmental emissions. It is
preferable to prevent rather than treat pollution, but this goal has been
elusive and costly to attain. One I/UCRC has now developed and commercialized
a software package that meets the need. BatchDesign KIT (BDK) is a smart CAD
system that guides the designer of a batch process (e.g., chemicals,
pharmaceuticals, military ordnance) toward an optimum process design, with the
lowest possible environmental emissions and cost, while staying within
economic or regulatory constraints. One of the unique features of BDK is its
capability to automatically translate a chemist's "batch sheet," or chemical
recipe, into an equipment flow diagram. BDK operates on an expert system
platform developed by Gensym Corporation, one of the Center's sponsors;
several other member companies tested the product. Gensym began marketing BDK
in early 1996.
NSF also helps to ensure high standards among the I/UCRCs through a mechanism
that is unique to this program: Independent professional Evaluators are
engaged to study the industry-university interaction onsite, both
qualitatively and quantitatively, to determine (1) the quality and impact of
Center research, (2) the satisfaction level of faculty who participate in the
program, and (3) the degree of satisfaction of industrial participants. A
historical profile of each Center is maintained; and annual assessments are
conducted of Center processes and results, finances, and structural issues.
One indication of the high quality of I/UCRC research is that faculty publish
their work in the most prestigious journals. I/UCRC faculty as well as
students regularly win awards from the professional societies for their
innovative research.
Measures of Success
Perhaps the strongest indication of the value of these Centers to industry is
the continued and growing participation of industry, even during periods of
economic fluctuation. While industrial in-house R&D continues to decline
nationally, another indicator of the positive impact the I/UCRCs are having is
the R&D activity they spark among their members. In FY 95, I/UCRC research
resulted in at least $55 million in "follow-on" R&D funding invest-ments by
member firms. The total industrial R&D investment attributable to the I/UCRCs
in FY 95 came to almost $110 million. This "new money" investment by I/UCRC
members may be the most tangible evidence that successful transfer of
knowledge and ideas is occurring. The follow-on investment by companies
demonstrates that they derive something from the I/UCRCs that they believe
merits further development and commercialization.
Machines That Can Maintain All-day Accuracy
Machine tools often lose their fine tolerance and accuracy over time. New
technology developed by an I/UCRC pursuing measurement and manufacturing
control research has made a significant impact on the machine-tool and
aerospace industries. The real-time error compensation (RTEC) techniques
developed by Center researchers have been successfully commercialized by a
machine tool builder, Saginaw Machine Systems, Inc. The RTEC technology allows
manufacturers to produce high-quality parts and achieve all-day accuracy
regardless of the ambient temperature fluctuations. The RTEC also has been
successfully implemented by Boeing Commercial Airplane Company to improve and
maintain the accuracy of their manufacturing equipment.
From the standpoint of member companies, one of the outstanding benefits of
participation in an I/UCRC is the opportunity to work with graduate students
who are being exposed to industrial needs and practices and who have learned
to pursue their research with a view toward improving the competitiveness of
U.S. industry. Graduates of I/UCRCs represent for their employers an effective
and long-lasting form of knowledge transfer.
Pneumatic Fracturing to Remove Soil Contaminants
An I/UCRC devoted to hazardous substance management research has developed a
novel way to speed up the removal of contaminants from subsurface geologic
formations. This in situ method involves injecting high-pressure air to create
fractures in the soil and rock matrix. The "pneumatic fracturing" process
allows subsurface liquid and vapor contaminants to be transported and
extracted more quickly, thus permitting existing in situ technologies to be
extended to more difficult geologic conditions. This project was funded by a
number of agencies, including the U.S. Geological Survey, AT&T, BP America,
the U.S. Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S.
Air Force, and Malcolm Pirnie, Inc. AT&T provided support for testing the
full-size prototype system at one of their manufacturing facilities. A U.S.
Patent has been issued, and commercialization is underway.
To industry, it is results that count. And evaluator surveys show that
industry is satisfied with the results of I/UCRC membership -- not just in
terms of new products and processes (as described in the enclosed fact
sheets), but also in terms of access to the best new ideas and first-rate
prospective employees. Their enthusiastic participation and support are the
proof of their satisfaction.
Engineering Education and Centers Division
Directorate for Engineering
National Science Foundation
4201 Wilson Blvd.
Arlington, VA 22230
(703) 306-1383
(703) 306-0326 Fax
(703) 306-0090 TDD
E-mail: eng-eec@nsf.gov
NSF 93-97a (rev. 7/96)
INDEX
Advanced Manufacturing
Center for Grinding Research and Development (CGRD)
(University of Connecticut)
Material Handling Research Center (MHRC)
(Georgia Institute of Technology, University of Arkansas)
Center for Machine-Tool Systems Research (CMTSR)
(University of Illinois)
Center for Nondestructive Evaluation (CNDE)
(Iowa State University)
Center for Dimensional Measurement and Control in Manufacturing
(University of Michigan at Ann Arbor)
Web Handling Research Center (WHRC)
(Oklahoma State University)
Nano/Micro Fabrication Technology
Berkeley Sensor & Actuator Center (BSAC)
(University of California, Berkeley)
Advanced Materials and Processing
Center for Microcontamination Control (CMC)
(University of Arizona)
Center for Iron and Steelmaking Research (CISR)
(Carnegie Mellon University)
Center for Applied Polymer Research (CAPRI)
(Case Western Reserve University)
Advanced Steel Processing and Products Research Center (ASPPRC)
(Colorado School of Mines)
Advanced Materials and Processing (cont.)
Cooperative Research Center in Coatings Eastern Michigan University (EMU),
Michigan
Molecular Institute (MMI), and North Dakota State University (NDSU))
Polymer Interfaces Center (PIC)
(Lehigh University)
Biodegradable Polymer Research Center (BPRC)
(University of Massachusetts at Lowell)
Center for Micro-engineered Materials (CMEM)
(University of New Mexico, Sandia and Los Alamos National Laboratories,
New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, and New Mexico Highlands
University)
Center for Glass Research
(New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University)
Center for Electromagnetics Research (CER)
(Northeastern University)
Center for Surface Engineering and Tribology (CSET)
(Northwestern University and Georgia Institute of Technology)
Corrosion in Multiphase Systems Center (CMSC)
(Ohio University and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign)
Particulate Materials Center
(The Pennsylvania State University)
Center for Ceramic Research
(Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey)
Composites Design Center
(Stanford University)
Chemical Processing
The Center for Separations Using Thin Films (CSTF)
(University of Colorado at Boulder)
Research Center for Energetic Materials (RCEM)
(New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology)
Center for Pharmaceutical Processing Research (CPPR)
(Purdue University)
Measurement and Control Engineering Center (MCEC)
(University of Tennessee at Knoxville with Oak Ridge National Laboratory)
Center for Process Analytical Chemistry (CPAC)
(University of Washington)
Civil Infrastructure Systems
The Center for Building Performance and Diagnostics (CBPT)
(Carnegie Mellon University)
Advanced Electronics
Center for Optoelectronic Devices, Interconnects, and Packaging (COEDIP)
(University of Arizona and the University of Maryland)
Center for Ultra-high Speed Integrated Circuits and Systems (ICAS)
(University of California at San Diego with San Diego State University)
Center for Advanced Manufacturing and Packaging of Microwave,
Optical and Digital Electronics (CAMPmode)
(University of Colorado at Boulder)
Center for Dielectric Studies (CDS)
(Intercollege Materials Research Laboratory, Penn State University)
Center for Electronic Materials, Devices, and Systems (CEMDAS)
(The University of Texas at Arlington and Texas A&M University)
Advanced Electronics (cont.)
Center for Design of Analog-Digital Integrated Circuits (CDADIC)
(Washington State University, University of Washington, Oregon State
University, and State University of New York at Stony Brook)
Biotechnology
Industry/University Center for Biosurfaces (IUCB)
(State University of New York at Buffalo, The University of Memphis, New York
State College of Ceramics at Alfred University)
Advanced Computing
Software Engineering Research Center (SERC)
(Purdue University, University of Florida, and Oregon Associated Universities)
Center for Advanced Computing and Communication (CACC)
(North Carolina State University and Duke University)
Information and Communications
Center for Information Management Research (CIMR)
(University of Arizona and Georgia Institute of Technology)
Research Center for Wireless Information Networks (WINLAB)
(Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey)
Center for Advanced Communications
(Villanova University)
Energy and Environment
Advanced Control of Energy and Power Systems (ACEPS)
(Colorado School of Mines, Arizona State University, Wichita State University)
Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Center (ACRC)
(University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign)
Energy and Environment (cont.)
Emission Reduction Research Center (ERRC)
(New Jersey Institute of Technology)
Hazardous Substance Management Research Center (HSMRC)
(New Jersey Institute of Technology)
Queen's University Environmental Science and Technology Research Centre
(QUESTOR)
(The Queen's University of Belfast, Northern Ireland)
Ocean Technology Center (OTC)
(University of Rhode Island)
Management of Technology
Center for Innovation Management Studies (CIMS)
(Lehigh University)
Aeronautics and Surface
Transportation
Center for Virtual Proving Ground Simulation: Mechanical and
Electromechanical Systems
(The University of Iowa and the University of Texas at Austin)
Health Care
Center for Health Management Research (CHMR)
(Arizona State University and the Network for Health Care Management)
Center in Ergonomics
(Texas Engineering Experiment Station -- The Texas A&M University System)
Agriculture
Center for Aseptic Processing and Packaging Studies (CAPPS)
(North Carolina State University and the University of California at Davis)
Center for Integrated Pest Management
(North Carolina State University)
Center for Grinding Research and
Development (CGRD)
University of Connecticut
Advanced grinding techniques contribute to America's manufacturing
competitiveness
Center Mission and Rationale
The Center for Grinding Research and Development (CGRD) was established by the
University of Connecticut School of Engineering in conjunction with several
companies from Connecticut and other states to conduct advanced research in
grinding and related technologies. The Center's sponsors include major U.S.
automotive, engine, machine tool, and chemical manufacturers, as well as
grinding equipment and material suppliers.
The Center's goals are to --
* Conduct fundamental and advanced studies of the grinding process and
complementary areas
* Provide appropriate solutions to specific industrial problems
* Provide industrial personnel and university engineering students with
the education and experience necessary to manage diverse problems in the
grinding industry.
Research Program
In its core research program sponsored by its industrial advisors, the Center
investigates problems related to the grinding of bearing rings, gears,
ceramics, and aerospace materials. The Center pursues research in cylindrical
and surface grinding, centerless grinding, coolant system evaluation, metals,
ceramics, acoustic emission monitoring, and processes. This research is
conducted in laboratories housing state-of-the-art metrology, materials
analysis, and grinding equipment.
The Center sponsors research in five major areas --
* Grinding Machine and Grinding Process Dynamics -- These studies
investigate the ways in which factors such as vibration and geometric
instability influence the quality of components after grinding and focus on
the problems encountered when grinding cylindrical components, such as bearing
rings. Typical problems that adversely affect the performance of ground
components include lobing and chatter (surface imperfections) in centerless
grinding. Centerless grinding modes studied include: shoe-centerless, plunge,
and throughfeed types.
* Truing and Dressing of Grinding Wheels -- Superabrasive products such
as cubic boron nitride (CBN) offer advantages over conventional abrasives such
as aluminum oxide, including increased part-to-part consistency, longer wheel
life, and better workpiece surface integrity. However, because of its hardness,
CBN presents problems with truing (material removal to ensure wheel roundness)
and dressing (removal of wheel matrix material to expose the cutting edges of
grits). The Center is studying the conditions under which the conventional
mechanical method of dressing wheels -- in which a diamond-edged tool contacts
the grinding wheel to remove material -- can be applied to CBN wheels.
* Thermal Aspects of the Grinding Process -- In assessing the ways in
which heat generated by grinding affects the grinding wheel and workpiece,
this area of investigation applies finite-element and analytical methods to
simulate the grinding process. The models are then verified experimentally.
The models developed in these studies will ultimately help the users of
grinding machines to modify production parameters -- such as wheel speed and
in-feed rate -- to prevent workpiece damage.
* Grinding Fluid Studies -- CGRD is performing studies to optimize the
application of fluids in ceramic grinding. This research (1) investigates the
effect on grinding performance of methods for applying grinding fluids and (2)
assesses the fluids' effectiveness in minimizing thermal damage. The Center
also conducts studies of the harmful effects of grinding fluids because --
despite their effectiveness in cooling, lubricating, and flushing waste --
grinding fluids can cause environmental and health hazards. For example,
CGRD-supported projects are investigating the microbial contamination of
grinding fluids and ways to improve the applications of biocides in the fluid.
* Monitoring and Control -- Within the UConn Grinding Center, research
is being conducted on process monitoring and applying of corrective control
strategies. Using acoustic emission (AE) sensing and digital signal
processing, high-speed gap elimination and dressing verification are being
studied. Also, the application of AE monitoring to detect thermal damage
in-process is being carried out. This work attempts to reduce wheel approach
time and minimize the dressing amount taken from the grinding wheel, creating
higher throughput and reducing abrasives cost. Truing and dressing of CBN
grinding wheels is also being studied to identify conditions where the wheels
quickly cut efficiently, with minimum conditioning required.
Special Center Activities
* With two industry partners, the Center is designing and building a
prototype of a production grinder that surpasses current machines in part
quality and production of ground components, while lowering cost. This work is
being done under the Advanced Grinding Machine Initiative, funded by the
Defense Logistics Agency through NSF. Grinding at such high speeds is a
serious technological challenge. The Center and its partners, Bryant Grinder
Corporation and The Torrington Company, are meeting the challenge with
open-architecture control, acoustic sensing, high structural stiffness,
high-velocity coolant application, advanced hydrostatic technology (in
slideway, support shoes, and spindle), a cubic boron nitride wheel, and
designs for safety and environmental cleanliness. Overall, the program will
allow the U.S. bearing industry to explore the advantages of high-speed
grinding technology, including higher productivity, lower costs, higher
part-to-part consistency, and less thermal damage to parts.
* The Center worked with Hamilton Standard to eliminate the chipping of
nitrided spool valves. The process in question was the production of fuel
control valves involving a two-step nitriding process and no-coolant final
grinding. Our goal was to determine the cause of the chipping, the point in
the manufacturing cycle where it is initiated, and to recommend economically
feasible remedies to the causes. Hamilton Standard provided funds to support
the research effort, which resulted in hundreds of thousands of dollars in
savings from reduced scrap and rework.
* In a joint project with the Center for Nondestructive Evaluation at
Iowa State University, the Center is developing a method of using Barkhausen
magnetic noise (residual stress) detection equipment in detecting grinding
damage. Damage in bearing parts caused by improper grinding procedures causes
early failure during service, a major concern in the automobile and aviation
industry. The grinding industry needs a technique that can reliably and
quickly detect possible grinding damage in parts during manufacturing. Results
are being gathered from automobile wheel-bearing components ground under a
variety of controlled conditions. Preliminary test data validates the method:
experiments indicate that Barkhausen measurements on parts ground under
progressively decreasing amounts of coolant can detect residual stress changes
in the surface of test pieces.
* In another joint project, with the Center for Ceramic Research (CCR)
at Rutgers University, the Center is investigating cost-effective methods of
grinding a range of ceramics with minimum surface and sub-surface damage, at
high stock removal rates. UConn Grinding Center will process the ceramic
materials and develop an analytical thermal model of the grinding process.
Rutgers CCR will measure the depth of damage and conduct 4-point bend tests to
study strength degradation. This project is of particular interest to bearing
and electronic industries.
* The University of Connecticut, through the UConn Grinding and
Precision Manufacturing Centers, hosted the International Manufacturing
Engineering Conference (IMEC) in August 1996. This biannual conference of the
International Foundation for Production Research attracted 200 international
participants during the 3-day period. Official sponsors of the conference were
CIRP, NSF, and ASME.
Education and Communication at CGRD
The Center offers two graduate-level courses in grinding that are open to
industrial members as well. The Center also sponsors the development of
technician-level training that can bring greater technical understanding to
the shop floor. One such course is offered at the Waterbury State Technical
College to provide shop foremen and operators with an introduction to grinding
technology.
M.S. and Ph.D. degrees are offered by CGRD in conjunction with the departments
of metallurgy, mechanical engineering, and chemical engineering. Students
associated with the Center conduct their thesis research on a topic of proven
industrial interest.
CGRD keeps pace with international developments in grinding. One example of
this is Center director Trevor Howes' NSF-sponsored tour of precision
engineering centers in China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong in the spring of 1995.
Such activities assist the Center in shaping a research and development
program tailored to provide the highest value to domestic industries.
Center Headquarters
Center Director: Professor Trevor D. Howes
Center for Grinding Research and Development
Middle Turnpike (Rt. 44), Longley Building
University of Connecticut, U-119
Storrs, CT 06269-5119
Phone: (860) 486-2883
Fax: (860) 486-2269
E-mail: howes@pmc.uconn.edu
Center Evaluator: Professor Donald Hempel
Department of Marketing
University of Connecticut, U-119
Storrs, CT 06269-5119
Phone: (860) 486-2291
Fax: (860) 486-2096
E-mail: donhemp@sbaserv.sba.uconn.edu
NSF 93-97b (rev. 7/96)
Material Handling Research Center (MHRC)
Georgia Institute of Technology and University of Arkansas
Improved tools and strategies to store, move, and control materials will
reduce logistics costs
Center Mission and Rationale
The United States spends nearly a trillion dollars each year on the logistics
of material flow. An increasingly complex global economy revolves around the
movement of goods, including raw materials and subassemblies. The Material
Handling Research Center (MHRC) is the only research organization in the
United States devoted exclusively to the systems needed to facilitate and
manage material flow. The material handling system extends from the last
value-adding step at a supplier through the entire production process and
distribution network until a product is received by the customer. Companies
may also become responsible for the return or disposal of packaging material
and/or shipping containers. Germany, for example, requires that manufacturers
collect all packing material and return it to the manufacturing site for
disposal. Other countries are considering similar measures.
The Center's mission is to improve domestic productivity by developing
methodologies and tools to analyze, operate, and design material handling
systems for industry and Government. The Center performs approximately $3
million of research annually and serves about 30 companies. Forty faculty
supervise some 70 students working on projects directed at the needs of MHRC's
members. The Center also acquires technology from other countries through
technology exchange agreements.
Research Program
The research performed in the Center is divided into several program areas:
* Manufacturing Systems. This area focuses on the scheduling of
production systems and the problems of material flow through the manufacturing
process. Emphasis is on customer-centered, high-mix, flexible production
systems. The research involves scheduling, planning, and control systems,
in-plant material transport, modeling and simulation, and computer-aided
design and operating tools. MHRC's accomplishments in this area include
determining the size and location of buffers to maximize the throughput of
flexible manufacturing system (FMS) installations, developing computer aids to
design automatic guided vehicle (AGV) networks, and selecting and assigning
components for insertion and onsertion machines.
* Warehousing Systems. This area focuses on the efficient utilization of
cubic volume and the speed and accuracy of withdrawals and replenishment. The
research involves service times for automated systems, advanced order-picking
techniques, location/allocation of storage, inventory reduction, and
computer-aided tools for facility design and operation. Past projects include
development of software to determine which items should be stored in a given
technology, assignment of storage locations to improve order-picking
efficiency, application of conveyors to sortation, development of operating
strategies for automatic storage and retrieval systems (AS/RS), and comparison
of part-to-picker and picker-to-part systems. Future projects will integrate a
number of these advances in an artificial intelligence-based design/analysis
workstation for distribution centers and warehouses.
* Logistics Systems. This area focuses on the interplant and intraplant
flow of material and the strategic location of manufacturing plants, depots,
and distribution centers. Ongoing research includes topics such as route
design, multichannel distribution networks, allocation of products and
customers to manufacturing and distribution centers, facilities design, and
conveyor network design. Research results include algorithms for laying out
linehaul/backhaul routes, fixed delivery routes, and collection sites for
recyclable material. Future projects will focus on a computer-based set of
design and analysis tools for the interactive investigation of a wide range of
tactical and strategic logistics issues.
* Flexible Automation. This area focuses on improving the utility or
efficacy of existing hardware. Research topics include low-cost vision
systems, autonomous AGVs, and robotic applications. MHRC's research resulted
in the formation of a spin-off company to produce low-cost vision systems that
determine the location and orientation of objects, navigation techniques for
autonomous AGVs, and the feasibility of vision-based smart tags as an
alternative to radio frequency smart tags.
* Information Systems. This area focuses on the information that must
accompany material movements and the application of artificial intelligence to
material handling problems. MHRC's research involves expanding the integrated
computer-aided manufacturing definition (IDEF) approach to include the
information flow as well as the material flow needed to support a
manufacturing enterprise, as well as models to handle unscheduled events such
as machine breakdowns or material shortages. Past research resulted in
software to automatically palletize random-size packages, a system to
automatically load and unload truck trailers, and an integrated production
control system to fabricate optical fibers.
The Center is also performing research to determine the best way to size and
manage reusable containers in a closed-loop system, to promote standard-size
containers and pallets, and to reduce injuries during manual material
handling.
Special Center Activities
MHRC-developed technologies have resulted in a pattern of substantial cost
savings for the Center's industrial sponsors. Selected accomplishments by the
MHRC include --
* Assisting a major electronics manufacturing firm in redesigning its
material acquisition operation, which resulted in a reduction of
Work-in-Process (WIP) inventory by $100 million while reducing staffing
requirements by $3 million annually.
* Developing quantitative design software that enabled a major military
avionics firm to save $400,000. The firm used the software to review an AS/RS
acquisition designed by traditional methods. The software revealed that the
equipment was significantly over-designed.
* Developing algorithms to allocate and slot electronic chips on
automatic onsertion equipment, which resulted in productivity increases of
more than $1 million monthly for a major electronics manufacturer.
After attending discussions at MHRC, the U.S. Postal Service learned of
reusable and recyclable alternatives to wood pallets and began using plastic
pallets, which resulted in a savings of several million dollars annually.
MHRC also collaborates with other I/UCRCs as appropriate. For example, MHRC
cooperated with the Web Handling Center at Oklahoma State University to apply
a motion sensor (a correlating camera developed as part of an AGV navigation
package) to the edge motion of a continuous web. MHRC also collaborated with
the Center for Plastics Recycling Research at Rutgers University, and the two
Centers jointly designed a waste collection and recovery system for the State
of New Jersey.
In addition to hosting visiting scientists from Asia and Europe, MHRC is
negotiating a technology exchange agreement with the Fraunhofer Institute in
Dortmund, Germany, a major European center for material handling research.
MHRC provides research opportunities to minority students from the two Center
campuses, Tuskegee University, and Clark Atlanta University.
Center Headquarters
Center Director: Dr. H. Donald Ratliff
Georgia Institute of Technology
The Logistics Institute, School of
Industrial and Systems Engineering
765 Ferst Drive
Atlanta, GA 30332-0205
Phone: (404) 894-2307
Fax: (404) 894-0390
E-mail: hratliff@isye.gatech.edu
Center Evaluator: Dr. J. David Roessner
Public Policy
Georgia Institute of Technology
Atlanta, GA 30332-0345
Phone: (404) 894-6821
E-mail: david.roessner@pubpolicy.gatech.edu
NSF 93-97c (rev. 7/96)
Center for Machine-Tool Systems
Research (CMTSR)
University of Illinois
National manufacturing competitiveness depends on increased attention to
machine-tool development
Center Mission and Rationale
The goal of the Center for Machine-Tool Systems Research (CMTSR) is to develop
and transfer to industry innovative machine-tool concepts and systems based
upon technologies representing both incremental and fundatamental advances,
and to train students in the expert development and deployment of these
systems. The Center's ultimate mission is to spur marked improvement of
national manufacturing competitiveness through the deployment of advanced
machine-tool systems.
Research Program
Team projects in the CMTSR focus on the following three areas --
* Agile/flexible machining and machine-tool systems
* Machine-tool system planning and control. Tools for the effective
utilization of machine-tool systems -- e.g., planning, scheduling, control
* Machining process development and innovation. Modeling and prediction
of product and process quality performance -- e.g., surface finish and error,
dimensional accuracy, etc. -- including both off-line design-based
considerations and on-line monitoring and control applications.
Together, faculty, students, and company members deal with these topics in
ways that shed new light on the principles of agility in machine-tool systems,
as well as on relationships between technological and cultural issues.
Technology integration themes also are thoroughly explored.
Center Activities
Company members participate in both company-designated and Center-designated
projects. Company-designated projects are initiated by each member company,
and both company researchers and university faculty and students collaborate
closely on these projects. Collectively, the member companies also solicit and
fund faculty proposals for Center-designated projects in areas determined by
the Center's industrial advisory board to be of particular interest.
Currently, 14 faculty and more than 20 students on both the Chicago and Urbana
campuses of the University of Illinois participate in some 20 ongoing company-
and Center-designated projects. Some recent projects are:
* Machining of Ceramic Materials -- This research, centered around
Rotary Ultrasonic Machining (RUM), has two core objectives: (1) the
development of a machining process for ceramics which has a suitably high
material removal rate and efficiency (low energy consumption), but at the same
time causes minimal surface damage and strength reduction to the ceramic
component; and (2) the characterization and comparison of the process, which
is important in the development of a robust and reliable process. So far, the
research has met with great success in the development and verification of RUM
with respect to the material removal phenomena in both the grinding and
milling processes.
* Design and Development of Agile/Flexible Machining Fixtures -- The
goal of this research is to develop a unified fixture and machining process
design, analysis, and optimization tool to improve product quality. The
computer-based tool resulting from this research will allow an optimal design
to be reached through iterations performed on the computer, thus eliminating
the need to actually fabricate the fixture and then make adjustments to
achieve an acceptable fixture. It will allow fixture design to be optimized
subject to workpiece dimensional accuracy constraints imposed by the part
designer. Most importantly, the effect of the instantaneously varying
machining forces along the cutter path will be taken into account while
designing the fixture.
* Implementation and Testing of an Intelligent Controller for Nanometer-
level Precision Machine Tools -- The goal of this work is to develop an
improved servo control loop capable of sub-micrometer precision position
control in the presence of high friction. The benefits of this research will
be an increase in machined part quality. The main applications of
ultra-precision machining are in the optics and electro-optics industries for
the production of metal mirrors, aspherical lenses, and components for laser
disk players. Increasing the machining accuracy will allow costly finishing
and polishing procedures to be significantly reduced or eliminated.
The Center's accomplishments include the following--
* Two patents based on the Center's research on constant velocity (CV)
joint wear measurement and analysis have been filed. They are: "Method and
Means for Measuring Wear in Constant Velocity Joints" (an instrument which
provides a direct, quantitative method of CV joint track wear), and "Spline
Counting Mechanism" (a handheld device for measuring certain important
parameters of splines).
* The Center conducted a research project in the area of motion control
for irregular shape generation. Specifically, the project dealt with the
dynamic variable depth of cut machining of non-circular engine cylinder bore
to compensate for bore deformation. Based on this research, a new camshaft
turning process is being developed that would eliminate the current practice
of milling and grinding. Researchers are currently collaborating with a
machine-tool builder and a camshaft manufacturer to further develop this
technology.
* In concert with Machine Tool Agile Manufacturing Research Institute
(MTAMRI) researchers, the CMTSR faculty have worked on the development of
software testbeds using the World Wide Web to improve the accessibility of
machining process simulation technologies. The purpose of software testbeds is
to facilitate the development, testing, and utilization of software for the
design and application of machine-tool systems. The software testbeds will
allow industrial partners to access software on university computers and
experiment with its application on real problems of the day.
Research facilities and equipment at the Center include the Discovery
Bridgeport milling machining; two special-purpose transfer-line workstations
for milling, turning, and cylinderboring; an OKUMA vertical machining center;
a state-of-the-art variable spindle-speed machining head; a variety of
metrology equipment and instrumentation, including Kistler dynamometers,
surface profilometers, a Talyrond and tool-analyzer microscope; two Coordinate
Measuring Machines (CMM); and high-speed data acquisition systems.
Center Headquarters
Center Director: Prof. Shiv G. Kapoor
Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
361 Computer and Systems Research Laboratory
1308 W. Main Street
Urbana, IL 61801
Phone: (217) 333-3432
Fax: (217) 244-9956
E-mail: s-kapoor@uiuc.edu
Center Evaluator: Prof. Devanathan Sudharshan
Department of Business Administration
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
315 David Kinley Hall
1206 S. Sixth Street
Champaign, IL 61820
Phone: (217) 333-1691
Fax: (217) 244-7969
E-mail: sudharsh@ux6.cso.uiuc.edu
NSF 93-97d (rev. 7/96)
Center for Nondestructive Evaluation (CNDE)
Iowa State University
Advances in nondestructive evaluation can enhance the quality and reliability
of manufactured products
Center Mission and Rationale
Nondestructive evaluation is the use of measurement techniques to
noninvasively determine the integrity of a material component or structure.
The Center for Nondestructive Evaluation (CNDE) uses quantitative approaches
to develop nondestructive evaluation as an engineering tool applicable
throughout the life cycle of a component. The Center's emphasis is on the
fields of aviation, transportation, energy, and manufacturing. Its mission is
to conduct directed research that advances the science of nondestructive
evaluation and ensures the integrity of structures and materials.
Research Program
CNDE conducts a full spectrum of research ranging from measurement models,
which describe the fundamental interaction between probing methods and the
flaws and properties of materials, to development of one-of-a-kind prototype
instruments. Areas in which the Center is currently conducting research
include --
* Ultrasonics
* Electromagnetic measurements
* Image enhancement techniques
* Microfocus radiography
* Magnetic techniques
* Microwave techniques
* Neural networks
* Nondestructive characterization of materials.
Because the field of nondestructive evaluation requires a multidisciplinary
approach, contributions from various engineering disciplines and physical
sciences are essential. Faculty and scientific staff from 3 colleges and 6
departments contribute to the research efforts at Iowa State University
(ISU). The Center's researchers currently include more than 40 faculty members
and professional and scientific staff, as well as some 60 graduate students
and postdocs.
In addition to participating in the Industry/University Cooperative Research
Centers Program, CNDE is active in other major research programs --
* The Integration of Design, Nondestructive Evaluation, and
Manufacturing Sciences Program, funded by the National Institute of Standards
and Technology, incorporates product reliability and life-cycle costing into
the designer's computer-aided-design station, which also ensures
inspectability at the design stage.
* The FAA Center for Aviation Systems Reliability is a research and
technology development program, funded by the Federal Aviation Administration.
This program helps provide solutions to pressing aircraft nondestructive
inspection (NDE) and maintenance problems for commercial airline operators and
manufacturers in the United States.
* The Iowa Demonstration Laboratory is an outreach effort funded by Iowa
State University to aid in technology transfer to Iowa businesses.
Special Center Activities
Some of the Center's research, technology transfer, and education/training
accomplishments include --
* Developed a novel method based on shear wave polarization to determine
percentages of plies with different fiber directions in composite materials
* Field tested a new ultrasonic transducer (Dripless Bubbler), at the
Aging Aircraft Nondestructive Inspection Validation Center, for inspection of
lap joints and adhesive bonds in aircraft fuselage
* Developed an improved understanding of the relationship of ultrasonic
backscattered noise to instrumental and material factors
* Developed a model relating backscattered noise in titanium alloys to
microstructure, which may provide a basis for modifying materials processing
procedures to reduce noise
* Developed a Bayesian methodology for prediction of inspection
intervals during manufacture for process control applications
* Developed a new, visualization-based ray-tracing and beam model
ultrasonic simulator; improved the speed of the beam model simulations by a
factor of 60
* Developed a magnetic flux leakage modeling method for predicting the
amplitude of signals based on a non-iterative linear model. This has the
potential to improve modeling speeds by several orders of magnitude, making
probability of detection calculations significantly more practical
* Developed eddy current and ultrasonic modeling software which was
transferred to sponsors for validation and use
* Awarded and initiated a planning grant to establish the North Central
Center for Advanced Engineering Technology Education in NDE/NDT in cooperation
with the Aerospace Engineering and Engineering Mechanics Department, the
National Science Foundation, and six upper Midwest community colleges
* Distributed instructional video "NDI for Corrosion Detection" to over
150 members of the aviation community for use in their in-house training
programs. The video is used by all six major U.S. carriers.
Many companies, including Amoco, ARCO, the Association of American Railroads,
Boeing, Chrysler, EPRI, General Electric, Grumman, Hercules, Martin Marietta,
McDonnell Douglas, Pratt & Whitney, Shell, Westinghouse, and others have used
advances developed by CNDE in their manufacturing and service businesses.
Facilities
Most of CNDE's facilities are housed in ISU's Applied Sciences Complex. CNDE
equipment and instrumentation at the Complex include a microfocus x-ray unit
with digital camera, high-and low-frequency ultrasonic pulse instruments, eddy
current and laser equipment for photoinductive scanning, very low-frequency
magnetic scanning equipment, and a unique "test bed" for validation of models
and work related to the role of NDE and materials in concurrent engineering
and life cycle management.
Center Headquarters
Center Director: Dr. Donald O. Thompson
Center for Nondestructive Evaluation
Iowa State University
Applied Sciences Complex II
1915 Scholl Road
Ames, IA 50011
Phone: (515) 294-8152
Fax: (515) 294-7771
E-mail: cnde@cnde.iastate.edu
Center Evaluator: Dr. Anton J. Netusil
Professional Studies Department
N 247 C Lagomarcino Hall
Iowa State University
Ames, IA 50011
Phone: (515) 294-6216
Fax: (515) 294-4942
E-mail: netusil@iastate.edu
NSF 93-97e (rev. 7/96)
Center for Dimensional Measurement and Control in Manufacturing
University of Michigan at Ann Arbor
Improved product and process measurements are cost-effective and enhance
product quality
Center Mission and Rationale
The Center for Dimensional Measurement and Control in Manufacturing (formerly
known as the Center for Mechanical and Optical Coordinate Measuring Machines)
was established to improve manufacturing quality through measurements and
process control. Due to the pressure of global competition, it is likely that
manufacturers will rely increasingly on improved product and process
measurements as a cost-effective means of enhancing product quality.
The primary goals of the Center are to conduct research aimed at improving the
accuracy and speed of process measurements, to successfully manage and use the
measurement data, and to develop effective control methods for process
improvement.
Research Program
The Center typically conducts from two to five projects in each of the
following focus areas --
* Measurement Principles and Techniques
* Measurement and Control in Machining
* Measurement and Control in Stamping
* Measurement and Control for Assembly and Materials Joining.
Research and development are carried out under the supervision of University
of Michigan (UM) professors and research scientists in the college of
engineering. The Center also employs undergraduate and graduate student
research assistants as well as postdoctoral research fellows and research
engineers.
Special Center Activities
The Center has served as an incubator for a variety of spin-off activities.
For example --
* Saginaw Machine Systems, Inc. (SMS), and UM won one of the eleven
awards in the first-round (1991) competition of the Advanced Technology
Program (ATP), sponsored by the Department of Commerce through the National
Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST); the project was on geometric and
thermal error compensation in machine tools.
* Several Center members teamed up with UM researchers to obtain a
second-round (1992) NIST technology commercialization grant. As a result of
this spin-off activity, the Automotive Body Consortium (ABC) was formed. The
ABC, Chrysler, General Motors, and UM used this second NIST/ATP award to
conduct joint research in automotive body assembly. Known as the "2mm
Program," the objective of this project is to reduce overall assembly
variation on an auto body to less than 2mm.
* Giddings and Lewis Measurement Systems (formerly Sheffield) and the UM
won a 1993 NIST/ATP grant to develop enabling technologies for Coordinate
Measuring Machines (CMMs) which would maintain higher levels of accuracy in
harsh manufacturing environments.
* SMS and UM collaborated in another research program sponsored by the
National Center for Manufacturing Sciences (NCMS). This program also focuses
on enhancing machine tool performance. Participants include GM and Ford.
* In 1994, SMS and the UM were awarded a two-year research grant from
the Advanced Research Projects Agency to develop a dynamic compensation system
to improve current error compensation techniques. Research will also explore
ways to remove some of the technical barriers preventing commercialization of
demonstrated techniques.
A sample of ongoing Center projects includes--
* Non-Contact Wheel Alignment. Front-end alignment problems are a top
warranty concern for auto makers. The current procedures for setting and
checking alignment are slow, inaccurate, and difficult to maintain. This
project explores non-contact measurement alternatives which can provide fast,
accurate, consistent methods of wheel alignment.
* Sensor Synthesis for Monitoring Automotive Body Assembly. Optical
Coordinate Measuring Machines (OCMMs) are used to perform in-line measurements
of a car body. As many as 80 sensors are installed to measure more than 100
dimensions. Many of these dimensions are strongly correlated, indicating
redundancy in the measurements. This project develops principles and
algorithms to optimize the distribution of measurement systems.
* Active Vibration Control for CMMs. CMMs are widely used because of
their accuracy and flexibility. Unfortunately, they are also slow and
extremely sensitive to various disturbances, including structural vibration.
This project uses control methods to compensate for structural vibration in
order to optimize accuracy and efficiency.
* Springback Analysis in Sheet Stamping. Elastic springback is a major
source of dimensional variation in sheet metal stamping. Improved
understanding of factors such as biaxial hardening, elastic recovery, and
friction laws can be used to predict springback more accurately. Accurate
springback predictions can help improve the dimensional quality of sheet metal
panels.
* Signature Analysis for Stamping Control. Stamping process control
currently relies on periodic inspections of stamped parts -- i.e., it uses the
product to determine if the process is under control. This project changes the
focus by monitoring the process itself to define a "signature." This signature
can then be used to monitor the process directly, which will allow for earlier
or even preventative intervention.
* Chatter Prediction and Prevention Techniques. Chatter, a self-excited
vibration, is a major problem in machining. Modern materials and higher
demands for precision make this problem even more critical. The objective of
this project is to develop advanced on-line chatter prevention techniques
through on-line prediction and suppression of chatter.
Members of our Center include automobile manufactures and their suppliers, an
aerospace manufacturer, members of the machine tool industry, and companies in
the field of sensors. This broad spectrum of sponsors helps drive the
diversity of manufacturing research embraced by the Center.
Research facilities and equipment at the Center include two CMMs, an OCMM, an
open architecture Computer Numerical Control (CNC) controller, two CNC milling
machine centers, three CNC turning centers, a laser interferometer, a
six-degrees-of-freedom laser tracking system, an infrared imaging system, an
adaptive tooling system, and an intelligent workstation.
Center Headquarters
Center Director: Prof. Jun Ni
University of Michigan
Department of Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics
2424 G. G. Brown Building
2350 Hayward Street
Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2125
Phone: (313) 763-5299
Fax: (313) 936-0363
E-mail: Jun_Ni@umich.edu
Center Evaluator: Dr. Mitch Fleischer
Industrial Technology Institute
P.O. Box 1485
2901 Hubbard Road
Ann Arbor, MI 48105
Phone: (313) 769-4368
Fax: (313) 769-4064
NSF 93-97f (rev. 7/96)
Web Handling Research Center (WHRC)
Oklahoma State University
Enhanced understanding of fundamental issues in the handling of continuous,
thin, and flexible materials can increase product quality
Center Mission and Rationale
The term web is used to describe materials that are manufactured and processed
in a continuous-strip form. Web materials cover a broad spectrum from
extremely thin plastics to paper, textiles, metals, and composites. Web
processing extends to almost every industry today and allows manufacturers to
mass-produce a variety of products from materials that originate as a
continuous strip of material. The widespread use of web processing results
from the ease and cost-effectiveness of manufacturing and handling materials
in continuous-strip form instead of sheets, the need to automate many
manufacturing processes, and the need to increase product quality.
Web handling refers to the physical mechanics related to the transport and
control of continuous-strip materials (webs) through processes and machines. A
primary goal of web handling is to transport the material without incurring
defects and losses.
The mission of the Web Handling Research Center (WHRC) -- the only
organization of its type in the world -- is to advance the knowledge base in
technologies applicable to the transport and control of continuous-strip
materials. Primary activities include fundamental and generic research, as
well as knowledge and information transfer to and from its industrial sponsors
and to small- to medium-sized manufacturing firms.
Research Program
The WHRC research program emphasizes the following strategies --
* Mathematical model development for fundamental elements in
web-transport systems based on first principles
* Experimental parameter identification and model validation
* Computer modeling and simulation.
Fundamental and generic research studies are conducted in the following target
areas --
* Mechanics of winding. Emphasis is placed on the development of a
fundamental knowledge base through studies of nip mechanics, buckling in
center-wound rolls, tension losses in winding, air entrainment in wound rolls,
and viscoelastic and hydroscopic effects in wound rolls. The goal of these
studies is to develop improved models that can be used to predict the behavior
of a roll during winding. A U.S. patent has been granted on an acoustic roll
structure measurement system.
* Longitudinal dynamics and tension control. As web-transport speeds are
increased, precise control of tension at each processing section in a
multispan web-transport system and dynamic stabilization of the overall system
become more important. This research focuses on the modeling, analysis, and
control of web-transport systems. A computer-based program (Web Transport
System) has been developed for use in the analysis and design of open-loop and
closed-loop web-transport systems.
* Lateral dynamics and control. The first major contribution to the open
literature on web handling was the Ph.D. dissertation of John J. Shelton in
1966. This seminal work dealt with the lateral dynamics of a moving web.
During the past several years, research in this area has focused on stochastic
modeling and real-time control of the lateral motion of a moving web.
* Out-of-plane dynamics. Web flutter is a serious obstacle to high-speed
operation of web machines. Flutter can lead to breaks or wrinkling in machines
that handle paper, registration errors in printing presses, and damage to
coatings on polymer sheets. WHRC research in this area focuses on predicting
the critical operating conditions at which flutter starts and predicting
flutter amplitude if a machine is operated above the flutter threshold.
* Wrinkling. Web quality can be degraded if wrinkling occurs across
rollers or within wound rolls. This research focuses on determining how
wrinkles form as a function of the parameters of web lines and web materials.
* Measurement of tension. There is a well-recognized need for a
noncontact method of measuring the cross-web distribution of longitudinal
tension in a moving web. This research focuses on the development of a compact
tension-measuring system that uses a point-source pneumatic pulse excitation
and measures the time of motion of the pulse in the web from the excitation
point to the measurement point.
WHRC also conducts research on special topics, such as air films, spreading,
and traction. Web quality and efficient web processing depend critically on
the air film that exists between moving webs and rollers and between winding
webs and wound rolls. Air film research focuses on determining the mechanisms
through which grooved and textured rollers improve traction and on developing
models to predict the effects of grooves and texture on air film development.
Spreading devices are used in web processing systems to reduce wrinkles by
inducing a lateral stress into the web. WHRC is working to develop algorithms
and software tools to study displacements and stress distributions induced in
webs by curved axis and concave rollers, as well as friction forces between
webs and rollers.
Web transport, spreading, and winding are all affected by the available
traction between the web and rollers or between the web and roll. Traction
research focuses on the development of algorithms that accurately predict the
available traction as a function of operational and physical parameters.
Special Center Activities
In addition to research activities, Center personnel are actively engaged in
knowledge and information transfer and in laboratory development. The Center
transfers knowledge and information to its industrial sponsors through
semi-annual meetings, workshops and seminars, faculty consultation, periodic
faculty visits to industry, visits to the Center by sponsor personnel, reports
and theses, and bibliographic and patent databases.
A major activity of the Center is the organization of an International
Conference on Web Handling. Held every two years since 1991, the International
Conference typically involves more than 200 participants from ten or more
countries. As a service to sponsors as well as to small and medium-sized
manufacturing firms, the Center offers two applications seminars on web
handling each year
The Center's facilities have been developed with considerable assistance from
its industrial sponsors, the U.S. Department of Education, and the Oklahoma
Center for the Advancement of Science and Technology. Key facilities at WHRC
include a Beloit Winder (winding mechanics), a Fife Machine (wrinkling
studies), a 3M Machine (tension control and measurement), a Roisum Machine
(air-film studies), and the Computer-Aided Design and Interactive Graphics
Laboratory (IBM RS 6000, Sun, and Macintosh workstations). The facilities have
been enhanced substantially by the addition of a modularized high speed web
line, capable of running 30" wide webs at transport speeds up to 5000 ft. per
minute. The web line was specially designed to support fundamental
experimental studies of winding, wrinkling, and longitudinal dynamics. A new
web line is being designed especially for fundamental experimental studies on
air film and by the installation in late 1995 of a special high-speed "web
line" designed and manufactured by Worldwide Converting Machinery in
cooperation with Reliance Electric Company.
Corporate sponsors of WHRC include manufactures of a wide range of web
materials such as packaging films, photographic film, metal foils, paper
products, and composite materials, along with equipment manufacturers and raw
materials suppliers. Other sponsors include private foundations and the
Oklahoma Center for the Advancement of Science and Technology.
Since inception of the Center, the sponsors have played a key role in the
evaluation of projects, the identification of new projects, and the advisement
of the principal investigators. Inputs are sought on a continuing basis from
the IAB members on potential new projects. A research needs assessment is
conducted once each year. Inputs from industry participants often form the
basis for new project proposals at subsequent meetings, as well as changes in
the scope of continuing projects.
Center Headquarters
Center Director: Dr. Karl N. Reid
Web Handling Research Center
College of Engineering, Architecture, and Technology
Oklahoma State University
111 Engineering North
Stillwater, OK 74078
Phone: (405) 744-5140
Fax: (405) 744-7545
E-mail: kreid@okway.okstate.edu
Center Evaluator: Dr. David Mandeville
School of Industrial Engineering and Management
Oklahoma State University
322A Engineering North
Stillwater, OK 74078
Phone: (405) 744-6055
Fax: (405) 744-6187
E-mail: dmandev@okway.okstate.edu
NSF 93-97g (rev. 7/96)
Berkeley Sensor & Actuator Center (BSAC)
University of California, Berkeley
The Center is working to create tomorrow's integrated microelectromechanical
systems
Center Mission and Rationale
The mission of the Berkeley Sensor and Actuator Center (BSAC) is to develop a
science, engineering, and technology base for microsensors, microactuators,
mechanical microstructures, and microdynamic systems. The Center builds upon a
well-developed arsenal of design and fabrication tools, which make possible
today's microelectronic devices and integrated circuits, to create tomorrow's
integrated microelectromechanical systems. Achieving this goal depends heavily
on research advances in electrical, mechanical, chemical, and biomedical
engineering and materials science.
Research Program
Founded in 1986, the Center is supported by more than 20 industrial and
national laboratory members, with whom it collaborates closely. Frequently,
researchers at BSAC base their device concepts on the requirements of Center
members. Often, members test devices or structures made at BSAC or supply the
Center with materials to evaluate.
The Center's research thrusts are in the following areas:
* Scientific fundamentals -- Physics and engineering at small
dimensions, materials and mechanisms for microdevices, ultrasound and energy
transduction in microstructures, material properties fluid flow in small
channels, and new physical phenomena for sensing and/or actuating.
* Fabrication techniques -- Technologies for material sculpting, bulk
and surface micromachining, deposition of piezoelectric and magnetic films,
control over basic material properties, compatible fabrication of
micromechanical and microelectronic devices and circuits, novel etch release
methods, high-aspect ratio microstructures, and material joining and cutting.
* Microdevices for sensing and actuation -- Force, pressure, and
motion-sensitive devices; microfluidic pumps, valves, and flow-rate measuring
devices; ultrasonic flexural-wave devices; microphones, chemical sensors, and
chemical-reaction devices; optical microdevices, micropositioning and
microgripper devices, mechanically resonant microdevices; and miniature
inertial instruments such as accelerometers, angular rate sensors, and angular
accelerometers.
* Integrated microsystems -- Integrated process development for
micromechanics and microelectronics where Complimentary Metal-Oxide-Silicon
(CMOS) circuitry is fabricated along with microstructures, integrated-circuit
microphones, contactless integrated electrostatic voltmeters, microminiature
light choppers, resonant-element microcircuits and systems,
microaccelerometers, microminiature rate-gyros, micro-flow systems for
biological and chemical applications, high-accuracy, high-bandwidth
micropositioners for disk drives, and microphotonic systems.
Recent research projects at BSAC include electronic filters with internal
micromechanical elements that perform filtering, sophisticated biochemical
processing in a micromachined container, advanced micromachined inertial
instruments, high-aspect ratio microactuators, and novel piezoelectric sonic
output devices.
Special Center Activities
The Center uses the microfabrication facility of the University of California
at Berkeley, which is one of the most advanced lab sites in the field because
of the small size and variety of integrated circuit components that can be
made there. Mask-making is done on-site. Students perform most of the
fabrication, and the facility allows carefully monitored nonstandard
processing to be performed in the laboratory, allowing unusual design
flexibility. The Center's multidisciplinary student mix (engineering and
science students in the electrical, mechanical, chemical, material science,
and bioengineering areas) brings a broad skills base to BSAC. In addition, the
Center employs full-time staff who specialize in process optimization and
novel fabrication techniques.
Examples of unique devices fabricated by BSAC include microphones, ultrasonic
sensors, microhypodermic injection needles, microsignal processing filters,
microencapsulation shells, micropumps, and micromixers that employ both
low-stress membranes and piezoelectric films. BSAC develops and processes to
combine sensor structures with both low- and high-temperature metallization to
make truly integrated sensors and actuators.
Other Center activities include --
* Research programs for undergraduate, graduate, and postdoctoral
students, employing more than 35 graduate research assistants. Center alumni
currently guide programs in microelectromechanical systems at several major
laboratories and universities, including UCLA, University of Michigan,
Carnegie Mellon University, and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
* Past or present collaboration with the Center for Nondestructive
Evaluation at Iowa State University, the Center for Process Analytical
Chemistry at the University of Washington, the Center for Dielectric Materials
at The Pennsylvania State University, Case-Western Reserve University, and the
Center for Engineering Tribology at Northwestern University
* Collaborative research with faculty colleagues at Berkeley and other
universities including the University of California at Davis, Stanford, MIT,
and the University of Michigan.
Center Headquarters
Center Directors: Roger T. Howe, Richard S. Muller, Albert P. Pisano,
Richard M. White
Associate Directors: Bernhard Boser, Kristofer Pister
Berkeley Sensor & Actuator Center
University of California, Berkeley
Department of EECS
497 Cory Hall
Berkeley, CA 94720-1770
Phone: (510) 643-6690
Fax: (510) 643-6637
Fax: (510) 643-5599 (for Dr. Pisano only)
E-mail: sensor@eecs.diva.berkeley.edu
Center Evaluator: Howard Levine
198 Bret Harte Road
Berkeley, CA 94708
Phone: (510) 849-0358
NSF 93-97h (rev. 7/96)
Center for Microcontamination Control (CMC)
The University of Arizona
Reduction of defects in semiconductor manufacturing is fundamental to U.S.
competitiveness in semiconductor devices
Center Mission and Rationale
Contamination by foreign particles accounts for more than 90 percent of the
defects encountered in processing semiconductor devices scaled to submicron
dimensions. The Center for Microcontamination Control (CMC) particularly
focuses on contamination in equipment, gases, and liquid chemicals.
Foreign-particle contamination in the atmosphere of a process chamber, in a
gas stream, or in a liquid chemical can affect lithography, diffusion, or
implantation operations. Homogeneous contamination in gases and liquids may
cause deposits on a surface that result in performance problems in
semiconductor devices. Contamination may also affect a chemical reaction and
the deposition or removal of a film.
The CMC's research goals are to --
* Conduct interdisciplinary research on microcontamination control that
is of interest to the semiconductor manufacturing community
* Transfer both competitive and precompetitive technology to its member
partners
* Provide an environment for cooperative research between industrial
partners and the university
* Educate students in the fundamental disciplines necessary to advance
semiconductor manufacturing
* Increase fundamental knowledge of areas related to microcontamination
control
Research Program
CMC activities involve eight departments at the University of Arizona:
electrical and computer engineering, chemical engineering, materials science
and engineering, management and policy, physics, chemistry, optical sciences,
and soil and water sciences. More than 25 faculty members bring their diverse
skills to the Center's research program.
CMC's research contributions include the following --
* Developing metrology tools to measure low-level contamination in gases
* Developing metrology tools to measure low-level contamination in
ultrapure water
* Developing metrology tools to measure electrostatic discharge events
near semiconductor circuits
* Characterizing the behavior of materials used in ultrapure gas
distribution systems
* Strengthening the fundamental understanding of particle-surface
interactions in liquids
* Contributing to the understanding of the fundamental behavior of
particles at liquid-solid-gas interfaces
* Modeling particle behavior in a flowing gas stream
* Increasing the understanding of the behavior of light scattering from
a particle on a surface
* Using lasers to measure extremely low-level contamination in gas
streams.
Special Center Activities
Using conclusions from a project initially funded by the entire membership,
QRP Inc. sponsored an additional project that resulted in the development of
an electrostatic discharge detector, referred to as a "static bug." CMC then
transferred the technology of electrostatic discharge detection to QRP as the
exclusive licensee for manufacturing the detector. The static bug, which looks
like a dual inline pin (DIP) package common to the semiconductor industry, is
being designed as a low-cost item; it will be used to detect whether
microchips have been damaged by exposure to electrostatic discharge during
shipping. The detector is to be included in shipping packages and read at the
receiving end by a quality-control technician. If the detector has been
tripped, then the chips in that package should be tested.
A CMC researcher has developed a radically new ultrasensitive method using the
DNA polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to characterize the bacterial content of
ultrapure water. The goal of this project is to create a standard method to
measure the bacterial count in an ultrapure water sample. The semiconductor
industry anticipates needing water that contains less than one bacterium per
liter -- but the purity tests that are currently available are not that
sensitive and require 3 to 5 days to culture any bacteria that might be
present. PCR will untwist the bacterial DNA helix and cause it to be regrown
as two double helices. The process is repeated up to 25 times in succession,
creating a large quantity of DNA that can be observed by gel chromatography.
By using this technique, in 5 hours a researcher is able to measure quantities
as low as one bacterium per liter of water.
Computer software developed in the CMC calculates the scattered light from a
particle on an oxidized semiconductor wafer. This computer program is used by
Tencor Instruments, a member firm, to aid customers in calibrating particle
counters. It was also used to design a new generation of highly efficient
surface scanners. Tencor performed experimental measurements that described
"haze" scattering -- the scattering from background surface roughness of the
wafer. By combining Tencor's research with CMC's calculations of light
scattered from particles, Tencor engineers were able to design a new wafer
scanner, the Surfscan 6400, which can detect 0.2 micrometer diameter particles
in a background of 20,000 ppm haze.
Based on CMC's research results in wet cleaning, one member company redesigned
its wet-cleaning stations and reported a significant reduction in
liquid-generated particulates. The company has reduced, by a factor of ten,
the number of particles added to the silicon wafers used to manufacture
integrated circuits.
Some of the Center's other accomplishments in the area of technology transfer
include --
* Transferring the technology of carbon dioxide snow cleaning to an
equipment manufacturer
* Transferring laser technology to a start-up firm for use in defect
control
* Assisting member companies in planning manufacturing facilities for
the future, and establishing the CMC Forum; one forum topic is the role of
mini-and macro-environments in future manufacturing facilities
* Translating papers of interest from Japanese to English and
distributing them to CMC members
The Center's educational program has provided a cross-disciplinary research
environment with myriad opportunities for students and faculty from across the
campus. Fifteen Ph.D. and M.S. students have completed their degree programs
with support from CMC. The Center has sponsored or cosponsored several short
courses for its industrial partners.
The Center's facilities include the following--
* Garment and equipment test tower: a Class 1 facility for use in
evaluating gowns, wearing apparel, and equipment (one of four such facilities
in the United States)
* Class 10 cleanroom (240 sq. ft.) containing a Tencor 5000 and an
Hitachi-Deco 310D surface particle scanner
* Airborne laser-particle counters, liquid-particle counters, and a
condensation-nucleus counter
* Access to the University of Arizona Microelectronics Laboratory, which
contains 2,000 square feet of Class 100 teaching and research space, including
the only atmospheric pressure ionization mass spectrometer in a U.S.
university.
Center Headquarters
Center Director: John F. O'Hanlon
Center for Microcontamination Control
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
University of Arizona
Tucson, AZ 85721
Phone: (520) 621-3397
Fax: (520) 621-8881
E-mail: ohanlon@ece.arizona.edu
Center Evaluator: David A. Tansik
McClelland Hall, 405-R
College of Business and Public Administration
University of Arizona
Tucson, AZ 85721
Phone: (520) 621-1710
Fax: (520) 621-7483
NSF 93-97i (rev. 7/96)
Center for Iron and Steelmaking Research (CISR)
Carnegie Mellon University
CISR is the largest academic research program for the steel industry in North
America
Center Mission and Rationale
The primary goal of CISR is to conduct basic and long-term research relevant
to iron and steel production. The objectives of CISR are to --
* Perform fundamental research in ironmaking, steelmaking, refining, and
casting
* Educate and develop students with strong technical skills applicable
to the steel and steel-support industries
* Establish a forum to discuss the long-term research needs of the
industry and an organization to perform the research developed through these
discussions
* Provide a mechanism for leveraging industrial funds through
cooperative research and Government support.
Research Program
In 1984, Carnegie Mellon University received a grant from the National Science
Foundation (NSF) to plan and develop a cooperative research center in iron and
steelmaking. CISR began operations in 1985 with 11 charter members. By 1992
the Center had 25 members and a total research budget of more than $1 million.
CISR includes faculty from the materials science and engineering, electrical
and computer engineering, and chemical engineering departments and employs
four full-time research professionals.
In addition to computer systems and standard high-temperature equipment, the
Center also has several unique facilities including x-ray fluorescence for
investigating high-temperature reactions and processes (greater than 1550
degrees C) and an x-ray for measuring high-temperature interfacial properties.
CISR is conducting research in three primary areas --
* Ironmaking. The major emphasis in ironmaking at CISR is on bath smelting and
ironmaking technologies. Research is under way to develop a basic
understanding of a new bath-smelting process that may replace the blast
furnace. In bath smelting, coal, ore, and oxygen are reacted in an iron bath
and the off gas is used for partial prereduction. Ongoing work includes
studies on reduction reaction, slag foaming, and process modeling.
* Refining. CISR research has focused on refining processes in areas such as
oxygen steelmaking, the Electric Arc Furnace (EAF), and the ladle, and on
specialty steels in Argon Oxygen Decarburization (AOD). CISR is working to
improve steel refining -- in particular, nitrogen and phosphorus removal,
inclusion removal, and vacuum degassing.
* Casting. Casting research is focused on inclusion removal, horizontal
casting, the determination of interfacial properties, the application of
electromagnetics, and the production of steel strip. Current areas of emphasis
are the mechanisms of liquid inclusion generation and elimination, shaping and
levitation of liquid metals, and characterization of low carbon and stainless
steel strip.
Recent or ongoing research projects include--
* Water Modeling of the Top Gas Stirring in the BOF and the AISI Smelter
* Kinetic Studies of the Carbon-CO2 Reaction
* Optimization of Post Combustion in Steelmaking Processes
* Measurement of FeO Activity in Bath Smelting Slags
* Post Smelting Phase Separation and Chemical Reactions
* Determination Activity of TiO2 in Blast Furnace Slags
* Improved Hot Metal Desulfurization
* Nitrogen Reactions in the EAF and OSM
* Influence of Chromium on the Dissociation of CO2 on Liquid Iron
* Determination of the Activity of Silicon and Aluminum in Stainless
Steel
* Nitrogen Removal in the Ladle
* Scale Formation on Iron Alloys
* Scale Formation on Carbon Steels
* Application of Electromagnetics in the Steel Industry
* Environmental Aspects of Mold Slag Usage
* Mold Powder Crystallization Temperatures in the CaO-Al2O3 -SiO2 System
* Slag Entrainment in Continuous Casting: Studies of the Effects of
Physical Fluid Properties upon Emulsification
* Mold Slag Interfacial Tension
* Strip Casting Fundamentals.
Special Center Activities
CISR actively involves students and industry in its research program. The
Center's co-director received a $150,000 grant from the ISS Foundation to
support an undergraduate research program with 10 student participants.
CISR has been successful in attracting industrial associates from France, The
Netherlands, Australia, Korea, and South Africa.
Center Headquarters
Co-Director: R. J. Fruehan
Center for Iron and Steelmaking Research
Carnegie Mellon University
3325 Wean Hall
Pittsburgh, PA 15213
Phone: (412) 268-2677
Fax: (412) 268-7247
E-mail: fruehan@iron.mems.cmu.edu
Co-Director: A.W. Cramb
Phone: (412) 268-3517
Center Evaluator: Dr. Luis G. Vargas
Graduate School of Business
University of Pittsburgh
314 Mervis Hall
Pittsburgh, PA 10560
Phone: (412) 648-1575
Fax: (412) 648-1693
NSF 93-97j (rev. 7/96)
Center for Applied Polymer Research (CAPRI)
Case Western Reserve University
Understanding the structure-property-processing relationships for polymeric
systems leads to improved industrial materials and processes
Center Mission and Rationale
CAPRI's mission is to carry out interdisciplinary applied and basic research
on structure-property-processing relationships in polymeric materials that are
of interest to industry. CAPRI intends to serve as an intellectual center for
the development of new materials concepts and new analytical techniques
through the traditions of quality advanced graduate education. CAPRI fosters
university-industry interactions in order to provide identifiable returns to
its sponsors, including educated people and knowledge, as it develops into an
internationally recognized center.
The Center's goals are to --
* Perform industrially relevant research that addresses the national
technological needs for complex materials systems
* Work with industry sponsors to identify graduate research
opportunities appropriate for training the materials scientists and engineers
of the future
* Perform research that will lead to the development of new materials
concepts, new processing methods, and new analytical techniques
* Continue to build state-of-the-art facilities to serve the activities
of the Center.
How CAPRI Works with Industry
The success of CAPRI has been made possible by the close interaction with the
industrial participants. With its inception in 1981 as one of the first
I/UCRCs funded by NSF, CAPRI developed an innovative model for
university-industry research cooperation. CAPRI's model is characterized by a
one-on-one relationship between a company and an academic research team. A
small group of faculty members, postdoctoral fellows, and graduate students
from CAPRI work closely with industrial scientists to define and execute a
project in a technical area that the sponsor has identified as being important
to the company. The requirements of the project determine its size and
duration. Since 1986, CAPRI has been self-sufficient, and today is one of the
oldest active centers of its type. Many distinguished graduates of the center
are currently employed in leadership positions in the industrial research
sector.
An annual symposium focused on CAPRI research is held each fall. The program
features lectures by the CAPRI faculty and students in the morning and a
poster session with the students and posdoctoral fellows in the afternoon.
Written evaluations by the 75 or more industrial participants provide feedback
for the future direction of the research programs. The one-on-one projects are
reviewed separately with the sponsoring company at least once each year in a
formal manner and more frequently informally. In addition to reviewing
progress and defining project goals, these meetings give the students and
postdoctoral fellows an opportunity to interact closely with scientists in the
industrial environment.
Research Program
Applied and basic research in CAPRI focuses on structure-property
relationships in polymeric materials. In addition to industrially supported
research activities, CAPRI responds to national technological needs for
complex materials systems through research grants and contracts with state and
federal funding agencies.
Research in CAPRI is carried out in four major thrust areas --
* Polymer blends and alloys, including interfacial control and
microstructural design for optimum performance
* Structural composites, with a hierarchical approach to complex
materials systems based on biomimetic concepts
* Processing of layered materials and structures, emphasizing the unique
effects achievable by nanolayer processing of organic and inorganic materials
with high interface-to-volume ratio
* Polymers for biomedical applications, utilizing an interdisciplinary
approach to understanding host/material interactions.
Technical publications and presentation of papers at professional meetings are
important means by which results of CAPRI research are disseminated to the
technical community. Many of the latest research accomplishments are described
in a recent issue of the Journal of Applied Polymer Science, Vol. 52(2) which
is devoted to original research papers from CAPRI. Because the Center is
primarily dedicated to research that is driven by the needs of industry, most
of the papers in this issue result from close collaboration with colleagues in
the industrial research and development community. The students who completed
their degrees with these projects were challenged to solve problems of a
practical nature. Contributions in the issue provide new insights into the
mechanisms of compatibilization with anhydride-functionalized polymers,
elucidate the toughening mechanisms in rubber-modifed thermoplastics, and
describe cooperative damage processes in microlayered composites. Other topics
include analysis of the ductile-to-quasibrittle transition, postfailure
fractographic analysis of fracture mechanisms, and structure-property
relationships in recycled plastics.
Special Center Activities
After 13 years in the Olin Laboratory for Materials, CAPRI moved to the new
Kent Hale Smith Engineering and Science Building in the summer of 1994. The
new facility is designed to accommodate the special needs of CAPRI, combining
world-class laboratories with a bright, spacious atmosphere created by
innovative architectural style and design. The new building is prominently
located in the center of the Case Western Reserve University campus, and its
distinctive architectural style and beautiful landscaping make it easily
recognizable. In the new building, CAPRI has approximately 15,000 square feet
of custom-designed laboratory space.
Motivated by the need for new processing technologies for creating engineered
microstructures of incompatible polymers, a new facility was installed to
study the unique advantages that can be achieved with microlayering
coextrusion. This brings to the cutting edge the leadership of CAPRI in the
analysis and characterization of microlayered polymers. In this new process,
the coextruded melt stream is repeatedly split and recombined for continuous
processing of sheet or film with hundreds or thousands of alternating layers
of two polymers. It is now possible to scout a wide variety of microlayered
concepts on an experimental scale. Because the thickness of individual layers
is on the micron or submicron scale, and thus presents a large interfacial
area, these materials are excellent candidates for model studies. With this
flexible new facility, engineered microstructures with unique electrical,
mechanical, and barrier properties have already been created.
Interactions with faculty from other universities are instrumental in the
execution of many successful Center projects. CAPRI activities involve faculty
from Lehigh University, the University of Massachusetts, the University of
California at Berkeley, Princeton University, and the University of
Washington. CAPRI collaborates as well with the University of Akron through
the Edison Polymer Innovation Corporation (EPIC), and participates in EPIC's
development and commercialization efforts on a global basis. This alliance
builds on the complementary areas of research being pursued by more than 50
faculty members at Case Western Reserve University and the University of Akron
with the support of a broad-based industrial consortium.
Laboratories
The research activities are supported by comprehensive laboratories for
testing and analysis. CAPRI continues its efforts to maintain state-of-the-art
instrumentation for analysis of structure-property relationships, with
particular emphasis on the areas of mechanical testing, microscopy, and
thermal and infrared analysis.
Static and Dynamic Testing
The major mechanical testing is done with computerized universal testing
machines with environmental control. Additional servo-hydraulic testing
machines are dedicated to long-term dynamic testing. Mechanical tests are
coupled with real-time video recordings and/or acoustic emission detection for
characterization of mechanisms. Deformation stages for both the transmission
optical microscope and the scanning electron microscope provide additional
information on damage and crack propagation.
Microscopy
Various light microscopes, a scanning electron microscope with x-ray
dispersive analysis, and a high resolution transmission electron microscope
are used for solid state and surface characterization of materials.
Deformation stages make possible in situ testing of microspecimens under a
variety of loading conditions. Preparative capabilities include diamond saws,
grinding and polishing equipment, as well as microtomy and
cryo-ultramicrotomy. A fully equipped photographic laboratory and an image
analysis laboratory are available for processing images. A scanning acoustic
microscope is used for nondestructive evaluation of totally opaque composite
materials and structures.
Physics and Chemistry
Thermal characterization is provided by the thermal analysis laboratory with
two DSCs, a TGA, and a DMTA. The Fourier-transform infrared unit is equipped
with ATR and photoacoustic capabilities for surface characterization. For
molecular weight determination, the laboratory has a GPC with both refractive
index and UV diode array detectors. Well-equipped wet laboratories support the
preparative aspects.
Polymer Processing
The processing laboratory is equipped for mixing and forming polymers and
blends on a laboratory scale. The laboratory is equipped with a twin-screw
extruder with pelletizer, a mixing head, injection molding machines, and
hydraulic presses. A unique processing capability of the laboratory is a
coextrusion unit that produces tapes with as many as several thousand
alternating layers of two or three polymers. This is achieved with a die that
repeatedly splits and recombines the polymer melt.
Center Headquarters
Center Director: Dr. Anne Hiltner
Center for Applied Polymer Research
Case Western Reserve University
10900 Euclid Avenue
Cleveland, OH 44106-7202
Phone: (216) 368-4186
Fax: (216) 368-6329
E-mail: pah6@po.cwru.edu
Center Evaluator: Dr. Richard Perloff
Department of Communication
Cleveland State University
1983 East 24th Street
Cleveland, OH 44115
Phone: (216) 687-5042
NSF 93-97k (rev. 7/96)
Advanced Steel Processing and Products Research Center (ASPPRC)
Colorado School of Mines
A fundamental understanding of cost-effective, versatile steels is essential
to maintaining manufacturing competitiveness
Center Mission and Rationale
ASPPRC's research program addresses the manufacturing industries that produce
and use steel. The Center is dedicated to developing national excellence in
ferrous metallurgy. ASPPRC's objectives are to --
* Perform research that directly benefits producers and users of steel.
ASPPRC evaluates new steel products and performs research related to steel
manufacture and selection for a variety of applications
* Develop a national forum for steel producers, steel users, Government,
and academia to stimulate advances in the science and technologies of steel
processing, quality, and application
* Educate graduate students through research programs of theoretical and
practical interest to the steel-producing and steel-using industries
* Enhance undergraduate education related to steel and maintain and
develop faculty involvement in teaching and research related to ferrous
metallurgy.
Research Program
The Center's projects are clustered in the following research programs:
* Bar and Forging Steels -- Research in this area includes the
examination of microalloying effects on phase transformations and
microstructural evolution, properties, and fracture of bar and forging steels
with ferrite-pearlite and bainitic microstructures. Analysis of the effects of
forging parameters, induction heating, residual elements, or cold work on
transformation and properties of microalloyed steels and carburizing steels is
being pursued. Also underway is the analysis of bending and fatigue behavior
of carburized steels, including effects of phosphorus content, alloy content,
extent and type of shot peening, imposed stress conditions, and carburizing
method. Another area is analysis of the effects of composition and
microstructure on the forging and hot working characteristics of steels.
* Sheet and Coated Steels -- This area encompasses the characterization
and modeling of formability in sheet steels, including interstitial-free
steels and steels coated with various zinc layers applied by
electrogalvanizing and hot-dip processing. Special topics include correlation
of deformation behavior and mechanical properties as a function of processing
and testing conditions, microstructure development, application of friction
testing, the effects of annealing and alloying on recrystallization and
texture formation in cold-rolled sheet steels, and paint bake-hardening
analysis of dent-resistant steels.
* Plate and Heavy Section Steels -- High-strength, high-toughness,
low-carbon steels for plate and heavy-section forging applications are
examined. Projects evaluate alloying and processing effects on hardenability,
phase transformations, microstructural evolution, and mechanical properties.
Currently, the effects of thermomechanical processing variations on
performance of steels direct-quenched to martensite and tempered, the effects
of Al, Ti, and Zr on the hardenability and toughness of boron-containing
steels, and the effects of Ni additions on copper and precipitation hardening
steels for plates and forgings are being studied.
* Special Alloys and Stainless Steels -- This area includes evaluation
of processing, microstructure, and formability of ferritic and austenitic
stainless steel sheets, and sheet formability of superalloys. Analysis of hot
deformation and microstructural evolution in high-temperature alloys and
stainless steels is also carried out.
Special Center Activities
The Center received the 1991 Chrysler Motors Corporation Executive Engineer's
Award for its role in collaborative research with Chrysler and several of the
bar steel suppliers in the Center. A unique forging, analysis, and component
development program led to the utilization of new bar steel grades which
resulted in both a cost savings and an improvement in vehicle component
properties.
Industry has adopted an ASPPRC-developed laboratory test procedure to evaluate
the frictional behavior of new coated sheet steels. The test methods developed
in the Center have been implemented in the test laboratories of several of the
sponsoring companies.
An ASPPRC patent to improve headability for stainless steel wire has been
obtained.
Significant modifications have been made to steel specifications and
processing histories for improving the strength, fatigue resistance, and
toughness of high strength spring and gear steels.
Other accomplishments and activities of the Center include --
* More than 120 technical papers published in technical journals and
conference proceedings (several were jointly prepared by industry and ASPPRC)
* Collaborative projects with the Center for Engineering Tribology at
Northwestern University and the Center for Iron and Steel Research at
Carnegie-Mellon University
* Technology transfer via semiannual research reports, technical
conferences, and research workshops; steering committee meetings at sponsor
locations; and visits to industrial sponsor facilities by ASPPRC students and
staff
* Participation in organizing international conferences to review global
developments in steel application (proceedings from each conference have been
published); conferences include:
--Microalloying and New Processing Approaches for Bar and Forging Steels
--Carburizing: Processing and Performance
--Zinc-Coated Sheet Steel Systems
--Fundamentals of Aging and Tempering in Bainitic and Martensitic Steel
--Physical Metallurgy of Direct-Quenched Steels Products
--Stamping Technology
* More than 60 graduate students have obtained degrees with financial
support from ASPPRC
* Two engineering professorships were added to the Metallurgical and
Materials Engineering Department. One was established by the Forging Industry
Educational and Research Foundation (FIERF) and the other was established by
the Center's advisory board
* Over 35% of the Center's graduates have been hired by sponsoring
companies and over 50% have been hired by companies which predominantly use or
produce steel.
Center Headquarters
Center Director: David K. Matlock
Advanced Steel Processing and Products Research Center
Golden, CO 80401
Phone: (303) 273-3775
Fax: (303) 273-3795
E-Mail: dmatlock@mines.edu
Center Evaluator: Virginia Shaw-Taylor
444 North Beaver Road
Golden, CO 80403
Phone: (303) 642-0515
NSF 93-97l (rev. 7/96)
Cooperative Research Center in Coatings
Eastern Michigan University (EMU), Michigan Molecular Institute (MMI), and
North Dakota State University (NDSU)
An improved understanding of coatings leads to innovative approaches to
coatings-related problems
Center Mission and Rationale
The Center's two-fold mission is to be a leading academic organization that
develops relevant scientific knowledge for understanding and expanding the
technology of paints and coatings for the benefit of its members and to
enlarge the cadre of scientists and technologists capable of working
effectively with coatings.
Coatings are important in most sectors of the U.S economy, and there are many
opportunities for substantial technological impact. This Center brings
together three institutions with highly complementary capabilities to work in
this area. The EMU faculty is strong in synthetic chemistry and crosslinking
of polymers and in the formulation, application, and testing of coatings.
MMI's faculty is strong in polymer synthesis, polymer physics, rheology,
colloid chemistry, and theoretical treatment of complex polymer systems. The
NDSU program has exceptional strength in three areas: vibrational spectroscopy
of surfaces, anticorrosion coatings, and water-borne coatings.
Research Program
The Center started operation in 1995. Its research thrust areas are defined by
critical problems facing the coatings industry and coatings users --
* Reduction and, ultimately, elimination of air pollution derived from
coatings
* Cost-effective improvement of product quality
* Improved corrosion protection.
The Center performs precompetitive research in eight areas of science and
engineering that are directly relevant to these thrust areas --
* Cross-linking chemistry and cross-linked film properties
* Low-solids and solventless coatings
* Testing and analysis of coatings
* Stabilization and rheology of dispersions and coatings
* Scanning probe microscopy of coatings
* Corrosion protection by coatings
* Adhesion of coatings, especially adhesion to plastics
* Surface and interfacial spectroscopy.
Projects are implemented primarily by faculty, staff, and students of the
three institutions. Resources of the institutions are combined to focus
multiple skills on important problems. Project selection and implementa tion
is guided by the Center's Industrial Advisory Board, which meets twice a year.
Each Center member company or organization has one vote on this Board. At its
inception the Center had 17 member companies and organizations and a total
budget of about $700,000/year.
Examples of specific research projects are:
* Use of vibrational spectroscopy and atomic force microscopy to study
polymer surfaces and the effects of surface treatments
* Collaboration of polymer synthesis chemists and rheologists to devise
solvent-free, water-reducible industrial coatings with good film properties
* Pathbreaking physical studies of film formation in latex paints
* Development of electrochemical noise analysis to test the ability of
coatings to protect against corrosion in hours, rather than the years required
by field tests
* Development of more accurate methods to analyze water in paints (a
critical industry problem) by chromatography and by near-infrared
spectroscopy.
Special Center Activities
The Center is an outgrowth of a similar, but smaller, Center in operation at
EMU and MMI from 1990 to 1995. Tangible accomplishments of the former Center
included:
* Thirty-five publications, with more in the pipeline
* Three patent applications, of which one has issued, one has been
allowed, and one is pending
* Education of students who, upon graduation, are highly sought after by
the coatings industry.
Perhaps the most important accomplishment is that member companies reported
starting seven substantial projects to follow up on Center research. Many
smaller interactions took place among member company personnel and Center
investigators.
Capabilities and Facilities
EMU and NDSU are two of the largest academic programs in the United States
featuring the science and technology of polymeric coatings. MMI is a leading
center of research in polymers. Together they bring unequaled resources to the
study of coatings. For example, NDSU is in the process of adding $200,000 of
new FT-IR and FT-Raman instrumentation to its well-equipped vibrational
spectroscopy laboratory; and it has unique capabilities in corrosion testing.
MMI established an atomic force microscopy facility in 1992 and has upgraded
its equipment and expertise for investigation of coating surfaces since then;
pathbreaking applications in the study of latex film formation have already
been demonstrated, and extension to study of other coatings problems is
planned. EMU has strong expertise in the synthesis, crosslinking, study, and
evaluation of coatings polymers, supported by up-to-date equipment such as
oscillating DSC, NMR, microscopic FT-IR, and chromatographic equipment.
Center Headquarters
Center Director: Dr. Frank N. Jones
Coatings Research Institute
Eastern Michigan University
430 West Forest Avenue
Ypsilanti, MI 48197
Phone: (313) 487-2203
Fax: (313) 483-0085
E-mail: frank.jones@emich.edu
Center Associate Director: Dr. Marek W. Urban
Polymers and Coatings Department
North Dakota State University
Dunbar Hall
Fargo, ND 58105
Phone: (701) 231-7859
Fax: (701) 231-8439
E-mail: urban@plains.nodak.edu
Center Associate Director: Dr. Dale J. Meier
Michigan Molecular Institute
1910 W. St. Andrews Road
Midland, MI 48640
Phone: (517) 832-5555
Fax: (517) 832-5560
E-mail: meier@mmi.org
Center Evaluator: Dr. Teresa Behrens
504 West Hoover
Ann Arbor, MI 48103
Phone: (313) 769-4677
Fax: (313) 332-0774
E-mail: tbehrens@ix.netcom.com
NSF 93-97m (rev. 7/96)
Polymer Interfaces Center (PIC)
Lehigh University
Better understanding of the polymer-substrate interphase will lead to design
of advanced polymers
Center Mission and Rationale
The Polymer Interfaces Center (PIC) aims to develop a molecular-level
understanding of the structural, dynamic, kinetic, and energetic
characteristics of the interphase region between polymers and substrates while
also developing versatile methodologies to characterize the interphase region.
Interfacial research at the Center includes such topics as adsorption,
desorption, dynamic wetting, adhesion, charge transfer, transport (including
polymers into polymers), miscibility, and compatibility. PIC selects model
polymers, model substrates, and research goals that are of interest to its
industrial members. The Center's ultimate goal is to generate a scientific
database to assist in designing advanced polymers for such diverse
applications as lubricants, water treatment, secondary oil recovery, coatings,
inks, adhesives, and engineering plastics.
The mission of the Center is to --
* Stimulate multidisciplinary research on polymer interfaces
* Enhance collaborative industry/university research
* Educate and develop students, scientists, and faculty
* Disseminate its research findings.
The Center's diversity is also exemplified in its sponsorship. Industrial
members are drawn from a broad spectrum of polymer-dependent industries
including many of the leading companies in the chemical processing, petroleum,
aerospace, and consumer products industries.
Research Program
The Center is interdisciplinary and includes faculty from five academic
departments: chemical engineering, chemistry, materials science and
engineering, mechanical engineering and mechanics, and physics. Research
scientists from two research institutes at Lehigh University also participate
in the Center's research. The current research effort is divided into three
theme areas:
* Polymer Adsorption/Characterization -- Investigators are elucidating
the detailed processes by which non-ionic and ionic water-soluble polymers
adsorb and desorb from water onto colloidal and planar surfaces such as
polystyrene, TiO2, and silica.
* Wetting/Adhesion -- Using industrially important metal and plastic
surfaces, researchers in this area investigate the fundamentals of wetting and
adhesion and the means of varying these processes by altering the molecular
structure at the interface.
* Mechanical Behavior of Polymer Systems -- PIC researchers examine the
mechanical behavior of polymer systems that innately contain interphase
regions or are purposely modified to incorporate interphases. Selected
projects include investigations of film formation, "toughening" mechanisms and
fatigue resistance in plastics that are modified with rubbery and/or glassy
inclusions, and development of molecular/micro-models for fracture in
composites.
Special Center Activities
Using state-of-the-art instrumentation, PIC is developing methodologies to
characterize the interphase region between polymers and substrates. The Center
has already transferred information on the following methodologies to its
member companies --
* "Serum Replacement Technique" and "Frontal Adsorption-Desorption
Chromatography in a Fixed Bed," to obtain adsorption isotherms for model
polymers and substrates
* "Spin-Lattice Relaxation Times by Liquid-State NMR," to detail the
population of train, loop, and end conformations in adsorbed polymers
* "Contact Angle" measurements at various temperatures and with small
probe molecules on model surfaces to characterize the number of acidic and
basic sites and their adsorption enthalpies, which relate to receptivity
toward adherents
* Treatment of "Instron Tensile Strength" data to estimate the degree of
interfacial diffusion vs. cross-linking and toughness of films formed from
latex
* "Drop Mass Technique," to measure dynamic surface tension in aqueous
systems.
PIC also is developing novel instruments and methodologies to characterize
interphase behavior. Current projects include --
* "Total Internal Reflectance Fluorescence Apparatus," utilizing the
evanescent wave, to characterize chain conformation of fluorescently tagged
polymers viewed through substrates that are transparent to laser light
* "MoirŽ Interferometry," to provide information for detailed in-situ
analysis of the strain field near a model sample prepared with a controlled
crack
* "Dental Burr-Submicron Grinding Instrument" to quantify fracture and
toughness in test polymer systems.
The Center's long-term projects include developing fundamental insights on
polymer-structure behavior that should assist its industrial members in
developing improved products. Through dynamic light-scattering studies, PIC
has established that once certain hydrophobe-modified water-soluble polymers
are adsorbed to hydrophobic particle surfaces, they cannot be desorbed by
water washing -- but they readily transfer by collision to nude hydrophobic
surfaces. This finding has implications for colloid stability,
order-of-addition effects, and selection of hydrophobes. Through contact angle
measurements, PIC researchers observed that polar groups in polymers reorient
to or away from the surface to reflect the environment to which they were
exposed. One benefit of this observation could be preconditioning rules to
maximize film adhesion. By activating different toughening mechanisms, PIC has
also observed a toughening synergy in glassy polymers modified with both
rubber and hollow-glass particles. This finding may be useful for designing
improved plastics.
According to Dr. Joyce LaGow, Boeing's company representative to the PIC,
greater understanding has been reached in an important area of manufacturing
within the Boeing Commercial Airplane Group as a result of research in
adhesion carried out at the PIC. The technology involved is in the process of
being transferred to and applied within the company to aid in the solution of
manufacturing problems.
PIC supports research by M.S.- and Ph.D.-degree students in subjects related
to the Center's goals. Students receive degrees from their respective academic
departments, but they also take special courses on polymer interfaces given by
the Center faculty and participate in the multidisciplinary activities of the
Center.
The instrumentation available to PIC includes x-ray photoelectron/Raman/
attenuated total-reflectance infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron/
transmission electron microscopy, dynamic light scattering, total internal
reflectance fluorescence, ellipsometry, microcalorimetry, MoirŽ
interferometry, nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, column impregnation
units, serum replacement cells, various mechanical property-test equipment,
atomic-force microscopy, and a surface-forces apparatus.
Center Headquarters
Center Director: Manoj K. Chaudbury
Lehigh University
111 Research Drive
Bethlehem, PA 18015-4732
Phone: (610) 758-4471
Fax: (610) 758-5880
E-mail: mkc4@lehigh.edu
Center Evaluator: Jean Russo
Lehigh University
Center for Social Research
516-520 Brodhead Avenue
Bethlehem, PA 18015
Phone: (610) 758-3803
Fax: (610) 758-6350
E-mail: mjr6@lehigh.edu
NSF 93-97n (rev. 7/96)
Biodegradable Polymer Research Center (BPRC)
University of Massachusetts-Lowell
Biodegradable polymers are an important component of an integrated,
economically viable, and environmentally responsible polymer disposal strategy
Center Mission and Rationale
The Biodegradable Polymer Research Center (BPRC) carries out exploratory and
fundamental research on biodegradable polymers to support the technological
interests of its members. To realize this objective, the BPRC has been
organized to merge expertise in microbial production of polymeric materials,
organic transformations, plastics processing, materials characterization,
biodegradation testing, and environmental impact analysis. BPRC's goals are to
--
* Develop biodegradable polymers that, when disposed of in biologically
active environments, are completely converted to biological products (biogas,
humic matter, biomass, etc.) within a suitable time period. The biodegradable
polymers as well as degradation products must be environmentally compatible,
causing no deterious effects on the environment.
* Maintain a research program which is at the forefront of the science
and work in close partnership with industry from project inception to
commercial evaluation.
* Bring together leading industrial and government scientists to foster
close interactions and rapid transfer of new knowledge, methods, and
technologies between participants.
* Maintain a strong research team that consists of scientists having a
range of skills within the disciplines of engineering, chemistry, and biology
to effectively accomplish Center research which is, by its nature, highly
interdisciplinary.
* Educate students within the University in the emerging technology area
of biodegradable plastics. This is accomplished through guided B.S., M.S., and
Ph.D. thesis research and course work in Chemistry, Engineering, and Biology.
* Educate officials, politicians, and any individuals involved in
creating policy within the state and federal government regarding the
technology which is currently available and in development and which can be
used to reduce the serious problems currently faced in solid waste disposal.
* Provide leadership in stimulating biodegradable polymer science and
technology within the international community through publications,
presentations at meetings, founding and editing the Journal of Environmental
Polymer Degradation, organization and planning of scientific meetings on
biodegradable materials, and active participation in the Bio/Environmental
Biodegradable Polymer Research Society and the ASTM subcommittee on degradable
polymers.
Research Program
Materials Synthesis
* Microbial Synthesis of Biopolymers -- Identification of new
microorganisms and fermentation methods to develop novel materials derived
from renewable resources. Microbial nylons, polyesters, polysaccharides and
bioemulsifiers are under investigation.
* Organic Synthesis -- Synthetic analogues of biopolymers are being
synthesized as models to establish relationships between polymer structure,
morphology, properties, and degradability. Polysaccharide modification to
alter their physical and biological properties. Novel degradable polymers by
classical chemical approaches. Interfacial agents for biodegradable blend
systems.
Processing and Blending
* Polymer Blends -- The blending of biodegradable components to vary
properties and biodegradability. Single-screw extrusion, twin-screw extrusion,
and solvent mixing are being used to vary phase domain size in order to study
the effects on properties and biodegradability. The effect of miscibility and
blend morphology on biodegradability is being studied.
* Processing -- Sheet and blown film extrusion and co-extrusion,
extrusion coating, injection molding, compression molding, and solvent
casting. Reactive processing of blends and hydrogels. Processing of
polysaccharides.
Characterization and Modeling
* Measurements and effects of crystallinity, orientation, and stress on
biodegradation
* Sorption, diffusion, and surface analysis and relationships to
biodegradability
* Control and prediction of molecular weight and effects on
biodegradability.
Degradation Testing and Environmental Engineering
* In-Lab Accelerated Simulations -- Controlled aerobic (compost
conditions) and anaerobic (optimized landfill conditions) bioreactors are used
to evaluate plastic degradation kinetics. The effect of environmental
parameters on the biodegradation kinetics. Providing the ASTM with Lowell
testing procedures for the development of standard methods. Participation with
other ASTM members in the evaluation of present ASTM degradation testing
protocols.
* Microbial Isolates -- Isolation of microorganisms active in
environmental polymer degradation. Purification and characterization of
enzymes active in polymer degradation. Determination of polymer degradation
kinetics and the products formed using pure cultures and enzymes.
* Environmental Engineering -- A program that seeks to integrate current
and experimental methods in solid waste management where plastics are viewed
as a potentially degradable component of the municipal solid waste stream.
Center Headquarters
Center Co-Director: Dr. Stephen McCarthy
Professor, Plastics Engineering
Univ. of Mass.-Lowell
Lowell, MA 01854
Phone: (508) 934-3417
Fax: (508) 934-3065
E-Mail: mccarthy@cae.uml.edu
Center Co-Director: Dr. Richard Gross
Professor, Chemistry Dept.
Univ. of Mass. -Lowell
Lowell, MA 01854
Phone: (508) 934-3676
Fax: (508) 934-3037
E-Mail: grossr@woods.uml.edu
Center Evaluator: Dr. Michael Best
Professor, Management College
University of Mass.-Lowell
Lowell, MA 01854
Phone: (508) 934-2726
NSF 93-97o (rev. 7/96)
Center for Micro-Engineered Materials (CMEM)
University of New Mexico, Sandia and Los Alamos National Laboratories, New
Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, and New Mexico Highlands University
Understanding the chemistry of synthesis and processing of ceramic materials
on a molecular or near-molecular level results in new technology of industrial
significance
Center Mission and Rationale
The rapid development of the electronics industry has created a demand for new
and improved ceramic and related materials with useful electronic and magnetic
properties. In addition, the excellent thermal, strength and chemical
resistance properties of ceramics have promoted the development of new,
high-performance materials for structural and protective coating applications.
An increasing demand for ceramic materials is expected to continue well into
the next century. The mission of the Center for Micro-Engineered Materials
(CMEM) is to develop new technologies to make the United States more
competitive in ceramic science and engineering, and to transfer these
technologies to industry.
To meet the demand for new and improved ceramic materials, the Center combines
the technical resources of the University of New Mexico (UNM) and Sandia and
Los Alamos National Laboratories (SNL and LANL). The Center's principal
research thrusts are the chemical synthesis and chemical processing of
ceramics into powders, thin films, coatings, microporous membranes, composite
structures and monolithic ceramics. The national laboratories provide
complementary expertise in the areas of structural ceramics, high-temperature
superconductors, microwave sintering (SNL), and electronic ceramics and
glasses (SNL). Interactions with other New Mexico universities and the Air
Force Materials Directorate are also key components of the Center's research
program. Access to the specialized facilities of the national laboratories and
the synergy between Center and national laboratory researchers contributes
significantly to the success of the Center.
Research Program
The Center's research program concentrates on five technical areas:
* Aerosol Generation of Submicron Powders --The Center has pioneered the
study of the generation of submicron powders via aerosol decomposition of
powder precursors. Initial emphasis has been on metal oxide ceramic systems
such as mullite and metal titanates for structural and electronic
applications. Aerosol routes to non-oxide ceramics, such as boron nitride,
also are being studied. The results from the aerosol research study are
directly applicable to the manufacture of inorganic pigments, a major
industrial activity. The results also lead to improved processing techniques
for the formation of useful ceramic products for both structural and
electronic applications.
In order to increase the rate of powder generation, the Center has
developed a pilot-plant-scale reactor and a reactor modeling program.
Advantages of aerosol routes to powder synthesis include:
--Low raw material costs
--Control of particle size and morphology
--No formation of hard agglomerates
--Control of Powder Stoichiometry
--Continuous Processing
--No post-processing (milling) required.
* Porous Materials -- Porous ceramics are being developed for a variety
of important industrial applications, including:
--Low-density thermal insulation with small pores
--Separation substrates with controlled microstructure and surface chemistry
--Low-density structural materials with variable pore size
--Low-dielectric-loss substrates and coatings with ordered microstructures
The Center's exceptional capabilities for in-situ characterization of
porous materials have been used to study and characterize: (1) ambient
pressure aerogels for thermal insulation, (2) imogolite, a tubular
aluminosilicate with ordered pores, and (3) amorphous metal oxide
films and solids made from metal-organic precursors.
* Chemical Precursors to Ceramics--Center researchers use their skills
in inorganic synthesis to prepare new families of ceramic precursor materials.
These precursors allow production of new ceramic physical forms and/or phases
with a number of industrial applications. Kinetic, rather than thermodynamic,
control is used to develop low-temperature processes to new ceramic phases of
commercial significance, including:
-- Polymeric boron nitride precursors for coatings and interface modification
-- Mixed-metal alkoxides to produce novel electronic and optical materials
-- Electrochemical synthesis of aluminum nitride for micro-electronics
packaging
Center and SNL researchers are conducting pioneering research programs
leading to a fundamental understanding of the physics and chemistry of
sol-gel synthesis and processing. A direct result of these studies has
been the development of a number of important industrial applications
of sol-gel processing and synthesis. These include:
-- Microelectronics packaging materials
-- Hermetic seals
-- Corrosion and thermal barriers
-- Membranes for gas separations
-- Monolithic ceramics for nonlinear optics
-- Highly selective catalyst supports
-- Optical coatings
-- Thermal insulation.
A major scientific breakthrough has the potential to lead to a cost-effective
ambient temperature and pressure route to aerogel insulation containing almost
99% porosity.
* Advanced Processing Technologies--New advanced technologies for
processing ceramic and ceramic precursor materials are being developed.
Research areas include microwave processing, colloidal processing,
supercritical fluid powder processing, and polymer gel casting of ceramic
green bodies.
Pioneering research on microwave interactions with ceramic materials
continues to provide new insight on the way microwaves interact with
oxide materials. A key result has been the development of a theory
that explains microwave drying, sintering, and thermal runaway. This
collaborative (with LANL) experimental and theoretical research
project demonstrates the value of the Center's multi-disciplinary
approach to research.
* Vapor Phase Synthesis of Materials -- The Center has initiated a major
new research program in the area of vapor phase synthesis of materials.
Several of the Center's key researchers have pioneered the use of vapor
deposition techniques for making thin films, coatings, and powders by vapor
deposition. The new vapor phase synthesis program utilizes the skills of these
researchers to prepare new electronic, display, and magnetic materials for
commercial applications.
The Center has extensive facilities for conducting a full complement
of vapor phase studies. Center researchers perform materials synthesis
and processing experiments utilizing chemical vapor deposition (CVD),
metal-organic CVD (MOCVD), aerosol generation and deposition of thin
films and powders, high-vacuum sputtering, spray pyrolysis, and plasma
deposition and etching techniques.
Research Facilities
Center laboratories occupy about 15,000 square feet of laboratory space in the
UNM Farris Engineering Center. Center researchers also use chemical research
laboratories located in Clark Hall (UNM) and state-of-the-art facilities in
the 45,000 square feet UNM/LANL/SNL Advanced Materials Laboratory. Equipment
owned or available to the Center includes the following: high field NMRs (250-
400Mhz), low field NMRs(4-60MHz), Hitachi S-800 field emission SEM (2nm
resolution) with low-Z x-ray analyzer, UNM Electron Beam Micro-analysis
facility (JEOL 2000/2010FX TEMs), FT-infrared spectrometers, single
crystal/powder/high temperature XRD, powders and Granular Materials Laboratory
(particle characterization facility), CMEM/SNL Scattering Center (SAXS/x-ray
reflection/light scattering), thermal plasma reactor, low-temperature plasma
reactor, two RF 3,000OC furnaces, high-temperature TGA, TGA/MS, DTA/DSC,
dilatometer, laser birefringence stress analyzer, aerosol powder reactors (to
1700OC), CVD reactors, TPD/Auger surface analyzer, sol-gel processing
facility, and porosity analyzers (surface acoustic wave, gas permeation,
adsorption).
Highly specialized facilities at SNL and LANL, including neutron scattering,
ion beam modification, sol-gel processing, ceramics/glass processing, CVD,
microwave heating, laser beam deposition, and surface modification, also are
available to Center researchers.
Center Headquarters
Center Director: Rr. Abhaya K. Datye
Co-Director: Prof. Mark Hampden-Smith
Associate Director: Prof. William J. Kroenke
Center for Micro-Engineered Ceramics
Farris Engineering Center, Room 203
The University of New Mexico
Albuquerque, NM 87131
Phone: (505) 277-2833
Fax: (505) 277-1024
E-mail: cmem@unm.edu
Center Evaluator: Dr. James R. Buckmelter
11229 Woodmar Lane, NE
Albuquerque, NM 87111
Phone: (505) 292-2443
E-mail: jbuckmel@unm.edu
NSF 93-97p (rev. 7/96)
Center for Glass Research
New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University
Benefits of advanced glass research extend from improved techniques and
products to increased energy efficiency for the industry
Center Mission and Rationale
The Center for Glass Research was formed in 1985 by a core group of glass
industry representatives. Following a national competition involving 11
universities, an ad hoc committee representing the U.S. glass industry decided
to locate the Center at Alfred University. From a charter membership of 8
corporate sponsors, the Center has grown into a research consortium comprised
of more than 30 glass manufacturers, glass users, suppliers to the glass
industry, and universities. The mission of the Center is to advance the field
of glass science and engineering through research, education, and technology
exchange driven by the cooperative efforts of academe, industry, and
government.
Research Program
The research program is divided into seven major categories that reflect the
interests of the Center members. The areas of research include --
* Advanced glassmaking
* Properties of glass-forming melts
* Secondary processing
* Advanced glass research
* Surfaces of glass
* Modeling and predictions
* Materials for glassmaking.
The research program of the Center covers nearly every aspect of glass science
and engineering, with an emphasis on the fundamentals of glassmaking. Results
have been incorporated into the glass-making process by the Center members.
The research projects are selected and evaluated by the corporate sponsors at
semiannual meetings. Most of the research sponsored by the Center is conducted
at Alfred University by engineering and science faculty and graduate students.
Collaborative research is carried out at affiliate organizations in Germany,
Russia, and the United States.
A major goal of the Center is to provide a state-of-the-art test facility for
use by its members. The New York State College of Ceramics has a full
complement of equipment and analytical facilities that can be used to
investigate nearly all areas of interest to glass scientists and engineers.
These include specialized glass melting and processing facilities; equipment
for measurement of the properties of glasses and their melts; electron and
optical microscopes; Mšssbauer, Raman, UV, visible, and IR spectrometers; and
a variety of x-ray analysis equipment. Center members routinely use these
facilities for specialized studies.
Members may also sponsor proprietary research projects to augment the main
research program of the Center. Proprietary projects have included such topics
as ion-exchange strengthening of glass, the effects of oxy-fuel firing on the
viscosity of glass melts, ultrasonic melting and fining of glass, and
development of statistical property-composition models.
Special Center Activities
The presence of the Center at Alfred University was instrumental in
establishment of the first graduate program in the United States for a Ph.D.
in glass science. Several students in this program are currently supported by
the Center. The results of the Center's research program have been
successfully incorporated into the corporate research plans of its member
companies, resulting in substantial savings and more efficient research
strategies. Research at the Center resulted in the development of a process
that strengthens glasses by ion-exchange, which represents a major
breakthrough in the manufacture of glass for architectural use. One of the
research thrusts led to the creation of a process control algorithm that has
found widespread use in the industry. Selected activities and accomplishments
of the Center are listed below.
* Participating in the NSF-sponsored Young Scholars Program for high
school students and a summer internship program for minority and disabled
students
* Hosting of scientists and engineers from member companies to do
research at Alfred University under the Visiting Scientist program of the
Center.
* Establishment of a semiannual technical journal, "The GlassResearcher:
Bulletin of Glass Science and Engineering," which has a circulation of over
7,000
* Collaboration with the Center for Process Analytical Chemistry at the
University of Washington
* Sponsorship of research at Virginia Military Institute and Howard
University
* Co-funding of research projects with the Center for Advanced Ceramic
Technology at the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University
* Establishment of a scientific collaboration with a counterpart center
in Germany, HŸttentechnische Vereinigung der Deutschen Glasindustrie
* Sponsorship of research at the Institute of Silicate Chemistry, St.
Petersburg, Russia
* Initiation of new series of international glass conferences, "Advances
in the Fusion and Processing of Glass"
* Organization of a "National Glass Day" in Washington, D.C., to
increase awareness of glass science and technology on the national level
* Facilitation of interaction between the national laboratories and
members of the Center
* Research meeting with the National Glass Forum, of Japan in Tokyo,
1995
* Conducting a workshop on Modeling for the Glass Industry, in
collaboration with the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Industrial
Technologies.
Center Headquarters
Center Director: Dr. William C. LaCourse
Professor of Glass Science
New York State College of Ceramics
Alfred University
Alfred, New York 14802
Phone: (607) 871-2432
Fax: (607) 871-2383
E-mail: flacourse@bigvax.alfred.edu
Center Evaluator: Carla C. Freeman
Dean, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Alfred University
Alfred, New York 14802
Phone: (607) 871-2945
Fax: (607) 871-2349
NSF 93-97q (rev. 7/96)
Center for Electromagnetics Research (CER)
Northeastern University
The interaction of electromagnetic radiation with complex systems addresses
applications in communications, radar, remote sensing, medicine, and
high-frequency devices
Center Mission and Rationale
The scientific focus of the Center for Electromagnetics Research (CER) is the
interaction of electromagnetic waves with materials. CER's research thrusts
address such areas as detecting weak microwave signals in a high-clutter
background, fabricating and characterizing microwave and millimeter-wave
materials and devices, and increasing electronic-device speed into the region
where electromagnetic propagation effects become important. The future will
require more research for applications such as advanced environmental
measurements, medical diagnosis and treatment, high-technology defense
systems, advanced sensors, smart structures, and wave propagation in complex
materials such as anisotropic ferrites, the atmosphere, the ocean, dispersive
soils, and living tissue.
The objectives of CER are to --
* Perform basic theoretical and experimental research in wave
propagation, remote sensing, and materials
* Apply research results in a timely fashion to the technological
applications of its sponsors
* Provide a forum for cooperative discussion of research issues among
scientists and engineers from industry and academe
* Foster the education of students as scientists and engineers.
Research Program
The Center's interdisciplinary research emphasis spans the electromagnetic
spectrum, including materials science, device design and fabrication,
electromagnetic propagation and scattering, signal processing, inverse
scattering, modern optics, sensor/data fusion, and radar. This
multidisciplinary approach is critical to the development of next-generation
high-frequency systems. The Center includes faculty and students from
electrical and computer engineering, physics, mechanical engineering,
biomedical engineering, and industrial engineering, as well as full-time
researchers and administrative staff.
CER's research projects address six application
areas:
* Ground Penetrating Radar
-- Hazardous waste site characterization
-- Excavation planning
-- Landmine/unexploded ordinance detection
-- Evaluation of roadway pavements and bridge decks
* Bioelectromagnetics
-- Microwave hyperthermia
-- Hyperspectral and coherent imaging
-- Phase-modulation spectroscopy
-- Acoustic sensing
-- Resolution of transillumination imaging
* MMIC Ferrite Devices
-- Fabrication of thin film ferrites
-- Design of devices using thin film ferrites
* Electromagnetic Signal Processing
-- Sensor/data fusion
-- Wavelet-based signal processing
-- Advanced GPR algorithms
-- Imaging and NDE
* Environmental/Infrastructure Sensors
-- Fiber-based magnetic field sensors
-- Fiber-based strain gauges
-- Laser radar for aerosol monitoring
-- Doppler Lidar detection techniques
* Wireless Communication
-- Modeling wireless multipath communication
-- Wireless test bed
-- Interference-resistant indoor wireless communication
-- Covert communications
-- Antenna design and analysis.
Specific Accomplishments
The Center's research has resulted in $27 million in sponsored research, over
650 publications, and several patents to date. CER's technology transfer to
industry is primarily in the form of theoretical and experimental research.
The Center has made several accomplishments significant to industry including
a major contribution in the area of vacuum microelectronics, in which tiny
field emitters replace semiconductors for high-frequency, high-performance
applications. These electronic-circuit elements can be used as microwave
devices, such as amplifiers and oscillators, or as integral parts of
flat-panel displays. The CER project in vacuum microelectronics has resulted
in the fabrication of the smallest reported emitting structure, the first
reported emission from a metal wedge structure, and the first experimental
evidence of the nature of emitter failure events.
The Center has developed many different types of electromagnetic-based
sensors, including a magneto-optic strain gauge that can inexpensively measure
small changes in buildings and other structures; a microwave electromagnetic
spin resonance chemical analyzer for remote contamination measurements; a
polarimetric magnetic field sensor; and a microlaser Doppler anemometer for
detecting particulate speed in pollution control, avionic, and medical
applications.
The Center's milestones in the materials field include developing processes to
produce metallic and diamond-like anodic arc coatings that are more uniform
and can be more rapidly deposited than comparable processes; a plasma source
metallic-ion implantation method, to be used for ultra-shallow junctions; and
an ion-plating technique for conformal deposition of high-quality epitaxial
metal and semiconductor films on substrates at ambient temperatures.
CER's concrete theoretical achievements are in the areas of radar and
electromagnetic propagation. A major computer simulation package has been
developed that can electromagnetically analyze and identify targets in the
presence of clutter and multipath reflections. This simulation should save
radar designers considerable resources by avoiding costly fabrication and
range testing. Similar research at CER involves tomographic back-propagation
to identify buried targets. New work is proceeding quickly on wavelet-wave
propagation analysis and signal processing. Several companies are using
wavelet processing in their latest radar signal processing algorithms. CER
also is becoming a premier center in the field of numerical electromagnetic
field computation, examining detailed wave interactions with real, complex
structures. This modeling can be used in computer simulations of aircraft for
radar signature prediction and in examining the distribution of
electromagnetic power within biological tissues for exposure measurement and
interventional medical device design.
Other Activities
CER has taken a leadership role in developing initiatives to enhance the
quality of K-12 education in the United States; more than $3.5 million has
been raised for this effort. CER's education projects include --
* The Center for the Enhancement of Science and Mathematics Education
(CESAME) -- CESAME is a unique and dynamic multisector partnership of federal
and state agencies, private foundations, and industry. Established in 1991,
CESAME's ongoing mission is to foster innovations in pre-K-12 science and
education. The Center believes that teachers -- because they best understand
students' learning needs -- represent a largely untapped source of innovation
in our schools. CESAME brings together the resources of teachers, scientists,
engineers, and mathematicians to improve Massachusetts school children's
access to, excitement about, and understanding of mathematics and science.
* NSF Young Scholars Program at Northeastern University -- In operation
since 1989, this program focuses on providing high school sophomores and
juniors with summer internship experience working in the research laboratories
of CER and the College of Engineering.
* SEED (Science Education through Experiments and Demonstrations) --
This project helps teachers to strengthen middle-level physical science by
focusing on hands-on activities. In addition to working with teachers, Project
SEED has initiated a program called RE-SEED that trains retired technical
professionals to become middle school science resource agents (SRAs).
* PALMS (Partnerships Advancing the Learning of Mathematics and Science)
-- This major project, awarded to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is being
supported through the NSF's Statewide Systemic Initiative (SSI) program. The
SSI program is considered to be one of the most important precollege education
reform measures under the auspices of NSF. The Director of CER is one of three
co-principal investigators.
Center Headquarters
Center Director: Dr. Michael B. Silevitch
The Center for Electromagnetics Research
235 Forsyth Building
360 Huntington Ave.
Boston, MA 02115
Phone: (617) 373-5110
Fax: (617) 373-8627
Web: http://www.cer.neu.edu
Center Evaluator: Dr. Paula G. Leventman
Assistant Dean of Engineering
Northeastern University
140 Snell Engineering Center
Boston, MA 02115
Phone: (617) 373-4835
Fax: (617) 373-2501
NSF 93-97r (rev. 7/96)
Center for Surface Engineering and Tribology (CSET)
Northwestern University and Georgia Institute of Technology
An improved understanding of wear surfaces in motion leads to superior
products and processes
Center Mission and Rationale
Surface failure resulting from rubbing is a critical problem that inhibits the
development of key components in advanced engines, turbines, manufacturing
processes, and magnetic recording systems. In order to develop advanced
components for these applications, it is necessary to understand and control
basic friction, wear, and lubrication processes at the sliding interface.
Surface engineering and tribology involve the basic phenomena of surfaces in
relative motion. The broad mission of the Center for Surface Engineering and
Tribology (CSET) is to marshall the resources and expertise of the two
universities to advance new understanding and new methods to provide new tools
for developing superior products and processes in the following industries --
* Heavy Machinery
* Automotive Products
* Railroad
* Lubricants
* Agricultural and Earth Moving Equipment
* Metal Processing
* Electronic and Data Processing
* Aerospace
* Chemicals.
Research Program/Northwestern University (NU)
Research at CSET/NU encompasses five areas --
* Thin-film lubrication breakdown
* Contact fatigue phenomena
* Surface science
* Metal-working lubrication
* Ceramics, ceramic coatings, and composites.
Recent Accomplishments
The co-Center at Northwestern University has recently developed the following
new concepts, methods, model, materials, and software to predict and improve
tribological performance and failure in machine components and metal forming
processes --
* Analytical models and software to predict sliding wear and scuffing
conditions in lubricated contacts based on new concepts in
microelastohydrodynamic lubrication and surface film breakdown
* Software for lubrication and failure in spur gears, connecting rod
bearings, piston ring or skirt/liner contacts
* Analytical models for surface and subsurface contact fatigue life
* An efficient software to determine the subsurface residual stresses in
Hertzian contacts
* Superhard carbon nitride coatings
* Analytical models and experiments of thin-film lubrication and failure
in metal rolling and sheet metal forming processes.
Special Activities
* Collaborating with the Basic Industrial Engineering Laboratory (BIRL)
in developing superhard coatings for tribological applications
* Collaborating with the Sensor and Actuator Center at U. Of Cal.
Berkeley on microtribology.
Research Program/Georgia Institute of Technology (GIT)
Research at CSET/GIT encompasses four areas --
* Seals and bearings
* Lubricant rheology
* Friction and wear in information storage systems
* Wear of non-metallic materials.
Recent Accomplishments
The co-Center at Georgia Institute of Technology has focused on expanding
activities in modeling of lip, face, and elastomeric seals, measurements of
wear in information systems, and mechanical processing of semiconductors and
ceramics. The following lists specific tasks conducted within CSET --
* A model of lip seals has been developed to include elastohydrodynamic
and surface tension effects.
* A model of face seals has been developed to include transient effects.
* A simple analytical technique was developed to incorporate a realistic
lubricant constitutive equation into an elastohydrodynamic inlet zone
analysis, and the predictive technique has been successfully compared with
experimental film thickness measurements on a non-Newtonian oil.
* Lubrication processes for hard disk drives are being studied.
* Chemo-mechanical polishing of silicon and sapphire is being related to
hydrodynamic film thicknesses.
* Optimization of dicing of silicon is being studied.
Special Activities
* A seals short course is held annually to transfer technology to
industry.
* A collaboration with the Center for Integrated Diagnostics has been
established to study the precursors to mechanical seal failure.
Center Headquarters
Co-Director: William R.D. Wilson
219 Catalysis Bldg.
Northwestern University
Evanston, IL 60208
Phone: (847) 491-3296
Fax: (847) 467-1490
E-mail: w-wilson@nwu.edu
Co-Director: Steven Danyluk
GWW School of Mechanical Engineering
Georgia Institute of Technology
Atlanta, GA 30332-0405
Phone: (404) 894-9100
Fax: (404) 894-3913
E-mail: steven.danyluk@me.gatech.edu
Center Evaluator: Eliezer Geisler
Industrial Engineering Department
Northwestern University
Phone: (847) 491-7928
Fax: (847) 491-8005
NSF 93-97s (rev. 7/96)
Corrosion in Multiphase Systems Center (CMSC)
Ohio University and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Measurements of corrosion and flow parameters and modeling of the effect of
multiphase environments on corrosion processes and mechanisms
Center Mission and Rationale
Many industrial processes involve multiphase environments, i.e.,
liquid/liquid, gas/liquid, solid/liquid, etc. The flow and corrosion aspects
of these systems are usually studied in the laboratory using single-phase
analogies and associated techniques. The results from these studies, when
applied to the large-scale multiphase facilities, have often led to
significant under-prediction of the corrosion. This is due to the different
mechanisms in single and multiphase systems.
The Center was established to provide pilot- and full-scale facilities for the
study of corrosion and the associated flow effects in all types of multiphase
environments. These large-scale flow facilities and environmental chambers are
used to provide data and subsequent modeling of both the flow and corrosion.
Novel visual techniques and observations allow the identification of the
mechanisms that contribute to the corrosion processes.
Research Program
The Center has a multidisciplinary research team that comprises faculty,
technical staff, post-doctoral persons, and graduate and undergraduate
students from engineering (Chemical, Nuclear, and Civil) and science
departments (Chemistry and Physics). The research projects receive strong
direction from the Industrial Advisory Board and constitute research in the
following areas:
Oil and Gas Industry -- Internal corrosion and multiphase flow in horizontal,
vertical, and inclined pipes, tubulars, and wells.
Multiphase Flow Characteristics --
* Identification of flow regimes in large-diameter, two-phase
liquid/liquid and three-phase gas/liquid/liquid flow systems at any
inclination
* Determination of the distribution of the phases
* Measurements of gas and liquid fractions, pressure gradient, average
and instantaneous wall shear stress and turbulence intensity
* Characterization of slug flow, slug frequency, slug length, liquid
holdup and void fraction, and the effect of inclination
* Effect of temperature and pressure on flow regime transitions, flow
characteristics, and phase distribution
* Mechanistic modelling and software development of 3 phase flows.
Corrosion/Erosion --
* Measurement of corrosion rates using electro-chemical, electrical
resistance, and coupon methods
* Effect of flow regime on corrosion
* Effect of flow velocity, pressure, temperature, pH, and phase
distribution on mass transfer and corrosion
* Effect of wall shear and turbulence on corrosion mechanisms
* Identification of corrosion products using visual methods and SEM,
TEM, and ESCA microscopy
* Determination of corrosion processes
* Modelling and prediction of corrosion in large-diameter, high
pressure, inclined, multiphase pipelines and tubes.
Corrosion Inhibition and Material Selection --
* Evaluation of the performance and effectiveness of corrosion
inhibitors
* Effect of multiphase flow on corrosion inhibitor performance
* Development of environmentally friendly, "green" inhibitors
* Effect of drag-reducing agents and surfactants on corrosion.
Instrumentation --
* Development of new, combined corrosion and flow sensors
* In-line sensors for measuring wall shear stress and turbulence for
multiphase systems
* High-speed video techniques for the determination of flow
characteristics and corrosion mechanics
* Image analysis techniques for velocity profiles, gas and liquid
fraction
* Development of ultrasonic flow metering system for multiphase flow.
Animal and Plant Facilities
* Identification of corrosion mechanisms and processes at roof, floor,
and manure pit levels
* Effect of chemical species on corrosion rates
* Identification of bacteria colonies and biofilm build-up using SEM,
ESCA
* Effect of bacteria on corrosion.
Facilities
* 7.5, 10, and 15 cm diameter, horizontal acrylic multiphase flow
systems that operate up to 5 bar and 60 degrees C with oil and water
velocities up to 3 m/s and gas velocity 30 m/s
* 10 cm diameter 316 stainless steel horizontal three-phase flow loop
that operates up to 100 bar and 90 degrees C with oil and water velocities up
to 3 m/s and gas velocity 30 m/s
* 10 cm diameter acrylic inclined three-phase flow loop that operates up
to 5 bar and 60 degrees C with oil and water velocities up to 3 m/s and gas
velocity 30 m/s. The range of inclination is -90 to +90 degrees
* 10 cm diameter 316 stainless steel inclined three-phase flow loop that
operates up to 150 bar and 90 degrees C with oil and water velocities up to 3
m/s and gas velocity 30 m/s. The range of inclination is -90 to +90 degrees.
* Environmental chambers for studying accelerated corrosion in buildings
using any gas, liquid, or solid.
Special Center Activities
The Center provides corrosion and multiphase flow courses to transfer the
technology from the Center's projects for use in the field. Special narrated
videos have been produced for educational purposes for the member companies.
The Center engages in special individual and group projects outside the normal
program, as specified by the companies. These have included the calculation of
wall shear forces and their effect on corrosion at pipe upsets. An example is
shown.
Novel instrumentation is being developed to study the combined flow
characteristics and the corrosion mechanisms.
Interactive software has been produced based on the mechanistic models
developed by the Center. This includes the prediction of the water layer
thickness in stratified three-phase flow and the modeling of corrosion in
large-diameter, high-pressure pipelines.
Center Headquarters
Center Director: W. Paul Jepson
Russ Professor of Chemical Engineering
Corrosion in Multiphase Systems Center
Department of Chemical Engineering
Ohio University
Athens, OH 45702
Phone: (614) 593-1498
Fax: (614) 593-0873
E-mail: jepsonp@ouvaxa.cats.ohiou.edu
Co-director: James F. Stubbins
Professor of Nuclear Engineering
University of Illinois
Urbana, IL 61801
Phone: (217) 333-6474
Fax: (217)-333-2906
E-mail: jstubbin@uxl.cso.uiuc.edu
Co-director: Madan Gopal
Professor of Chemical Engineering
Ohio University
Athens, OH 45701
Phone: (614) 593-9670
Fax: (614) 593-0873
E-mail: mgopal@bobcat.ent.ohiou.edu
Center Evaluator: Scott Morris
Nuclear Engineering Department
University of Illinois
Urbana, IL 61801
Phone: (217) 333-6474
Fax: (217) 333-2906
NSF 93-97t (rev. 7/96)
Particulate Materials Center
The Pennsylvania State University
Improving the processes underlying the production of powders and manufacturing
with particulate materials
Center Mission and Rationale
Powder synthesis, dispersion, grinding, agglomeration, forming, and sintering
are common unit operations in many particulate-based materials manufacturing
industries such as protective coatings; composites; refractories;
photographics; chemical processing; and electronic, magnetic, optical, and
structural ceramics. Companies producing powders or manufacturing finished
particulate materials share a common need for improved process consistency,
efficiency, and reliability. The Particulate Materials Center was established
to assist industry in achieving this goal by initiating research projects
related to various stages of particulate materials manufacturing and
processing, establishing educational programs for undergraduate and graduate
students, and creating knowledge-transfer opportunities for industry. The
research program seeks to improve particulate-based manufacturing by (1)
developing new techniques for characterizing particle behavior at all levels
of manufacture, (2) developing computational tools for efficient process
simulation and evaluation, and (3) implementing these methods to obtain
advanced process understanding and improved product manufacture. Information
is transferred to our member companies through biannual meetings, visits,
workshops, short courses, and future employees. The PMC faculty have
appointments in the Colleges of Agricultural Engineering, Earth and Mineral
Sciences, Engineering, Science, and Penn State's Interdisciplinary Materials
Research Laboratory and are coordinated through Penn State's Intercollege
Research Program.
Research Program
The primary research programs are:
* Particle Formation -- Particle formation processes offer the advantage
of high volume production of powders with specific properties for applications
such as advanced ceramics, electronic materials, refractories, intermetallic
materials, chemicals, and others. The objective is to develop and improve the
scientific and engineering understanding necessary for the design of powders
synthesized by precipitation, emulsion, spray pyrolysis, hydrothermal, and
sol-gel methods. Advances in this area require an integrated understanding of
thermodynamics, chemistry, atomization dynamics, vapor phase reactions,
chemical reactions, mixing and transport phenomena, coagulation and
aggregation, and surface reaction processes. Manufacturing technologies under
investigation include spray pyrolysis of unique composite particles, sol-gel
synthesis of mixed metal oxides, low temperature techniques for <100 degrees C
synthesis of biomaterials, precipitation of sub-100 nm particles, and spray
drying of particle dispersions.
* Particle Grinding and Classification -- This program seeks to
establish model-based criteria and engineering principles for the production
of powders and slurries by fine grinding (typically <10µm). The research
program investigates the performance of grinding technologies such as
attrition milling, media mills and autogenous grinding, and associated
processes such as dispersion and classification. A goal is to establish
comprehensive models for powder/slurry production systems. The impacts of
interfacial phenomena on grinding device and classifier performance and on
product powder/slurry properties are evaluated by particle size analysis and
rheology. The ultimate goal is to provide engineering guidelines for equipment
selection and process design along with operation and control parameters for
the optimum production of fine powders and slurries in a variety of material
systems. Fundamental studies on powder purity control during autogenous
grinding, and submicrometer powder production by aggregated particle breakage
are designed to develop these techniques as methods for low-cost production of
submicrometer commercial powders.
* Colloidal Dispersions -- The overall objective is to develop
strategies for controlling the state of powder dispersion and aggregation. A
particular interest is relating dispersant molecular structure to the
colloidal properties, with the specific aim of identifying conditions yielding
high solids-loaded slurries with minimum viscosity. With the decrease in
particle size, surface characteristics and interfacial phenomena dominate fine
particle dispersion. A particular interest is dispersion of <100 nm particles.
The effects of dispersant molecular properties on particle dispersion are
evaluated through adsorption studies and measurements of colloidal stability
and rheology. The ultimate goal is to provide engineering guidelines for
selection of reagent type and concentration for controlling the properties of
dispersions, particularly in fine particle systems.
* Powder Storage Flow and Handling -- The overarching goal is to develop
and validate rational, principle-based engineering models for predicting the
load-response of powders. Central to the model development is understanding
the mechanics of dry, cohesive powders. Toward this end, time-independent and
time-dependent constitutive equations for different bulk solids have been and
are currently being investigated. Single- and multi-phase continuum theories
have been developed and are being modified to accurately quantify powder
behavior. Constitutive equation parameters have been measured using currently
available testers as well as testers designed for accurate characterization of
powders' stress-strain behavior. Engineering predictive models, based on the
finite element method, have been developed for simulating the complex response
of powders during storage and low pressure compaction. The finite element
model (FEM) is being expanded to simulate incipient flow and dynamic flow
behavior. The FEM will be an indispensable principle-based design, analysis,
evaluation, and synthesis tool for engineers and scientists in industry and
academia.
* Net Shape Forming -- This research program investigates the scientific
and engineering aspects of novel suspension-based consolidation processes. The
principal techniques under investigation are inorganic gel-casting and
electrophoretic deposition. These approaches allow fabrication of advanced
ceramics at reduced temperatures, with possibilities for unique composite
architectures and film thickness variations unobtainable in other particle
forming processes. Formation of ceramics by chemical reactions has broad
applicability to forming monoliths and ceramic-matrix composites, and results
in near net-shape without subsequent high temperature processing. For these
reasons, unique ceramic-matrix composites can be produced. Additionally,
precursor phases can be interspersed with continuous fibers to produce
high-toughness composites. Electrophoretic deposition (EPD) is a widely used,
large-area industrial coating technique that permits great flexibility in
fabrication of advanced materials through spatial control, connectivity, and
functional gradients, with thickness control over an unlimited range of
substrate shapes. EPD involves two basic processes: (1) electrophoretic
migration of a charged particle and (2) the adhesion of particles to the
electroded substrate. The control of these processes with manipulation of
colloidal stability and the applied electric field strength permits the
consolidation of particles on the substrate. One objective of this program is
to develop an EPD process for continuous production of 1-10 mm thick films.
* Press and Sinter Systems -- The objective of this program is to
develop a fundamental understanding of all stages of ceramic press and sinter
operations, from the selection and blending of powder, binder, plasticizers,
and lubricants through the quick, accurate design of tooling and the
evaluation of dimensional changes during sintering. To do this requires the
development of test procedures for the measurement and characterization of
granulated powders, the measurement of compact stress-strain behavior, and
increased understanding of how powder characteristics and pressing additives
affect behavior. The effect of these variables on the sintering and
dimensional change of materials will also be taken into account. The computer
model of the process incorporates test data to predict dimensional changes
associated with all stages of ceramic press and sinter operations. One goal of
the program is to establish better test procedures for each process step.
Member companies will participate in activities that help establish the use of
pressing software, measurement techniques, set-up and run parameters, expert
systems, and non-destructive, ultrasonic evaluation of green parts. The
ultimate goal is to develop tools that will reduce pressing defects as well as
increase the manufacturing efficiency of powder pressing operations.
* Particle Characterization Lab -- The Particle Characterization Lab has
been established to assist our industrial partners, to support the research
activities of the PMC, and to serve as a state-of-the-art characterization
facility for routine and complex powder characterization problems, hands-on
industrial short-course training, and undergraduate and graduate student
education. Additionally, more specialized characterization needs and
developments are provided through the individual laboratories of the PMC
faculty or other centralized facilities on campus. The Lab is partially
supported by manufacturers of particle characterization equipment who are
interested in supporting the PMC's research, education, and knowledge transfer
programs.
Special PMC Activities
* Education -- Industrial members' dues go directly to support M.S.- and
Ph.D.-level research projects. The Center has also been successful in raising
money to support an undergraduate research fellowship program. There are
presently 11 students in this program working on research projects of interest
to the industrial members, and we are working to expand this valuable
activity. Additionally, the PMC has: established an industrial internship
program for qualified graduate and undergraduate candidates; organized a
university-wide seminar series designed to educate both undergraduate and
graduate students, PMC faculty, and the university community at-large about
the importance of powders and particulate materials in manufacturing; and is
developing a seminar and separate lab credit courses for PMC-supported
undergraduates and graduates as well as other students with an interest in
particle processing technologies.
* Knowledge Transfer -- The PMC regularly organizes short courses,
seminars, and conferences in topical areas consistent with the research
program and its members' interests. Existing program topics include Powder
Production by Fine Grinding, Applied Powder Mechanics, Shaping of Technical
Ceramics, Characterization of Powders and Consolidated Materials, and
Engineering Challenges in Powder Metallurgy; other program topics are
currently under development. These programs can be tailored for in-house use
for interested companies. Apart from the Particle Characterization Lab, Penn
State's extensive materials characterization capabilities are available.
Center Headquarters
Center Director: Gary L. Messing
Particulate Materials Center
147 Research Building West
University Park PA 16802
Phone: (814) 863-6156
Fax: (814) 863-9704
E-mail: messing@ems.psu.edu
Center Evaluator: Stephen L. McGregor
Penn State Industrial Research Office
119 Technology Center Building
University Park, PA 16802-7000
Phone: (814) 865-9519
Fax: (814) 865-5909
E-mail: slm5@psuvm.psu.edu
NSF 93-97u (rev. 7/96)
Center for Ceramic Research
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
Advanced materials science and engineering are important to industries that
compete in global markets
Center Mission and Rationale
As an Advanced Technology Center of the New Jersey Commission on Science and
Technology, the Center for Ceramic Research is at the forefront of the
advanced ceramic materials revolution. The Center serves as a resource center
in ceramic science and engineering for its member companies and for the State
of New Jersey.
The Center's goal is to develop a fundamental understanding of advanced
ceramic and composite materials so that their potential in emerging
applications can be realized. The Center conducts research in a broad area of
ceramic science, engineering, and technology. This also serves to advance the
manufacturing science and technology of both traditional and advanced
ceramics.
Research Program
The Center focuses on developing the science and technology needed to
synthesize advanced materials with the microstructures/nanostructures needed
to fulfill the property requirements as well as cost, shape, and reliability
requirements of emerging applications. The Center seeks to obtain a
fundamental understanding of the relationship of starting materials,
chemistry, and processing parameters to microstructures/nanostructures and the
relationship of these structures to properties of the finished ceramic. The
Center's research program includes:
* Processing science and technology -- Ceramic powder processing,
sol-gel science and technology, thin film deposition
* Characterization -- Microstructure/nanostructure; thermal analysis;
rheology; particle size and shape; colloidal chemistry; mechanical, thermal,
and electronic properties; phase analysis
* Surface science -- Molecular dynamic computer modeling of bulk and
colloidal surface and interface phenomena; physical surface analysis using
atomic force and scanning tunneling microscopy; chemical surface analysis
using x-ray photoelectron, Auger electron, ion scattering, and secondary ion
mass spectroscopy
* Electroceramics -- Dielectric, ferroelectric, piezoelectric,
ferromagnetic, and other active/functional materials for electronic
substrates, capacitors, actuators, sensors, and smart/intelligent materials
such as monoliths, composites, multilayers, thin films, or nanostructured
materials
* Structural ceramics -- Oxide and nonoxide monoliths, composites, thin
films/coatings, and nanostructured materials for emerging applications such as
advanced engines, heat exchanges, machine tools, and thermal process equipment
where wear resistance, high temperature strength, and corrosion/oxidation
resistance are required.
Special Center Activities
The Center for Ceramic Research is an interdisciplinary program with more than
17 faculty members, drawing upon the talents of ceramic science and
engineering faculty as well as faculty from several other university
departments. Some of the Center's recent accomplishments that have been
especially significant to industry include --
* Research in computer simulation of atomic structures. This assisted a
company in understanding the role of titanium ions in reducing the
susceptibility of silica glass to interaction with water vapor and contributed
to the development of improved optical fiber by a member company. The fiber is
now in production.
* Research on aluminum nitride-copper bonding. This has provided a
better understanding of the bonding mechanism and has assisted a member
company in understanding the cause of the lack of reproducibility of bonding
during fabrication of advanced electronic packages using aluminum-nitride
substrates.
* Research on the effect of microstructure on the wear behavior of
silicon nitride. The research has confirmed that the optimum microstructure
for wear resistance is not the same as for high strength and toughness. This
has led a member company to reexamine their development efforts on silicon
nitride and other advanced ceramic materials for wear applications.
* Research in sol-gel science. This has led to a better understanding of
the synthesis of fast-ion conductors and contributed to a company's
development of a sol-gel coating technique that substantially reduces the cost
of a new product that is expected to develop a major market.
* Research on strengthening mechanisms for a model ceramic
matrix/ceramic-particulate composite. This led to a major development program
in a member company's laboratory that resulted in a new ceramic composite with
improved toughness. This material was patented and is now in production.
* Research in tape casting. This led to a better understanding of the
critical factors involved in formulating suspensions for tape-casting aluminum
nitride and assisted two member companies in their internal development
programs to produce electronic components using aluminum nitride.
* Research in liquid-phase sintering. This has greatly improved the
understanding of the use of this process to fabricate advanced-structural
ceramics and assisted a member company with the internal development and
control of a commercial process to successfully fabricate new material using
this process.
The Center is housed in a new 50,000-square-foot building and also has 31,000
square feet of additional space. These facilities house more than 40
laboratories, workrooms, and offices containing more than $12 million in
research equipment, including fabrication and characterization equipment. The
fabrication equipment includes a rotary calciner, a spray drier, high-and
low-pressure injection molders, a continuous tape caster, a pressure caster,
vacuum hot presses, hot isostatic presses, a pressure sintering furnace, and a
sputtering apparatus. The characterization equipment includes scanning
electron microscopes, atomic force and scanning tunneling microscopes, an
analytical transmission electron microscope, an x-ray diffraction facility, a
surface analysis facility, a thermal analysis laboratory, a particle size
analysis laboratory, a colloid characterization laboratory, a nitrogen
sorption apparatus, a rheology characterization laboratory, an impedance
analyzer, and a creep and high-temperature mechanical laboratory.
Center Headquarters
Center Director: Dale E. Niesz
Center for Ceramic Research
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
Piscataway, NJ 08855-0909
Phone: (908) 445-5900
Fax: (908) 445-3258
E-mail: niesz@alumina.rutgers.edu
Center Evaluator: Dr. S. George Walters
789 Sergeantsville Road
Stockton, NJ 08559
Phone: (609) 397-0990
Fax: (609) 397-0990
NSF 93-97v (rev. 7/96)
Composites Design Center
Stanford University
Grid/frame structures can provide one of the best combinations of
performance/cost of all structural composites and metals
Center Mission and Rationale
Using innovative manufacturing and design methods, the superior unidirectional
composites can be converted into low-cost grid/frame structures. Nearly all
traditional composite structures are made of multidirectional laminates. These
have several intrinsic limitations --
* Low transverse and interlaminar stiffnesses and strengths
* Labor-intensive layup, debaulking, and bagging processes
* Costly autoclaving and consumables required for curing
* Inefficient joining, inspection, and repair.
Among these conventional structures, sandwich panels provide the highest
flexural rigidity. Laminated face sheets and laminates in general, however,
are limited by premature failures due to micro-cracking and delamination.
Sandwich core is susceptible to moisture absorption. Stiffened panels are good
alternatives but are not amenable to low-cost manufacturing. Pultruded
sections have excellent stiffness and strength but are not complete
structures. Joining the sections by mimicking steel structures is labor
intensive and yields a very poor conversion of unidirectional ply properties.
Grid/frame structures offer one of the best possible combinations of
performance and cost. Grids are formed from interlaced unidirectional plies;
and frames, by multiple layers of grids. Grids can be open or filled with
another material, or have skin on one or both sides. The goal is to convert
the superior ply properties into composite structures. Grids offer such
conversions not possible with other structural forms:
The advantages of grid structures are many --
* Grids made of unidirectional composites are unique in their high
conversion of fiber to grid properties. Isotropic grids offer no such
advantage.
* Unidirectional ribs are intrinsically stiff, strong, and tough. Fiber
failure strains of nearly 1 percent can be realized in grid structures. Ribs
are not limited by micro-cracking or delamination failure mode as seen in
laminates.
* Grid design is based on longitudinal properties of composites and is
considerably simpler than laminate design, which is often dominated by
transverse or out-of-plane properties.
* Filament winding and tow placement are automated processes that can be
adopted to produce low-cost and high-volume grid structures.
* Since they are open and modular, inspection of grids is easier than
that of sandwich panels. Joining and repair can also be made modular by
utilizing repeated unit cells.
* Frames and lattice structures can be formed by bonding multiple layers
of grids.
Manufacturing Challenges
To date, composite grid structures have successfully made for only limited
applications. In civil engineering, however, lattice structures, have been
used for many years The fuselage of geodesic ribs of the British Wellington
bomber of WWII is another example of damage-tolerant grid structure. The
best-known grid structure in production is the horizontal stabilizer skin of
the Airbus A330 and 340 aircraft. This skin is hand made.
We prefer hard over soft tools because ribs and joints in hard tools are
better defined and controlled. Structural properties are improved. The
simplest, most widely available tooling concept is a female mold that can be
filled with interlaced tows either manually or semi-automatically. This
process is depicted in Figure 1. The separation of parts from tools is a
serious concern for grids with high ribs. For rib heights up to 1 inch, the
cost of grid is $10 and $15 per pound for glass/polyester and carbon/epoxy,
respectively. Sizes up to 12 ft x 4 ft x 1 in high are available. Another
process is our patented process, called TRIG (for Tooling Reinforced
Interlaced Grid), which is shown in Figure 2. The thin-walled tooling, shown
on the left of the figure, is comprised of slices cut from a pultruded or
filament-wound tube. The thickness of both tooling and the core formed by
interlaced tows determines the desired stiffness and strength of the ribs, and
thus of the grid. The interlacing may be automated by filament winding or tow
placement using a wet- layup or SCRIMP process. With tooling as part of the
finished grid, frequently encountered difficulties associated with rib/joint
definition and part removal from the tool or mold are alleviated.
Another challenge in tooling is the interlaced joint or node shown in Figure
3. If the interlaced joint consists of only stacked tows, the fiber volume
fraction in the ribs will be 1/2 of that of the joint. In practice, the
resulting fiber volume in the ribs will be less than 30 percent. To increase
properties in the ribs, we must increase the width of the joint where tows are
interlaced. Center researchers have developed several proprietary methods for
achieving wider joints. These joints can have tensile strength of 100 ksi, but
the cost is also increased.
Since grid consists of repeated cells or modules, assemblage and repair can be
more easily achieved than with conventional laminates. Frames consisting of
layers of grids can then be assembled by bonding struts that fit the interior
dimensions of the cell openings. When grid/frame structures are filled with
another material such as foam and concrete, the ribs are prevented from
buckling, and the grids have increased shear rigidity. Both contributions
expand the use of grid/frame structures. In concrete structures, grid/frame
reinforcement is 3-dimensional as compared with rebars which is only
1-dimensional. The cost of frames with two layers of grid would be
approximately twice the cost of grid; i.e., $20 per pound for glass/polyester
frames.
Research Program
Using the generic design and manufacturing technology, the following specific
applications are under research and development:
* Flat, foam-filled frames having two grid panels as the face sheets.
These low-cost sandwich panels are used in several transportation and shipping
applications.
* Flat and cylindrical frames will provide 3-dimensional reinforcement
when they are filled with concrete, which will have significantly increased
stiffness and strength over that strengthened by reinforcing bars. Such frames
can also be designed to serve as self-supporting forms to carry live load and
wet concrete. Several concrete beams and bridge decks will be built and
tested.
* Grids made of carbon tows will have zero planar thermal and moisture
expansions. Laminates can also have zero expansion, in one direction only.
Frames made from such grids are suitable for environmentally stable space
structures and machine components. When these frames are used to reinforce
concrete structures, expansion joints can be eliminated.
* For increased strength grid/frame can be made by a patented TRIG
process. Such structures can have a circumferential strength over 150 ksi and
can be applied to blade containment rings, rotor for generators, and ballistic
and explosion-resistant structures.
* TRIG, when combined with filament winding, is also effective in making
low-cost structures with single and double curvatures.
Plan for the Future
The growth of composite materials will depend more on cost than on their many
well-known advantages such as light weight, resistance to corrosion and
fatigue, part count reduction, and tailored properties. Grid/frame structures
uniquely provide a high conversion from ply to structures properties. Our
cost-reduction goal is focused on precision design methodology and allowables,
and automated manufacturing. As cost drops, the market will emerge.
Industrial Sponsors
Our Center is supported by sponsors representing industry, government, not-
for-profit organizations, and universities interested in innovations and rapid
technology transition. Sponsors will receive training, databases, design
methodology, and royalty credits. Market and technical leadership within a
region or industry is an important consideration in our solicitation of
sponsors. Cash and in-kind contributions for each sponsor total $100,000 per
year.
Center Headquarters
Center Director: Prof. Stephen W. Tsai
Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics
#388 Durand Building
Stanford University
Stanford, California 94305-4035
Phone: (415) 725-3305
Fax: (415) 725-3377
E-mail: stsai@leland.stanford.edu
Center Evaluator: David F. Salisbury
Press Building
Stanford University
Stanford, CA 94305-2245
Phone: (415) 725-1944
Fax: (415) 725-0247
E-mail: david@news-service.stanford.edu
NSF 93-97w (rev. 7/96)
The Center for Separations Using Thin Films (CSTF)
University of Colorado at Boulder
Thin films offer new separation techniques that will save money and energy for
industry
Center Mission and Rationale
Separation processes constitute a large segment of materials processing in the
chemical, petrochemical, and gas separation industries. The cost of separation
can represent as much as 80% of the total processing costs, especially for
commodity chemicals. A wide range of separation issues are of increasing
concern to the pharmaceutical, semiconductor, and food and beverage
industries. Utilization of polymeric, ceramic, and metallic thin films offers
new possibilities for efficient separations with a resulting impact on the
user-industry's capital, operating, and energy-consumption costs.
CSTF was established to advance the technology of thin film separations. The
main objectives of the Center are to --
* Conduct basic research and related developmental activities using thin
film technology in separation processes
* Provide timely and effective technology transfer between the Center
and its industrial participants
* Promote graduate studies of thin film technology.
Research Program
Faculty and students from the departments of chemical engineering, civil,
environmental, and architectural engineering, mechanical engineering,
chemistry, and physics at the University of Colorado and the department of
chemical engineering at Colorado School of Mines, and the Denver Research
Institute conduct research at CSTF in four major areas: chemically enhanced
separations, membrane structure and performance, membrane fouling, and
catalytic membrane reactors.
In the area of technology transfer, the Center's milestone achievements
include:
* Three patents allowed for sulfur-tolerant complexing agents for olefin
separations
* Patent allowed for modified ion-exchange membranes
* Patent allowed for convective liquid crystal membranes
* Patent allowed for production of novel molybdenum-sulfide dimers
* Collaboration with the Chevron Research and Technology Company on the
development of sulfur-tolerant complexing agents
* Collaboration with Chevron Research and Technology Company on zeolite
membranes and chemically specific membranes for olefin separations.
The Center has exceptional facilities and equipment for characterizing thin
films and evaluating the perfor mance of thin film separation devices. The
following analytical tools are available:
* Scanning and transmission electron microscopy
* Infrared thermal video imaging
* High-pressure liquid chromatography
* Differential scanning calorimetry
* Thermal gravimetric analysis
* Ellipsometry
* Temperature programmed reaction systems
* Low- and high-pressure membrane flow systems
* Acoustic reflectometry
* Static chemisorption system
* Dynamic mechanical analyzer
* Various spectroscopies, including Auger electron, x-ray photoelectron,
wavelength dispersive x-ray energy dispersive x-ray, high-resolution electron
energy loss, nuclear magnetic resonance, high resolution mass, automatic
x-ray, Fourier transform infrared, and low energy electron diffraction.
Special Center Activities
CSTF sponsors an NSF Summer Research Experiences for Undergraduates Program in
Membrane and Thin-Film Science, with a special focus on providing research
opportunities for women and minorities. The Center also has established a
Colorado Small Business Showcase and Undergraduate Summer Internship Program.
Highlights of other recent CSTF activities include:
* Stimulating 13 cooperative interdisciplinary research projects
* Enlisting 18 faculty spanning 8 departments at 4 universities
* Facilitating a graduate research program in which approximately 15
doctoral and post-doctoral students participate per year
* Providing research opportunities for more than 60 undergraduates
* Developing new courses on Chemically Specific Separations and
Introduction to Membrane Science
* Sponsoring the 1994 Annual Meeting of the North American Membrane
Society
* Sponsoring research resulting in two North American Membrane Society
Graduate Fellowships
* Hosting visiting postdoctoral fellows, international professors, and
industry scientists
* Interacting with two other I/UCRCs via TIE projects
* Establishing an international exchange program with the Center for
Membrane Science and Technology at the University of Twente, Netherlands
* Interacting with two CSTF industry sponsors via NSF's GOALI program.
Center Headquarters
Center for Separations Using Thin Films
Department of Chemical Engineering
College of Engineering and Applied Science
University of Colorado
Boulder, CO 80309-0424
Phone: (303) 492-7517
Fax: (303) 492-4637
Web: http://spot.colorado.edu/~thinfilm/Home.html
Center Co-Directors:
Dr. Alan R. Greenberg
E-mail: greenbea@spot.colorado.edu
Dr. William B. Krantz
E-mail: krantz@spot.colorado.edu
Dr. Richard D. Noble
E-mail: nobler@spot.colorado.edu
Center Evaluator: Dr. Virginia Shaw-Taylor
P.O. Box 468
Pinecliffe, CO 80471-0468
Phone: (303) 642-0515
Fax: (303) 642-0235
NSF 93-97x (rev. 7/96)
Research Center for Energetic Materials (RCEM)
New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology
Ensuring safety and health in large-scale production, use, and disposal of
energetic materials requires research into the properties and behavior of
these materials
Center Mission and Rationale
The increasingly large-scale industrial processing and use of energetic
materials (i.e., space rocket propellants, blasting agents, military
explosives, and explosive chemicals) brings with it increased explosion
hazards. The Research Center for Energetic Materials (RCEM) was created to
increase safety and help prevent accidents in the industry through scientific
research and dissemination of knowledge about the properties and behavior of
energetic materials.
Research Program
RCEM conducts basic and applied research in four interrelated projects. These
projects and their goals are described below.
* Detonation and Shock Initiation -- To provide and verify theoretical
and experimental methods in order to determine or predict the ability of
insensitive energetic materials to be brought to mass detonation by shock
initiation or other means; to classify these materials with respect to
detonation and shock initiation hazards; and to develop an understanding of
the rate and nature of the chemical reactions that occur during shock
initiation and detonation as a step toward controlling the generation of
environmentally unwanted reaction products from large blasts.
* Small-scale Safety Testing -- To develop improved methods and
apparatus for conducting small-scale tests for quantitative assessment of
hazards during the development, manufacture, transportation, storage, and use
of energetic materials. Tests include electrostatic discharge (ESD) testing,
laboratory and larger-scale time-to-explosion testing, and friction and impact
sensitivity testing.
* Thermal Hazards of Energetic Materials -- To understand the thermal
decomposition mechanisms of each major class of energetic materials and
develop techniques to numerically assess thermal stability in large and small
quantities of explosives.
* Safety Engineering -- To apply fundamental knowledge to specific,
practical safety problems involving energetic materials. RCEM is currently
studying the hazards of mechanical pumping of explosives.
Special Center Activities
RCEM provides research opportunities and unique training for graduate and
undergraduate students. Several academic departments (i.e., chemistry,
physics, mining engineering, and materials engineering) offer courses in
explosives science or engineering for M.S. and Ph.D. students. Undergraduates
working within these departments are also trained and participate in RCEM
research projects.
The Center is active in technology transfer and industrial collaboration. RCEM
staff serve as course instructors in the Explosives Firing Site and Laboratory
Safety course, which is offered each fall and spring by the Energetic
Materials Research and Testing Center. The week-long course provides hands-on
experience at the Torres Safety Testing and Processing Laboratory and Eagle
Field Laboratory on the campus of the New Mexico Institute of Mining and
Technology. The course focuses on safety requirements and safe operating
procedures involving energetic materials.
RCEM serves as a point of contact for the exchange of safety and hazards
information among its member organizations. The Center publishes a monthly
newsletter to inform its members of research activities and other events
within the energetic materials community. Semiannual technical reports,
technical review meetings, and safety seminars are important to the
dissemination of knowledge and research results.
RCEM's research facilities are located on the campus of the New Mexico
Institute of Mining and Technology. These facilities include --
* Explosives Chemistry Laboratories for analysis, formulation, and
safety testing.
* A field laboratory for shock and detonation research, including
detonation tests involving up to 200 kg of explosives, with state-of-the-art
high-speed optical and electronic instrumentation, and an enclosed firing
chamber for testing up to 5 kg of explosives in a controlled environment.
* A Thermal Hazards Laboratory for DSC/DTA, high pressure DSC,
microcalorimetry, gas chromatography, GC/MS, HPLC, NMR, and TGA testing.
Center Headquarters
Center Director: Per-Anders Persson
Research Center for Energetic Materials
New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology
Campus Station
Socorro, NM 87801
Phone: (505) 835-5818
Fax: (505) 835-5680
Center Evaluator: Allan Gutjahr
Vice President, Research and Economic Development
New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology
Campus Station
Socorro, NM 87801
Phone: (505) 835-5646
Fax: (505) 835-5707
NSF 93-97y (rev. 7/96)
Center for Pharmaceutical Processing Research (CPPR)
Purdue University
Reducing time to market and controlling manufacturing costs are key components
of future competitive success for the pharmaceutical industry
Center Mission and Rationale
The Center for Pharmaceutical Processing Research (CPPR) was established to
advance our understanding of how unit operations in the manufacture of
pharmaceutical dosage forms influence critical quality attributes of
pharmaceutical products, to explore novel processing technology aimed at
improving product quality or decreasing cost, to develop and implement
improved process monitoring methods, to foster an interdisciplinary approach
to pharmaceutical processing research, and to catalyze scientific interaction
between academic scientists and their counterparts in the pharmaceutical
industry.
Research Program
The theme of the Center's research program is the application of physical
chemistry and materials science to better understand, at a molecular level,
the influence of processing conditions on the quality of pharmaceutical dosage
forms. Major areas of research interest are--
* Size Reduction of Drugs -- Bioavailability of sparingly soluble drug
compounds often depends upon effective and consistent particle size reduction.
The ability to predict the output of a milling operation based on physical-
chemical characteristics of the material being milled, as well as on design
characteristics of the mill itself, will facilitate matching the type of mill
to the material and aid in validation of milling operations. Application of
supercritical fluid technology to size reduction is also being explored,
particularly from the standpoint of aseptic particle size reduction of drugs
for use in injectable suspensions.
* Sterilization of Disperse Systems -- The method of choice for
sterilization of injectable drug products is terminal sterilization. This
presents a special challenge for disperse systems, such as suspensions and
emulsions, where thermal treatment can result in breaking of emulsions and
particle growth in suspensions. The long-range goal of the research is to
develop a better understanding of how formulation factors and processing
conditions interact to influence the behavior of these systems during terminal
sterilization.
* Monitoring of Powder Processing -- As the trend toward development of
drug products containing lower doses of more potent drugs continues, the
importance of validating the effectiveness of powder blending operations
becomes more critical. Photon migration measurements have the potential for
allowing non-destructive, real-time measurement of content uniformity during
powder blending operations. Another potential application is real-time
analysis of particle size and polydispersity during size reduction processes.
* Drying -- Drying is often a poorly controlled step in the production
of a drug substance, particularly when hydrates or solvates are formed.
Current effort is directed at using model drug compounds to test the
hypothesis that drying is really a crystal growth process involving the
nucleation and crystal growth of the anhydrous phase in the presence of a
hydrate. Freeze drying is also a major research program in the Center. The
goals of this program are (1) establishing an analytical basis for development
of freeze-dried formulations and processes instead of the traditional
empirical approach, and (2) improving the technology for monitoring the
freeze-drying process.
* Granulation Processes -- Granulation is a critical unit operation in
manufacture of solid oral drug products which are not directly compressed.
Current research interest in granulation is directed toward developing a
better ability to predict outcomes such as granule strength and shape after
wet granulation as a function of the morphology and physical-
chemicalproperties of particles prior to the granulation process. Roller
compaction is another aspect of granulation which is being studied with an
overall objective of better prediction of the characteristics of the granule
as a function of characteristics of the powder blend and operating parameters
of the equipment.
Special Center Activities
The CPPR staff is composed of faculty members from pharmaceutical science and
chemical engineering, research staff, visiting scientists, and graduate
students. Four current faculty members have previously worked for
pharmaceutical companies, with over 25 years' total experience in formulation
and process development. The School of Pharmacy has a tradition of excellence
in pharmaceutical processing, and a major goal of the Center is to cultivate
collaborative projects with other departments both within and outside of
Purdue in order to provide a large and capable pool of ability and resources
which will be available to participating companies.
Center Headquarters
Center Director: Dr. Steven L. Nail
Department of Industrial and Physical Pharmacy
1336 Pharmacy Building
Purdue University
West Lafayette, IN 47907-1336
Phone: (317) 494-1401
(317) 494-1489
Fax: (317) 494-6545
E-mail: slnail@pharmacy.purdue.edu
Associate Director: Dr. Dane O. Kildsig
Department of Industrial and Physical Pharmacy
1336 Pharmacy Building
Purdue University
West Lafayette, IN 47907-1336
Phone: (317) 494-1484
Fax: (317) 494-6545
E-mail: dkildsig@pharmacy.purdue.edu
Center Evaluator: Dr. Kenneth R. Heimlich
633 Country Club Dr.
Blue Bell, PA 19422
Phone: (215) 646-5436
Fax: (215) 646-5436
E-mail: heimlich@pond.com
NSF 93-97z (rev. 7/96)
Measurement and Control Engineering Center (MCEC)
University of Tennessee, Knoxville, with Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Enhanced measurement techniques in process-control optimization will improve
productivity
Center Mission
The mission of the Measurement and Control Engineering Center (MCEC) is to
accelerate the overall pace of measurement and control technology development
and implementation in industry by serving as a national center for research
and teaching in these technologies in response to and in support of the needs
of its industrial sponsors.
The association between the MCEC member companies and the Center is
characterized by a high level of cooperative interaction at each level of
progress in a Center project:
1) There is active and frequent solicitation of input from sponsor
companies to accurately determine their needs.
2) The project goals are generated as a result of collaborative
interaction and there is a free exchange of information, data, and ideas
necessary to formulate a working hypothesis.
3) Sponsor participation will frequently involve on-site testing or
evaluation of the products of MCEC research as a means of implementation and
technology transfer.
Research and Development Program
Faculty, graduate, and undergraduate students from five engineering
departments (electrical and computer, civil, chemical, mechanical and
aerospace, and nuclear) and the chemistry department are involved in MCEC
projects. The Center's cooperative, interdisciplinary approach ensures that it
has the personnel, equipment, financing, and industry-oriented direction
necessary to accomplish research leading to significant improvements in this
field. Research at MCEC is concentrated in three thrust areas: analytical
instruments, process control, and measurement and control information
processing. Research topics are listed below under the area of specialization.
Analytical Instruments
* Acid Sensors -- a project to investigate the possibility of using
sol-gel sensors for on-line control of manufacturing processes and waste
disposal and waste treatment processes
* In-line Near-IR Spectrometry of Flowing Polymers -- focuses on
extending the useful ranges of temperature, pressure, and chemical resistance
of fiber-optic probes for use in the chemical/polymer industry
* Process Mass Spectrometry -- offers a faster alternative to process
gas chromatography for continuous monitoring of (primarily) volatile
components in a process stream
* Process Monitoring with Measurement of Photon Migration -- a project
to develop novel measurements of photon migration; the approach is to
interrogate the optical characteristics of a process stream to give
quantitative and rapid on-line information on absorption by a chemical
species, particle (and polymer) size, and scatterer density
* Polymer-Chemical Process Raman Spectrometry -- research, development,
and facilitation for commercial production of fiber-optic Raman spectrometry
probes for in-plant industrial applications
Process Control
* Applied Process Automation Laboratory -- an undergraduate program
investigating the issues involved in interfacing flexible batch-continuous
processes to computer systems for automated operation. Issues researched are
Safety Interlocks, Operational Interlocks, Unit Definition, Start-up and
Shut-down, and recipes
* Batch Cultivation and Control -- focuses on the operation and control
of batch or semi-continuous processes, which are becoming increasingly
important in continuous process industries
* Interactive Chaos Control for Engineering Systems -- the investigation
of chaos analysis techniques and control methods that have an impact on
fluidized beds (with and without reactions), combustion (fluidized bed
combustion, pulsed combustors, internal combustion engine), motor dynamics
(interaction, destabilization), distillation trays (hydraulics, flooding),
machining (tool chatter), arc melters, and chemical reactors
Measurement and Control Information Processing
* On-line Sensor Calibration Monitoring and Fault Detection -- The
objective of this work is to develop and implement an advanced diagnostic
technique that merges neural network-based process models and statistical
decision logic modules to monitor the calibration of process sensors.
MCEC research is performed in departmental research facilities. Analytical
instrument testing is initiated on campus and often extends to a member
company's production facilities. Extensive computational resources are
available on campus in support of the modeling and image processing projects.
Electronic links through a campus computer network allow researchers to access
industrial databases and other off-site computational support.
Special Center Activities
One successful project involving sensors and sensor placement was a multiphase
sensor development project. This project was partly funded by the Department
of Energy to develop a fiber-optic-based chemical composition sensor using
Raman spectroscopy. The sensor has initially been employed in distillation
column analysis.
The Center was also involved in engineering development work for new sensors.
An FT-Raman fiber-optic spectrometer was modified to meet the needs of a plant
floor environment. The device was brought on-line at a member company, where
it provided useful information to plant operators. This device resulted in
enough energy savings to cover the cost of the instrument. Improved control
had the added benefit of increased plant production.
A variety of software tools have been developed in the Center. Using these
tools, one member company worked with MCEC researchers in modeling studies of
a distillation column, considering specifically the impact of sensor type and
placement. The research identified sources of variation in the process and
resulted in a savings of approximately $300,000 to the company.
The Center participates in the College of Engineering's K-12
Science/Engineering Outreach Program. This program showcases science and
engineering concepts through a variety of hands-on classroom activities and
teacher workshops. Other parts of the local community, such as assisted living
centers and community centers, have benefited from these outreach activities.
Center Headquarters
Center Director: Dr. Arlene Garrison
Measurement and Control Engineering Center
University of Tennessee
102 Estabrook Hall
Knoxville, TN 37996-2350
Phone: (423) 974-2375
Fax: (423) 974-4995
E-mail: agarrison@utk.edu
Center Evaluator: Mary G. Leitnaker
341 Stokely Management Center
Knoxville, TN 37996-0532
Phone: (423) 974-2556
Fax: (423) 974-3100
NSF 93-97aa (rev. 7/96)
Center for Process Analytical Chemistry (CPAC)
University of Washington
Continuous real-time measurements are needed for industrial and environmental
processes
Center Mission and Rationale
The objective of the Center for Process Analytical Chemistry (CPAC) is to
develop real-time measurement and relevant data handling techniques. Through
its consortium of industrial sponsors and selected national laboratories and
agencies, CPAC addresses challenges in monitoring production processes for
effective modeling and control. In addition to improving industrial
competitiveness by lowering quality costs, CPAC's research and technology
plays an important role in implementing national economic and pollution
prevention strategies.
CPAC provides its sponsor organizations with the results of basic and applied
research in sampling systems; on-line, in-line, and noninvasive sensing; and
data processing and interpretation. In doing this, CPAC provides a forum for
bringing together a full spectrum of participants in process analytical
technology definition, creation, and utilization. CPAC helps make continuous,
real-time measurements an integral part of the industrial or environmental
process.
Research Program
CPAC's collaborative research aims at bridging the gap between basic research
and full-scale process/product development. CPAC continually assesses the
suitability of current research projects and other technologies to address
future needs in industrial production and environmental protection. CPAC has
an established track record in fostering academic/industrial/national
laboratory interactions.
To enhance technology transfer, industry-led focus groups emphasize that the
research must respond to defined needs that will lead to applications and
eventual commercialization. The focus groups reflect the strategic priorities
of current CPAC sponsors in specific industries and technologies --
Industry Focus Groups:
* Materials & Chemicals
* Food, Consumer Products, Pharmaceuticals, & Biotechnology
* Oil & Petrochemicals
* Instrument Vendors
* Government Laboratories
Technology Focus Groups:
* Chemometrics
* Sensors & Fiber Optics
* Spectroscopy
* Chromatography
* Flow Injection Analysis
* Environmental & Process Monitoring
Additional technologies may be emphasized in response to sponsor needs.
CPAC's Interactive Program helps accomplish this by prioritizing industry
needs, developing resource networks, and partnering with other centers of
technical expertise at universities, in government, and in industry. The
Interactive Program enhances the value of CPAC research by effectively
leveraging sponsor funds, creating broad access to new technologies, and
providing support for research projects and applications nationwide.
Research at CPAC has received international recognition in sensors and
instrumentation; multivariate data analysis and pattern recognition; and
process optimization and control.
Research Staff
CPAC is comprised of a multidisciplinary team of faculty, research staff,
visiting scientists, and graduate students from a selection of universities
and national centers. Although the chemistry department plays a significant
role, ties to other departments (chemical engineering, electrical engineering,
mechanical engineering, bioengineering, food science, physics, statistics, and
the Applied Physics Laboratory) define the structure of CPAC. NSF Tie Grants
normally form the union between CPAC and other national centers.
The transfer of CPAC's discoveries and innovations to industry and national
laboratories is ensured through the participation of its graduate students in
industrial cooperative programs and as future employees. Historically, over
70% of CPAC's graduates have joined sponsor organizations.
Special Center Activities
One of CPAC's goals is to transfer technology. One approach is illustrated by
the FlowProbeª sensor development project, which utilized CPAC's unique
ability to bring industry and academia together to create and field-test novel
technologies. With support from the Department of Energy and the NSF, sensor
technology at CPAC was refined at Sandia National Laboratories in order to
build prototypes for testing at CPAC sponsor companies and DOE waste sites.
The project (1) allowed the development of a versatile, inexpensive miniature
chemical analyzer for use in environmental monitoring, industrial process
control, and pollution prevention applications, and (2) provided a model for
combining the expertise of scientists and engineers from industry and the
national laboratories with university researchers to create the team necessary
to take a technology from concept to commercialization.
Another example of partnering led to the commercialization of the Perkin-Elmer
PIONIRª 1024 Process Near-Infrared Analyzer. Several of CPAC's instrument,
chemical, and oil sponsors collaborated with CPAC researchers to develop an
analyzer that won a 1992 R&D 100 Award (one of the top 100 technological
innovations for 1992) and that offers unprecedented levels of accuracy, speed,
and ruggedness for on-line measurements in petroleum refineries.
CPAC also transfers technology by developing new applications and improvements
to existing measurement equipment for the sponsors. Recently, Hewlett-Packard
dramatically improved the signal/noise ratio of its optical fiber test
equipment through CPAC collaborations. The equipment was then tested at CPAC
to address various process analysis applications.
Many sponsor organizations are using chemometrics software and techniques,
such as calibration transfer, developed at CPAC. The software was transferred
to all sponsors for their in-house use and represents one of the most widely
used products derived from CPAC to date.
CPAC's output, whether providing tangible research results, training future
professionals, hosting visiting scientists, offering continuing education
courses, or providing consultation, has made it a valuable resource for its
sponsors. Please contact CPAC for more information.
Center Headquarters
Executive Director: Dr. Ernie H. Baughman
Faculty Director: Dr. Gary D. Christian
Emeritus Director: Dr. Bruce R. Kowalski
Interactive Program Director: Dr. Mel V. Koch
Center for Process Analytical Chemistry
University of Washington
Box 351700
Seattle, WA 98195-1700
Phone: (206) 685-2326, (206) 543-6054
Fax: (206) 543-6506
E-mail: cpac@cpac.washington.edu
Web: http://www.cpac.washington.edu
Center Evaluator: Dr. Craig S. Scott
Department of Medical Education
University of Washington
Box 357240
Seattle, WA 98195-7240
Phone: (206) 543-2259
Fax: (206) 543-3461
NSF 93-97bb (rev. 7/96)
The Center for Building Performance and Diagnostics (CBPD)
Carnegie Mellon University
High-performance buildings should enhance worker effectiveness, communication,
comfort, and productivity
Center Mission and Rationale
The Center for Building Performance and Diagnostics (CBPD) conducts research,
development, and demonstrations to increase the quality of and user
satisfaction with commercial buildings and integrated building systems, while
improving cost, time, and energy efficiency. The Center believes that
high-performance buildings must provide appropriate physical, environmental,
and organizational settings to accommodate changing technologies and workplace
activities. The Center's members are prominent leaders in the market for
high-performance buildings.
The main goals of CBPD are to --
* Study international developments in high-performance buildings. CBPD
is building an international knowledge base on advanced office buildings in
Japan, Germany, the United Kingdom, Canada, the United States, and France.
* Develop innovative products. CBPD has developed a list of major design
features and decisions that are critical to the advanced office.
* Develop an innovative building delivery process centered on a team
approach to design.
* Improve educational curricula and materials on systems integration for
building performance.
* Design and construct the Intelligent Workplace (the first in a series
of CBPD demonstration projects).
* Complete a state-of-the-art demonstration project.
* Complete a "breakthrough building" with a private owner or developer.
This demonstration project will further introduce CBPD findings into the
mainstream practices of the building industry.
Research Program
CBPD's investigators have performed significant research in the area of
building performance and diagnostics. Selected research activities include --
* Major performance-design decisions for offices, courthouses, and
university laboratories
* Energy-efficient revitalization of inner-city housing
* Impact of HVAC, lighting, and enclosure zoning and control on the
energy consumption of commercial buildings
* Development of integrated computational design and simulation
environments for concurrent performance analysis
* Long-term analysis of the thermal, visual, and acoustical performance
of buffer spaces (e.g., atria)
* Studies of daylight/electric light interfaces and development of an
expert system to simulate and evaluate the visual quality of indoor rooms
* Empirical assessment and computer simulation of sound transmission
between adjacent spaces.
The CBPD research program has several distinguishing characteristics. The
Center contends that occupied buildings are the most reliable validation field
for the performance of individual components and their impact on occupants (as
opposed to the study of one building- performance issue in isolation from
others in a "conventional" laboratory setting).
Additionally, CBPD radically departs from the standard linear process of
building delivery and "patchwork" integration of building systems. The Center
advocates a team decision-making process for building design and delivery.
This process ensures a more fully integrated building design that provides
environmental quality and responds to changing technologies and the changing
needs of occupants.
Finally, CBPD research involves an in-depth analysis of interactions and
interrelationships between different building-performance descriptors and
building systems.
Special Center Activities
Together with the Advanced Building Systems Integration Consortium, which
serves as the Center's Industrial Advisory Board, CBPD researchers are
planning a series of demonstration projects designed to progressively
introduce CBPD's research findings into the mainstream building industry. The
Intelligent Workplace, the first in this series of three demonstration
projects, will satisfy the need for a dedicated research environment that
addresses the necessity of integrative building-performance evaluation.
When completed, the Intelligent Workplace not only will house building
performance and diagnostics instrumentation, but it will itself become the
subject of building performance research. The facility will function as a
dynamic laboratory and a high-performance computing workplace. The Intelligent
Workplace will assimilate experimental design innovations and high-performance
products and assemblies into all building systems (enclosure, mechanical,
telecommunications, electrical, and interior systems).
CBPD research and development activities have fostered several collaborative
efforts between sponsor companies to develop improved building products and
systems. One example of the Consortium's responsiveness to innovative design
directions for industry is the Personal Environments Moduleª (or PEMª), which
was developed by Johnson Controls Inc. and CBPD. The PEMª allows for greater
individual environmental control by ducting fresh air to each workstation and
permitting the occupant to control air speed, temperature, and direction,
along with other environmental factors.
Sponsor companies are working together to realize advances in the following
areas: acoustic panel systems; ceiling and wall integration; unified
networking of data and phone; power monitoring; modular data/voice/power
outlet boxes for walls and furniture; energy effectiveness of user control
systems; integrated facility-management software; water-based (nontoxic)
coating technologies; application of low-CFC insulation materials in roofing;
and use of recyclable plastics in office environments.
The Center's corporate sponsors include major U.S. construction companies
(with worldwide operations) along with manufacturers of instrumentation,
controls, telephone and lighting equipment, and software. Federal sponsors
include the Department of Defense, the Department of Energy, the Environmental
Protection Agency, and the General Services Administration. The Center has
several European companies as partners.
Other accomplishments of the Center are highlighted below:
* The CBPD offers the only program in the United States with a graduate
concentration in building performance and diagnostics.
* The CBPD was awarded the Three Rivers Environmental Award in 1996,
which recognized the Intelligent Workplace project for its excellence in
advancing environmental quality in Western Pennsylvania.
* The American Institute of Architects (AIA) recently awarded the CBPD
faculty an honorable mention in the 1992 Education Honors Program for its
course sequence entitled Design for Building Performance: An Integrative
Approach.
* The CBPD was awarded the Nuckolls Fund Grant for Lighting Education.
* The CBPD was awarded the AIA award (Pittsburgh chapter) for
"Architecture for Art's Sake," a research project sponsored by the National
Endowment for the Arts.
Center Headquarters
Center Director: Dr. Volker Hartkopf
The Center for Building Performance and Diagnostics (CBPD)
Carnegie Mellon University
Pittsburgh, PA 15213
Phone: (412) 268-2350
Fax: (412) 268-6129
E-mail: vho2@andrew.cmu.edu
Center Evaluator: Dr. Luis Vargas
Graduate School of Business
University of Pittsburgh
314 Mervis Hall
Pittsburgh, PA 15260
Phone: (412) 648-1575
Fax: (412) 648-1693
NSF 93-97cc (rev. 7/96)
Center for Optoelectronic Devices, Interconnects, and Packaging (COEDIP)
University of Arizona and the University of Maryland
Researchers work to produce useful, innovative, state-of-the-art packaged
devices and optical interconnect subsystems
Center Mission and Rationale
The Center is committed to being the leading research and educational Center
in the areas of design, fabrication, integration, and packaging of
optoelectronic devices and optical interconnects. The Center occupies a
special position within the scientific community, with activities spanning the
range from fundamental understanding of innovative optical devices to
fabrication of optoelectronic devices to activities encompassing integration,
packaging, reliability testing, and manufacturing. A unique strength brought
about by uniting the two universities is the ability to model, fabricate, and
package optoelectronic components within the same Center. State-of-the-art
fabrication facilities within the two universities allow the fabrication of
optoelectronic devices and interconnect subsystems, with packaging occupying
center stage from inception to completion of the device/subsystem.
The Center provides a resource base to the scientific community for the
development and fabrication of new innovative devices, the understanding of
both hybrid and monolithic device integration, and the development of a
reproducible and controllable packaging technology.
Research Program
We envision taking advantage of a unique combination of device design
expertise and state-of-the-art fabrication and packaging facilities at both
universities to fabricate new, innovative devices and optoelectronic
subsystems. This collaboration will utilize the resources of the two
universities in a synergistic way.
Strategy
* Utilize our fundamental understanding of devices to design new,
innovative devices optimized for a particular application.
* Increase functionality of a component by integration with others.
* Consider packaging as an integral part of device design.
* Perform cross-disciplinary research to refine science, practices, and
principles for the design, integration, and packaging of components in a
cost-effective and reliable way.
* Provide a forum that fosters a high level of cooperation among the two
universities, industry, and government to develop innovative devices and
investigate packaging solutions.
* Educate and train future scientists and engineers in an
interdisciplinary environment and expose them to industrial practices.
Approach
* Focus research on areas of strength within the two universities. These
include: research on semiconductor lasers, semiconductor laser amplifiers, and
modulators; study of optical nonlinearities of semiconductor and organic
compounds; research on optical interconnects; development of unique
capabilities such as real-time, in-situ ellipsometry for process control;
research on alignment-tolerant structures and silicon bench technology;
development of array technology; research on high-performance die attach;
integration of optics with electronics using flip-chip bonding; development of
advanced components, such as a spectrometer-on-a-chip; and investigation of
new characterization tools.
* Develop theoretical models for devices.
* Develop simulation techniques for the integration of different
optoelectronic components.
* Model the thermal, mechanical, optical, and electrical characteristics
of die attach and flip-chip bonding.
* Fabricate demonstration systems which test packaging and device
concepts. Several optical interconnect experiments are currently in progress
for this purpose.
Special Center Activities
Some examples of the types of devices investigated by the Center are listed
below. These examples demonstrate the outstanding device and packaging issues
being addressed by the two universities.
* Optical connection cube for parallel data transfer
* Low-cost photorefractive polymer devices for 3-D volume holographic
storage
* High-power semiconductor laser amplifiers
* Adiabatic beam expansion and alignment-tolerant structures.
Center Headquarters
Center Co-Director: Nasser Peyghambarian
Center for Optoelectronic Devices,
Interconnects, and Packaging
Optical Sciences Center
University of Arizona
Tucson, AZ 85721
Phone: (520) 621-4649
Fax: (520) 621-9610
E-mail: peygba@ccit.arizona.edu
Center Co-Director: Mario Dagenais
Center for Optoelectronic Devices,
Interconnects, and Packaging
University of Maryland
Department of Electrical Engineering
College Park, MD 20742
Phone: (301) 405-3684
Fax: (301) 314-9281
E-mail: dage@eng.umd.edu
Center Evaluator: David A. Tansik
McClelland Hall 405-R
College of Business and Public Administration
University of Arizona
Tucson, AZ 85721
Phone: (520) 621-1710
Fax: (520) 621-8559
Center Evaluator: Morris S. Ojalvo
6006 Broad Branch Rd., NW
Washington, DC 20015
Phone: (202) 966-8663
Fax: (202) 686-2053
NSF 93-97dd (rev. 7/96)
Center for Ultra-High Speed Integrated Circuits and Systems (ICAS)
University of California, San Diego with San Diego State University
Digital design research and development of advanced submicron microelectronics
support next-generation communications and digital signal processing (DSP)
Center Mission and Rationale
The area of algorithm-specific integrated circuits (ASIC), or semicustom
chips, is currently the fastest growing segment of the semiconductor industry
in the world. The United States' lead is fast eroding and may have already
been surpassed by foreign competition. Three of the top five world
manufacturers of ASIC are Japanese. The Center for Ultra-High Speed Integrated
Circuits and Systems (ICAS) anticipates that their prototype microchip design
efforts will contribute to strengthening the United States' design
capabilities and electronics infrastructure.
ICAS conducts basic and industrially relevant research in the design and
fabrication of digital integrated circuits (IC) with clock speeds exceeding
100 MHz for silicon and 2.5 GHz for heterojunction-based III-V compound
semiconductor technologies. Design and fabrication of ultra-high-frequency
analog ICs is also carried out in the Center. Basic issues of material
synthesis, submicron fabrication, and IC design for both silicon and III-V
technologies are being addressed in a focused and coordinated effort to
maximize the chances for obtaining fully functional chips capable of insertion
into actual prototype systems in communications, digital signal processing
(DSP), electronic warfare (EW), and computer systems.
Research Program
The Center's goals are to --
* Advance the state of the art in submicron microelectronics
* Generate novel algorithms and architectures to exploit ultra-fast
submicron technology
* Design and analyze the performance of advanced communications and
signal processing systems based on ultra-high-speed integrated circuits
(UHSIC) implementation
* Develop innovative computer-aided design (CAD) tools and concepts for
next-generation dedicated application and/or ASIC chips for communications and
DSP.
Ongoing research at the Center is clustered into four fundamental groups --
* Electronic devices and materials
* Electronic circuits and subsystems
* Algorithms and architectures
* Communications systems.
The Center's major research thrusts have been in innovative chip design using
the bulk CMOS, CMOS/SOS, HEMT, and HBT technologies; device fabrication using
pseudomorphic III-V heterostructure FETs; adaptive signal processing; and
multiprocessing systems for DSP and interference rejection techniques in
spread spectrum communications. Major new areas of research include the spread
spectrum application for mobile communication and the study of code division
multiple access (CDMA) for personal communications networks.
Special Center Activities
Some of the Center's accomplishments include --
* Designing the Complex Multiplier Accumulator Chip (CMAC) fabricated by
Raytheon. Package parts are being tested. CMAC is currently being used as a
processing element for MCM Adaptive Lattice Filter Implementation.
* Developing novel approaches, based on advances in the synthesis of
fault-tolerant microarchitectures, which contribute to the automated synthesis
of self-recovering and fault-secure microarchitectures.
* Partitioning and scheduling programs to map tasks onto a heterogeneous
set of multiprocessors for execution of DSP algorithms.
* Presenting a specification for a scalable multiprocessor system
capable of combining processors of varying types and abilities through the use
of a novel high-speed interconnect organized in cluster networks.
* Demonstrating the substantially improved detection performance of the
Two-Dimensional Adaptive Least Mean Square Filter for point objects in
infrared image data. A complete simulation study was also conducted and
software was developed to analyze the performance of the filter on image data.
* Demonstrating the input tracking ability of a stochastic gradient
adaptive lattice filter from nonstationary chirped sinusoidal inputs. The
filter was shown to track input with some lag depending on the memory of the
file.
* Investigating detection gains in the use of image sequences for target
detection. Researchers derived bounds on the minimum target signal-to-noise
ratio (SNR) required for detection as a function of the number of frames used
and target velocity.
Facilities
The Center is housed in the recently completed Engineering Research Building,
which has class-100 clean rooms for IC fabrication. The Center has a set of
high-end, very large scale integration (VLSI) CAD workstations based on the HP
700 series workstations, Macintosh computers, PCs, and Sun SPARC Stations,
with software from Mentor Graphics, CADENCE, and other companies. It also has
state-of-the-art commercial, university developed, and very high speed
integrated circuit (VHSIC) design and analysis tools, and a Cambridge EBMF
10.5 Microfabricator Electron Beam Lithography System. For system-level
design, the Center's software resources include MATLAB, Ptolemy, and Altagroup
SPW System, as well as internally developed simulation tools. The Center has
access to the department of electrical and computer engineering's Molecular
Beam Epitaxy machines. The resources of the San Diego Supercomputer Center,
including a CRAY Y-MP supercomputer and Intel Paragon Massively Parallel
Computers, are being utilized to support the simulation and design of the
UHSIC chips.
Center Headquarters
Center Director: Walter H. Ku
Center for Ultra-High Speed Integrated Circuits and Systems
Engineering Building, Room 4401
9500 Gilman Drive, Mail Code 0407
La Jolla, CA 92093-0407
Phone: (619) 534-3431
Fax: (619) 534-2486
E-mail: wku@ucsd.edu
Center Evaluator: Clarence G. Thornton
28 Glenwood Road
Colts Neck, NJ 07722
Phone: (908) 946-2982
Fax: (908) 946-3088
E-mail: claret@stmon.arl.mil
NSF 93-97ee (rev. 7/96)
Center for Advanced Manufacturing and Packaging of Microwave, Optical and
Digital Electronics (CAMPmode)
University of Colorado at Boulder
Research at the intersection of digital, microwave, and optical technology
holds the key to the future of the U.S. electronics industry
Center Mission and Rationale
The establishment of the Center for Advanced Manufacturing and Packaging of
Microwave, Optical and Digital Electronics (CAMPmode) evolved from the growing
recognition that, for U.S.-based companies to compete successfully in the
rapidly growing electronics market, path-finding research must be undertaken
at the universities to provide a knowledge base for the manufacturing and
packaging of very high-speed microwave, optical, and digital electronics to
enhance the manufacturability and functionality of future systems. Our shared
belief is that in the coming two decades, the synergistic interaction of three
major and developing technologies -- high-speed digital integrated circuits,
microwave/millimeter-wave integrated circuits, and optical electronics -- will
provide a wealth of products scarely envisioned today, including among others,
personal communication devices, intelligent vehicular systems, interactive
television, optoelectronic image processing and display, and home medical
diagnostic units.
The formal process of identifying the research needs of the electronics
industry was initiated in the summer of 1991 at the University of Colorado,
Boulder. Subsequently, a series of meetings and discussions were held
including participation by several major electronics companies from across the
nation, the State of Colorado, and Federal Laboratory representatives. The
result of these collective inputs was the formation in early 1992 of CAMPmode
at the University of Colorado, Boulder. In 1994, the MIMICAD Center (the
Center for Microwave/Millimeter-Wave Computer-Aided Design), an NSF I/UCRC,
merged with CAMPmode, thereby significantly enhancing the Center's
capabilities and strengths. The new, merged Center's mission is: ... to
perform interdisciplinary research at the forefront of developing
computer-aided designs, packaging, and manufacturing technologies for
high-quality, low-cost production of electronic systems. We specifically
consider those products or systems that integrate two or all three of the
microwave/millimeter-wave, optical, and digital technologies. Of these, our
current emphasis is on microwave/millimeter-wave digital products/systems.
The objectives of CAMPmode are to:
* Establish a knowledge base for CAD methodologies and tools, packaging,
and manufacturing technologies for the integration of
microwave/millimeter-wave, high speed digital, and optical electronics
* Increase the number of engineers in the United States who are equipped
to design and manufacture electronic systems
* Foster strong collaboration between industry, university, and
government R&D organizations in the Center's focus areas of research.
Research Program
The Center's research program focuses on--
* Multilayer circuits and integrated circuit-antenna modules for RF,
microwaves, and millimeter waves.
* Electromagnetic-artificial neural network modeling of
microwave/millimeter-wave components, including parasitic coupling
* A network modeling approach for effects of metallic and/or plastic
packages on circuit performance
* Efficient computation of large electromagnetic and/or heat transfer
problems
* CAD tool development for mixed-signal modules, including efficient and
accurate computational algorithms and fast computation of parasitic coupling
effects
* Modeling of radiative EMI from printed circuit boards
* Concurrent electrical and thermal analysis
* Thermosonic flip-chip bonding for high-I/O connections
* Experimental and analytical investigation of the effects of design and
process parameters on solder profile and reliability; computational procedures
for predicting process-induced variability in life and optimizing design.
* Integrated reliability model for BGA/flip-chip solder joints
* Novel metal foam heat-sinks for thermal management of electronic
systems for power dissipation levels up to 100 W/cm2
* Low-cost laminate designs for mixed-signal electronic packaging
* Flip-chip assembly for mixed signal technology.
CAMPmode's milestone achievements include:
* Development of PMESH, a full-wave integral-equation/moment-method
based electromagnetic simulation software for microstrip, slotline, coplanar
waveguide and coplanar stripline microwave circuits
* Modeling of spurious coupling among, and radiation from, microstrip
circuits
* Complete quasi-static experimentally verifiable software for analysis
of coplanar MMIC circuits
* Demonstration of the first calibrated area optical sampling system for
in situ sampling of MMIC circuits
* Development of hybrid FDTD and edge element algorithms for time-domain
analysis of high-frequency interconnects
* Algorithms for optimal mechanical design of land-grid array connectors
and other systems with significant analysis complexity
* Demonstration of significant power efficiency improvement and
reduction of noise in dc power distribution for battery-operated systems
* Demonstration of feasibility of integrated local power processors and
low-voltage, low-noise power distribution for mixed-signal electronic systems
* Development of a novel approach to build faster and more accurate
artificial neural network (ANN) models for process modeling, optimization, and
control
* Development of solder profile-modeling software for precision
alignment and/or reliable connections.
Special Center Activities
* Support of MS and Ph.D. programs in Mechanical Engineering and in
Electrical and Computer Engineering Departments
* Workshops and short courses hosted by CAMPmode for its sponsors and
potential sponsors
* Publication of numerous journal articles, mostly involving student
work
* Publication of a bi-annual newsletter to inform public of CAMPmode
activities
* Participation by postdoctoral students and visiting scientists in the
Center's programs
* Participation by students in cooperative and internship programs at
sponsor locations.
Facilities and Laboratories
Center facilities and laboratories available to faculty, staff, students, and
sponsors include the following:
* Clean room for optical and microwave circuit fabrication and antenna
construction
* Mask-making facility
* Network of HP-300 and HP-700 series color graphic computers
* HP-8510 network analyzer
* RF probing station
* Optical measurements facility
* Packaging Laboratory including thermosonic flip-chip bonder, flip-chip
soldering, MCM prototyping, fluxless reflow facilities
* Electronic Manufacturing Laboratory including reflow soldering
equipment, thermal diagnostic equipment, CVD prototypes, and wind-tunnel.
Center Headquarters
Center Director: Roop L. Mahajan
CAMPmode
University of Colorado
Boulder, CO 80309-0427
Phone: (303) 492-7750
Fax: (303) 492-3498
E-mail: mahajan@spot.colorado.edu
Center Evaluator: Dr. Virginia Shaw-Taylor
444 North Beaver Road
Golden, CO 80403
Phone: (303) 642-0515
NSF 93-97ff (rev. 7/96)
Center for Dielectric Studies (CDS)
Intercollege Materials Research Laboratory, Penn State University
An improved understanding of dielectric materials will lead to the development
of advanced devices for electronic technology
Center Mission and Rationale
Research projects at the Center for Dielectric Studies (CDS) aim to improve
the basic understanding of the synthesis, processing, and properties of
dielectric materials and the electrode metallizations for electronic devices.
These devices include: capacitors, microwave components, hybrid microcircuits,
thermistors, packages, multichip modules, and thin-film dielectrics. CDS
member companies are a mix of material suppliers, device manufacturers, and
final users of electronic devices. Having a vertically integrated set of
sponsors helps CDS to maintain focus on problems relevant to industry.
The overall CDS research program is almost equally funded by membership fees,
State and Federal grants, and industry enhancement projects.
Research Program
The Center's research thrust areas are --
* Synthesis and Processing, including:
--rate-controlled sintering (smart processing)
--rate-controlled binder burnout
--electrophoretic deposition
--hydrothermal barium titanate sintering
--low-temperature barium titanate sintering
* Capacitor Dielectrics and Reliability, including:
--reliability of thin layers
--dielectric breakdown relationships
--electrode-dielectric interfaces
--fine particle/fine grain properties
--nonlinear dielectric properties
--high-energy storage dielectrics
* Microwave Dielectrics, including:
--electric field tunable dielectrics
--pyrochlore dielectrics (low fire)
--electromagnetic shielding materials
--strip line materials and filters
* Packaging Dielectrics, including:
--polymer ceramic composites
--low-permittivity materials (permittivity < 2)
--multichip modules (MCMC)
* Multilayer Co-fire Dielectrics, including:
--low temperature co-fire (LTCC)
--new types of co-fire metallization
--integration of high- and low-permittivity materials
--integration of varistors for overvoltage protection
--integrated multilayer filters
* Thin Film Dielectrics, including:
--electrochemical barium titanate films
--ferroelectric high-permittivity films
--PZT, bismuth titanate, barium strontium titanate, barium titanate, strontium
titanate
--laser-ablated films
--multitarget magnetron and multi-ion beam reaction sputtering
--sol-gel films
* High Temperature Dielectrics, including:
--passive components for temperatures > 250 degrees C
--capacitor materials for temperatures reaching 600 degrees C
* Relaxor Dielectrics, including:
--structure/property relationships of relaxor nanocomposite
--processing of columbite precursors
--aging and mechanical properties.
Facilities
CDS is housed in the Pennsylvania State University's 70,000 square foot
Materials Research Laboratory, which is designed for the needs of
interdisciplinary materials research. The laboratory maintains central
facilities common to various types of research and is capable of conducting
scanning electron microscopy, environmental scanning electron microscopy,
transmission electron microscopy, state-of-the-art x-ray diffraction, thermal
analysis, and wet chemical analysis.
Processing and Synthesis
Powder synthesis and processing can be carried out with ball mills, vibration
mills, and attritor mills, and a three-roll mill is available to mix pastes
and inks. CDS's multilayer capabilities include tape casting, screen printing,
and multilayer lamination. Firing of hybrids can be done in either an IR or
resistance-heated belt furnace.
For processing research, CDS has a computer-controlled furnace room with
controlled atmosphere firing capabilities and a custom-designed, fast-fire
furnace. CDS has made a new rate-controlled sintering system for studying
densification mechanisms in multilayer ceramics. A new automated furnace
system for smart control of the binder burnout process is being constructed.
Measurements
CDS has one of the most comprehensive electrical measurement facilities in the
world for dielectric materials. Routine automated, multi-sample dielectric
tests are carried out at temperatures ranging from that of liquid nitrogen to
200 degrees C and for frequencies from 100 Hz to 10 MHz. CDS has written
custom data analysis programs to extract dielectric properties from the
electrical test data. CDS also designed high-temperature dielectric measuring
equipment that operates at temperatures up to 1200 degrees C.
Specialized microwave and RF spectrum analyzers available to CDS can measure
up to 26 GHz, while a low frequency FFT dielectric spectrometer is capable of
measuring to 1.0 milliHz. Multi-sample dielectric reliability tests are set up
for computer-automated data collection.
Special Center Activities
At CDS, graduate students and post-doctoral researchers are active
participants in the Center's basic and applied research programs. Three
students have assisted in CDS research through the Women, Minority, and
Disabled High School and Undergraduate Engineering Research Assistants
program. To date, a total of 19 students have obtained Ph.D. degrees through
the CDS program and 30 students have earned Master's degrees. Approximately 15
students and 14 faculty members currently participate in the Center's
programs. Some students supported by fellowships elect to conduct research in
the Center, which provides financial support for these research projects.
The Center holds symposia on topics of interest to its members, including such
subjects as powder analysis methods, reliability of ceramic devices,
improvement of multilayer capacitor reliability, and improvement of multilayer
ceramic reliability.
To provide broad technology transfer to its sponsors' technical staffs, CDS
faculty are also available to conduct one-day seminars at participating
company sites. In addition, CDS strongly encourages its member companies to
send an R&D representative to spend time at the Center's lab and believes that
this interaction is the most effective method of technology and knowledge
transfer from academe to industry. The Center will provide logistical support
for visits ranging from one week to one year.
Center Headquarters
Center Director: Joseph P. Dougherty
Center for Dielectric Studies
Materials Research Laboratory
The Pennsylvania State University
University Park, PA 16802
Phone: (814) 865-1638
Fax: (814) 865-2326
E-mail: joedoc@psu.edu
Center Evaluator: Donna M. Dengler
11403 Running Cedar Road
Reston, VA 22091
Phone: (703) 502-6738
NSF 93-97gg (rev. 7/96)
Center for Electronic Materials, Devices, and Systems (CEMDAS)
The University of Texas at Arlington and Texas A&M University
Electronic materials growth technology, characterization and modeling of
advanced electronic and electro-optic devices
Center Mission and Rationale
The Center for Electronic Materials, Devices, and Systems (CEMDAS) was
established to advance the technology and application of broadband, high
frequency solid-state devices and the material growth technology.
The Center was formed from the consolidation of two existing research centers:
the existing I/UCRC at The University of Texas at Arlington (UTA) and the
Electronic Devices and Materials Group at Texas A&M University (TAMU). This
consolidation combines the advantages of a large metropolitan university
located in the heart of the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex with a traditional
major research university.
Research Program
Topics to be addressed by the Center are those associated with advanced
electronic and optical systems that support the high-technology infrastructure
for communication, transportation, and information processing. The expertise
of the consolidated Center covers modern electric materials, electronic and
electro-optic devices, and systems analysis.
The Center has particular expertise in bulk single-crystal and thin-film
growth, characterization, and process modeling of electronic materials;
molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) for the production of multilayer devices and
heterostructure devices; thin film and rapid thermal processing; fabrication
and evaluation of devices; devices modeling; and simulation. Design,
fabrication, and testing of broadband, high frequency planar solid-state
devices and circuits is done through alliances between the university and our
industrial partners. A strong service and educational component of the Center
is to provide the know-how and the appropriate interfaces for students and
other universities to access these services.
The Center will provide a combined capability that allows the integration of
design, analysis, fabrication, and testing of systems, incorporating
everything from the materials used to systems considerations. Research and
technology transfer will be performed with the close cooperation of the
Industrial Advisory Board, which is composed of all the Center's industrial
members.
Several technical facilities are available at the Center, each containing
specialized equipment. At TAMU, there are the Crystal Growth, Thin-Film and
Characterization Lab, the Electro-optics Lab, and the Microwave Lab, equipped
with crystal growth furnaces, electro-optics, and semiconductor laser
instrumentation. At UTA, there is a class 10/100 GaAs processing clean room
with Karl Suss UV aligner, Heatpulse rapid thermal processor, Varian e-beam
evaporator, and MRC sputter deposition system; a molecular beam epitaxy
facility with Varian GEN II modular molecular beam epitaxy system, Auger
analysis and photoluminescence system; and a microwave facility with HP 8510
and Hughes automated microwave network analyzers (45 MHZ to 60 GHz, and 90 -
100 GHz), time domain reflectometry, and cascade wafer prober.
Current Center Activities
In the materials processing, characterization, and applications area --
* Applications of PIN multiple quantum well structures in optoelectronic
devices
* Development of non-volatile, high-density memory based on
superconductor-ferroelectric integrated structure
* High-performance uncooled IR detectors based on pyro-optic effect
* Non-spiking ohmic contact schemes on InGaP and AlInP
* Development of microwave resonators, filters, and delay lines based on
BCSCO superconductor films
* Development of photorefractive KTN and KN for optical computing
* Non-stoichiometric GaAs grown at low temperature by MBE.
In the optical devices and instrumentation area --
* Modeling and analysis of surface-emitting double heterostructure
AlGaAs/GaAs LED
* Nonlinear electro-optic devices
* Fiber-optic temperature sensor development
* Integrated optics
* Development of an optical-homodyne frequency domain reflectometer.
In the microwave and millimeter-wave device area --
* Narrow-band dielectric microwave mirrors
* Millimeter spatial power combiner
* Wideband microwave delay lines and baluns.
In the design, simulation and system integration area --
* ESD protection devices for GaAs MMIC devices
* Low-power GPS receivers
* Low-observable microwave antenna
* HBT computer-aided design models
Center Headquarters
Co-Director at UTA:
Dr. Kambiz Alavi
Department of Electrical Engineering
The University of Texas at Arlington
P.O. Box 19016, Arlington, TX 76019
Phone: (817) 272-3496
Fax: (817) 272-2253
E-mail: alavi@uta.edu
Co-Director at TAMU:
Dr. Raghvendra K. Pandey
Department of Electrical Engineering
Texas A&M University
MS 3128, College Station, TX 77843
Phone: (409) 862-4686
Fax: (409) 862-4023
E-mail: pandey@tamu.edu
Center Evaluator:
Dr. Craig H. Blakely
Public Policy Research Institute
Dulie Bell Building, Suite 314
Texas A&M University
MS 4476, College Station, TX 77843
Phone: (409) 845-8800
Fax: (409) 845-0249
NSF 93-97hh (rev. 7/96)
Center for Design of Analog-Digital Integrated Circuits (CDADIC)
Washington State University, University of Washington, Oregon State
University, and State University of New York at Stony Brook
Electronic design and manufacturing industries benefit from advances in mixed
analog-digital design technology.
Center Mission and Rationale
Analog-digital (mixed mode) integrated circuit designs have important
applications in many fields, including avionics, space technology, and medical
electronics. Technical advantages of using mixed analog-digital circuitry
range from enhanced performance to improved miniaturization of products.
Presently, electronic systems with combined analog-digital circuitry are
difficult to simulate, test, and repair. Computer-aided design and simulation
for these mixed-mode circuits are not as automated and refined as for
single-mode, digital circuits.
The Center for Design of Analog-Digital Integrated Circuits (CDADIC) is a
consortium of three Northwest research universities and one in New York state.
CDADIC headquarters are at Washington State University. One of CDADIC's 19
sponsors is the Washington Technology Center, a state-sponsored
industry-university cooperative enterprise created by the Washington State
Legislature to foster private and federal investment in research and
technology with commercial potential.
CDADIC's mission is to advance the state-of-the art for design tools, testing
techniques, and circuit design methodologies for analog and analog-digital
integrated circuits. The Center has made significant progress toward giving
U.S. electronic design and manufacturing industries access to analog and
analog-digital design technology that is as reliable and effective as pure
digital technology.
Among the Center's goals are to --
* Develop new computer-aided engineering (CAE) technology to enhance
analog and analog-digital circuit designs
* Further develop the methodology for analog-digital integrated circuit
design and testing.
Research Program
CDADIC is one of the few research centers in the country that address problems
associated with combining analog and digital integrated circuitry on a common
chip. Five research thrusts characterize the focus of the Center:
* Modeling -- Constructing accurate computer models of circuits,
devices, and interconnects for applications requiring high temperature and
power, or high speed and frequency
* Design methodology -- Developing systematic methods for design, which
incorporate the reuse of existing designs, module generation, and automatic
layout of analog-digital integrated circuits
* Simulation -- Developing methodologies to evaluate, test, and
characterize new and existing circuit simulators; improving speed and
efficiency for analog-digital simulation through use of hardware accelerators
with hierarchical simulators using parametric yield optimizers
* Circuit design -- Developing new mixed-mode circuit designs for high-
precision, low-voltage, ultra-low voltage, and high-speed applications;
Examples include a recently patented logic family, analog BiCMOS,
current-mode, and switched-current designs
* Testability -- Applying statistical pattern analysis to parametric
fault diagnosis in mixed-signal systems and microcircuits; integrating on-chip
parametric testability into the design phase for analog circuits.
Special Center Activities
The Center has transferred important technologies to industry. Examples are
listed below:
* CDADIC projects have provided ELDEC/Crane with needed updates on
simulation acceleration, low-power CMOS analog-digital conversion, and high-
temperature electronics.
* Collaboration with Boeing has provided the company with a prototype
design of a Sigma-Delta A-D converter and test use of in-hand ICs with Sigma
Delta Modulators on them.
* Sandia National Laboratories in New Mexico is developing a CHFET
process with contributions from CDADIC researchers working on the project
"Analog IC Design Using Complementary HFETS." A CDADIC researcher took a
year's sabbatical leave at Sandia to implement analog designs in the
developmental CHFET process.
* New power diode models developed by CDADIC researchers have been
transferred to CDADIC sponsors Analogy and Mentor Graphics and, after becoming
public domain, to Intusoft and Siemens AG.
* BiCMOS mixed-signal cell design techniques have been imported by
Boeing for use in a range of applications, including power supplies,
controllers, and commercial avionics.
CDADIC projects have achieved national and world recognition in analog and
analog-digital application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) design. The
Center has served as a catalyst for capturing innovative research and
educational opportunities for university members and industrial partners. Some
of these include --
* Enhanced educational opportunities for electrical engineering,
computer engineering, and computer science students including new, updated, or
restructured university courses; updated computing and other laboratory
equipment; and wider opportunities for student internships and other forms of
student-industry interaction
* Participation in innovative educational programs such as Research
Experiences for Undergraduates and Research at Undergraduate Institutions
* Completion of a new high-temperature test facility at Washington State
University, which has been well-used by industry for testing product
components that need to withstand temperatures up to 350 degrees C.
Center Headquarters
Center Director: John Ringo, Ph.D.
Associate Dean for Research and Extended Programs
College of Engineering and Architecture
P.O. Box 642700
Washington State University
Pullman, WA 99164-2700
Phone: (509) 335-5593
Fax: (509) 335-3818
E-mail: jringo@engr.coeab.wsu.edu
Co-director: Peter Lauritzen, Ph.D.
University of Washington
Department of Electrical Engineering
Seattle, WA 98195
Phone: (206) 543-2189
Fax: (206) 543-3842
E-mail: plauritz@ee.washington.edu
Co-director: Sayfe Kiaei, Ph.D.
Oregon State University
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Corvallis, OR 97330
Phone: (503) 737-3118
Fax: (503) 737-1300
E-mail: kiaei@ece.orst.edu
Co-director: Bradley Carlson, Ph.D.
SUNY Stony Brook
Department of Electrical Engineering
New York, NY 11794
Phone: (516) 632-8474
Fax: (516) 632-8494
E-mail: bcarlson@sbee.sunyb.edu
Center Evaluator: Craig Scott
School of Medicine, SC-45
University of Washington
Seattle, WA 98195
Phone: (206) 543-2259
Fax: (206) 543-3461
NSF 93-97ii (rev. 7/96)
Industry/University Center for Biosurfaces (IUCB)
State University of New York at Buffalo, The University of Memphis, New York
State College of Ceramics at Alfred University
Understanding, predicting, and controlling biological adhesion can advance the
development of safe/effective new materials
Center Mission and Rationale
The Industry/University Center for Biosurfaces (IUCB) has this vision --
* To come to understand the interactions of all that which is alive with
all that which is not
* Through such understanding, to predict how living cells will attach to
other materials, and to other cells
* Ultimately, to control the speed and strength of biological surface
interactions for the benefit of personal, public, and environmental health.
The Center's immediate goals are --
* To produce standardized experimental models of cell/surface
accumulation (biofilms)
* To identify possible and preferred "planes of intervention" into these
films by cleaning and infection-control agents
* To produce relevant experimental models for adhesion to skin, tissue,
and bone
* To identify improvements in wound healing associated with control of
bioadhesion to synthetic/prosthetic materials
* To produce relevant environmental simulations of flowing biofluids
(blood, tears, saliva, others) at and near contact surfaces
* To identify fundamental force, structure, and flow features capable of
modulating cell attachment/retention at critical interfaces.
Research Program
The Center for Biosurfaces conducts basic research to control deposits on
surfaces in medical, dental, and natural environments without using biocides.
The broad application potential of this research includes the fields of
biomaterials, bioengineering and biotechnology, occupational safety, and
health. Pollution is avoided and air quality is protected, as potentially
toxic or infectious aerosols are detected, collected, and analyzed. Practical
applications of the Center's research are nontoxic coatings and safer medical
products. IUCB employs a comprehensive and integrated approach to biological
systems in diverse circumstances, from surgical suites to the open ocean.
The Center's faculty developed safe and effective fouling-release coatings by
extrapolating bioengineering technology from pioneering work with biomaterials
for artificial hearts. The Center discovered that a very narrow and specific
range of critical surface tensions must be produced if biological debris is to
be prevented from accumulating on the surfaces of biomedical and commercial
devices. Surprisingly, nonstick Teflon materials are not included in this
range, and many previous attempts to control biofouling failed because that
fact was not known.
Researchers at IUCB also demonstrated that affordable commercial materials
with biofouling-releasing qualities can be created. The family of crosslinked
methylsilicones is the best engineering choice for use in the open
environment. Moreover, laminated polymer alloys can be made between tough,
elastic-base coatings of hardy polyurethanes and methylsilicone topcoats,
thereby overcoming many application problems. Currently, no leachable
components of any sort are included in these new compositions. Future research
may lead to impregnating these new materials with nontoxic fouling-inhibitor
agents isolated from seagrasses, sponges, or corals.
The engineering utility of the first-generation coatings has already been
developed by international manufacturers and confirmed in investigations
independently funded by the Electric Power Research Institute and the U.S.
Navy.
One current IUCB project is to introduce nontoxic, nonpolluting coatings to
control zebra mussel infestations in and around the Great Lakes. The Center's
approach eliminates the need to add more chlorine, hot water, or other
environmental insults to precious freshwater systems.
Special Center Activities
The Center's industrial sponsors receive priority attention for research. The
Center has recently completed industrial projects in areas including --
* Surface characterization of metals, ceramics, and plastics
* Surface modification of polymers
* Evaluation of implant biocompatibility
* Formation of mineral scale in industrial processes
* Development of fiber-optic sensors
* Certification of new sterilization processes
* Definition of materials resistant to biocorrosion
* Control of biofouling.
The Center's cooperating laboratories contain state-of-the-art equipment. A
field emission scanning electron microscope, scanning Auger microprobe, and
electron spectrometer for chemical analysis are among many instruments applied
in Center projects.
Center Headquarters
Center Executive Director: Dr. Robert E. Baier
Industry/University Center for Biosurfaces
State University of New York at Buffalo
110 Parker Hall
Buffalo, NY 14214-3007
Phone: (716) 829-3560
Fax: (716) 835-4872
E-mail: baier@acsu.buffalo.edu
Center Evaluator: Mr. Edward Zablocki
Office of Vice President for Research
State University of New York at Buffalo
516 Capen Hall
Buffalo, NY 14260
Phone: (716) 645-3321
Fax: (716) 645-2933
NSF 93-97jj (rev. 7/96)
Software Engineering Research Center (SERC)
Purdue University, University of Florida, and Oregon Associated Universities
International competition and the rapid growth of the computer software
industry make it essential to develop new capabilities to produce software
products
Center Mission and Rationale
American companies currently own 65 percent of the $100 billion global
computer software market. To remain competitive, the software industry needs
to keep pace with the productivity gains achieved in hardware development,
produce the quantity of software needed for new computer applications, and
develop the highly reliable software that is required in critical application
areas. Existing software technologies have been pushed beyond their
limitations due to complex new application systems and the demand for software
to support new applications. Moreover, software costs continue to rise, and
the demand for new software products far exceeds programmer productivity
gains.
The research program of the Software Engineering Research Center (SERC) is
focused on developing and assessing methods and tools to improve productivity
and software quality throughout the software development life cycle. SERC
performs basic and applied research designed to improve the management of the
software engineering process, the productivity of software engineers, and the
quality of software engineering products.
Research Program
Software engineering -- the technical design and production of software
products -- is a technology area that requires accelerated research and
development. SERC's research thrusts are in the following areas --
* Software development tools. These tools are used in requirements
engineering, scheduling for hard real-time systems, design engineering,
user-interface generation, code analysis, software testing, debugging, and
concurrency.
* Software maintenance methods and tools. These tools help programmers
understand and enhance existing software. Topics addressed include maintaining
object-oriented programs, dependency analysis, ripple-effect analysis, program
slicing, and designing maintenance environments.
* Software development in a distributed environment. This research
includes work on a multimedia, collaborative multi-user, software development
application based on experimental distributed object technology and work on
the InterBase system, an integrating framework and interface that permits
heterogeneous (and potentially incompatible) software applications and
databases to be used in an integrated fashion in a distributed environment.
* Software process modeling and metrics. New techniques forecast the
quality of software based on measurements recorded during the design stage.
Also included in this area are the identification and measurement of factors
that affect productivity, the development of software process modeling and
analysis techniques for process improvement, and the development and
validation of metrics and models for software cost and size estimation,
reliability assessment, and testing.
Special Center Activities
The Center has been extremely successful in transferring SERC-produced
technology to the industrial arena. Examples include --
* Fourteen software prototypes demonstrated or delivered to affiliates
for internal use
* Possible commercialization of the Design Metric Analyzer, a software
prototype built in collaboration with Magnavox Electronics Company
* A five-fold improvement in application developer productivity at BNR
using SERC's InterBase system
* The COBOL Program Analysis Workbench, produced by Andersen Consulting,
based on SERC's data model recovery tool
* The enhancement of ATAC, a Bellcore software product, by Purdue
University personnel in collaboration with Bellcore researchers
* SERC transaction processing technology, implemented in a real-time
database product by Harris Corporation
* Collaboration by SERC researchers with BNR to develop a
feature-interaction analysis tool for use by BNR.
In addition to the principal research sites of the four campuses of the Oregon
Associated Universities (University of Oregon, Oregon Graduate Institute,
Portland State University, and Oregon State University), Purdue University,
and the University of Florida, SERC has benefited from the involvement of
researchers at the following universities: Ball State University, University
of West Florida, Moorhead State University, University of Houston, University
of North Florida, Florida A&M University, and the University of Minnesota.
SERC researchers collaborate with colleagues around the world and transfer
information on international activities to SERC sponsors via SERC's
Window-on-the-World program, which includes a postgraduate training and
research consortium headquartered in Padua, Italy.
SERC participates in the Women, Minority, and Disabled Undergraduate
Engineering Research Assistants program, as well as educational programs that
provide support for minority institutions. Florida A&M University is
collaborating with SERC on research in intelligent computer-integrated
manufacturing systems with support from a Historically Black University
Faculty Research Grant.
Center Headquarters
Center Director: Dr. Aditya Mathur
Software Engineering Research Center
1398 Computer Sciences Building
Purdue University
West Lafayette, IN 47907-1398
Phone: (317) 494-9329
Fax: (317) 494-0739
E-mail: apm@cs.purdue.edu
Center Evaluator: Vida Scarpello
Department of Management
Georgia State University
University Plaza
Atlanta, GA 30303-3083
Phone: (404) 651-3400
Fax: (404) 651-2804
NSF 93-97kk (rev. 7/96)
Center for Advanced Computing and Communication (CACC)
North Carolina State University and Duke University
Advancements in communications and signal processing benefit many industries
Center Mission and Rationale
Telecommunications technology and high speed computing are increasingly
important in everyday life. Computers are performing bigger, more complex
tasks. Global communications systems are used by everyone from CEOs to school
children. Military operations are carried out by computers requiring highly
reliable software. At the Center for Advanced Computing and Communications
(CACC), multidisciplinary teams of researchers are meeting these challenges by
helping to develop technologies which improve the quality of life.
The Center's mission is to carry out basic and applied research on fundamental
problems with both industrial and academic relevance, to transfer these
results to our members, and to provide our students with a unique and
challenging educational opportunity. Our research goal is to create concepts,
methods, and tools for use in the analysis, design, and implementation of
advanced computer and communication systems.
Research Program
The Center for Advanced Computing and Communication was originally founded at
North Carolina State University in 1982 as the Industry/University Cooperative
Research Center for Communications and Signal Processing (CCSP). Merging with
a research team from Duke University in 1994, the Center enhanced its research
capabilities in the networking area and introduced expertise in distributed
algorithms and dependable systems.
CACC consists of more than 20 faculty members and their graduate students
involved in cutting-edge research in five primary areas: High Speed
Networking, Fault-Tolerant Systems, Image Processing, Distributed Algorithms
and Systems, and Digital Communications and Optimization. The Center routinely
sponsors industrial and international visiting scholars for periods of several
weeks to a year. Recent visitors have included researchers from France,
Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, Sweden, Spain, and Turkey.
High Speed Networking
Working with the major telecommunications producers, CACC has helped chart the
course of network development for over a decade. Research in the area of
network performance has resulted in key theoretical and analytical
contributions to the modeling, prediction, and simulation of
telecommunications networks. Simulations and analyses of end-to-end
performance of asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) and private broadband networks
increased understanding of the trade-offs between packet and cell switching.
The Center participated in a major IBM project to develop software for
evaluating potential computer and communications networks. One of the CACC
researchers involved in this project received IBM's 1992 Outstanding
Achievement in Research Award. Software provided to another member company
enables them to simulate the call-carrying capacity to their switches. CACC's
participation in the development of the North Carolina Information Highway
(NCIH) provides direct access to the most advanced telecommunications testbed
in the U.S. Current work includes--
* Development of tools for determining performance parameters of
communication networks
* Specification, verification, and validation of communications
protocols
* Traffic measurements on existing networks and accurate traffic models
for future networks
* Solving quality-of-service and interoperability problems
* Developing a scalable all-optical switch architecture with end-to-end
optical paths
* Designing and implementing control protocols for secure systems.
Fault-Tolerant Systems
CACC faculty are internationally renowned for their work in Markov chains,
stochastic Petri nets, and queuing networks. This expertise has been applied
to the development of reliability and performability modeling tools (HARP,
SHARPE, SPNP) by numerous industrial and governmental laboratories. A reliable
and fault-tolerant clocking mechanism has also been adapted to a commercial
flight-control system and to a real-time weapon-control application. Industry
is under pressure to speed up the product development cycle. In response, the
Center is meeting the need for tools to evaluate processes and ensure product
quality. We are currently developing--
* Reliability and performability modeling tools leading to an integrated
modeling environment
* A fault-injection testbed for the validation of highly reliable
complex systems
* Emulation and rapid prototypes of complex fault-tolerant systems
* Analyses and design of highly reliable real-time systems
* Design and implementation of highly testable systems
* Development of a toolset for evaluation and control of software
processes.
Image Processing
In applications from health care to textiles, multimedia-based education to
electronic publishing, digital images are everywhere. Researchers at CACC are
applying signal processing expertise to a variety of imaging problems
including image-signal reconstruction and restoration, color science, motion
estimation, and nonlinear optimization. Recent work in scanning filter design
resulted in development of a high-precision machine tool which is currently
used by a member company to produce images with highly accurate color quality,
against which all their other color quality equipment is measured. CACC is
currently --
* Developing a signal processing foundation for solving color system
problems, including design of color scanning filters, better methods for color
correction, improved image/video compression, and improved calibration
techniques
* Extending the basic methods for dealing with nonlinear systems
* Developing optimization techniques for image models and restoration
* Utilizing the characteristics of the human visual system to improve
the performance of color systems
* Developing improved quality measures for assessing color system
performance.
Distributed Algorithms and Systems
Computer communications and networking will remain the fastest-growing segment
of the computer industry during the 1990s. CACC's work on high performance
distributed computing systems involves evaluating their potential as a
cost-effective, high performance computional platform and their adaptability
in the presence of failures or widely varying workload conditions. This group
is concentrating on --
* Implementation of parallel algorithms for scientific and commercial
applications
* Use of workstation clusters as cost-effective parallel computers
* Techniques for load-balancing for parallel computers and parallel
discrete-event simulation.
Digital Communications and Optimization
Advances in technology have led to a new generation of communication systems,
including cellular telephony, personal communications services, high-speed
optical fiber communications links, and mobile satellite communications. These
advances require analysis of new algorithms and coding schemes for wireless
communications. Faster, cheaper computing has enabled researchers at CACC to
develop novel techniques for efficient simulation and optimization of these
increasingly complex systems. Speedup factors of up to 14 orders of magnitude
have been obtained for computer simulations using statistically optimized
importance sampling techniques. CACC researchers have developed a general
theory of Simulated Annealing and accelerated versions with speed-up factors
up to 50. Annealing methods have been applied successfully to image
processing, communications, computer aided design, and neural networks.
* Techniques for efficient simulation-based performance analysis of
communication systems, including --
1) RF links with multipath fading channels and adaptive equalizers
2) High-speed, low error-rate optical communications links
3) Cell loss probability analysis of communications networks, including
ATM networks
* Optimization techniques for computer-aided design of digital filters,
communications networks, and communications channels
* Multiuser detection algorithms for spread-spectrum mobile cellular
networks
* Modulation and demodulation methods and diversity-combining techniques
for fading multipath channels
* Adaptive equalization and coding for cellular radio.
Center Headquarters
NC State Univ. Site Director: Wesley E. Snyder
Box 7914
North Carolina State University
Raleigh, NC 27695-7914
Phone: (919) 515-3015
Fax: (919) 515-2285
E-mail: wes@eos.ncsu.edu
Web: http://www.ece.ncsu.edu/cacc/
Duke Site Director: Kishor S. Trivedi
Box 90291
Duke University
Durham, NC 27708-0291
Phone: (919) 660-5269
Fax: (919) 660-5293
E-mail: kst@ee.duke.edu
Center Evaluator: Dr. Denis Gray
Department of Psychology
North Carolina State University
Raleigh, NC 27695-7801
Phone: (919) 515-1721
Fax: (919) 515-1716
E-mail: denis_gray@ncsu.edu
NSF 93-97ll (rev. 7/96)
Center for Information Management Research (CIMR)
University of Arizona and Georgia Institute of Technology
Improving the design and application of information systems significantly
increases productivity
Center Mission
The goal of the Center for Information Management Research (CIMR) is to
improve the use and implementation of information systems by organizations.
The Center aims to conduct research that will identify the problems and reduce
the complexity of the processes of defining, implementing, and using
information systems in organizational settings.
Research Program
Based on the inherent strengths of the two participating universities, CIMR's
research program is divided into two major categories: effective use of
information systems and effective design of information systems.
Research projects related to the effective use of information systems
include--
* Decisionmaking. CIMR's research explores the develop-ment of, and
experimentation with, tools and techniques that support the formal
decisionmaking process.
* Collaboration. In this area, CIMR's research explores the development
of specific shared environments and the development of tool kits that allow
the construction of collaboration environments that are not tool- or
application-specific.
* Education of Users. One CIMR project -- Organizational Memory for
Corporate Intelligence: Support of Individual, Team, and Organization --
focuses on the long-term improvement of organizational memory. Other research
involves educating users in technologies that improve productivity and the
quality of products and services.
* Engineering Improvements to Extant Systems. Before extant systems can
be improved, it is necessary to identify the decisions that were made in
developing those systems. Quite often this information no longer exists.
CIMR's research focuses on design reconstruction -- detecting and
understanding the decisions that went into designing a system.
Research projects related to the effective design of information systems
include --
* Organizational Analysis. Organizational analysis, sometimes called
enterprise analysis or information architecture, is used to capture an
organization's business processes and then develop information systems to
support those processes, as well as newly defined processes. CIMR's research
in organizational analysis focuses on measuring the effectiveness of various
techniques used in capturing an organization's processes, the modeling of
processes, and the application of those models to designing information
systems.
* Systems Requirements. The systems requirements process follows
organizational analysis as the step to define the information system component
of the overall enterprise. At CIMR, research in this area focuses on creating
a process that allows the users to remain actively involved in the definition
of the requirements for the information system and its subsystems or
components.
* Human Interfaces. A key problem occurs when an information system
lacks user-friendliness. CIMR's research focuses on two key elements in
designing effective user interfaces. The first is to develop tools that
support the construction of interfaces that are not tied to one technique or
representation. The second is to develop ways to evaluate interfaces
unobtrusively, with regard to both the application and the user, and then to
factor those evaluation results into a revised design.
* Education of Providers. An issue that CIMR believes is not being
addressed sufficiently by the research community is the dilemma of how to
educate and train developers in technologies that require a greater
specialization -- and at the same time require them to understand the
organization's strategies, tactics, and operations. CIMR's approach is to
support these needs by allowing the developers of technologies continuous,
asynchronous access to educators and trainers on an as-needed basis.
Special Center Activities
CIMR's research in computer-assisted meetings, or GroupSystems, has attracted
international visibility with descriptions appearing in Fortune, BusinessWeek,
the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and the Los Angeles Times.
GroupSystems was developed by Jay Nunamaker and a team of associates at the
University of Arizona. The computer-assisted group meeting facility at the
University of Arizona was built as a meeting room for end-users, systems
analysts, systems designers, and project leaders to review and analyze system
specifications and designs. After observing the use of GroupSystems and its
companion software (known as Groupware), the system's developers realized that
Groupware was valuable for meetings of all types -- not just information
systems planning. Because it appeared that group satisfaction with the system
increased with group size, the Arizona researchers decided to build a larger
facility to test the hypothesis that productivity increased with group size.
Using the University of Arizona facilities as a prototype, GroupSystems
technology was installed at more than 90 IBM sites. Its use at IBM has
confirmed the results achieved by more than 200 organizations at the
University of Arizona -- that is, that using GroupSystems improves
organizational productivity by decreasing the number and duration of meetings
needed during a project's life cycle.
Using TeamFocus software, a version of Groupware developed by IBM, IBM
reported that the design of a standardized control system -- which normally
takes more than a year -- was completed in 35 days with 15 electronic
meetings. Similarly, Boeing reported an average 91 percent reduction in
project completion time.
Groupware is now operational at more than 250 sites worldwide -- including
facilities of IBM, Ford, CIGNA Insurance, BellSouth, Hewlett-Packard, the
Federal Aviation Administration, the Department of Veterans Affairs, the
Department of Defense, and the U.S. Army. The software also is used by 60
universities in the United States and Canada, 27 international research
organizations, and the United States Information Agency.
GroupSystems software tools are also being developed for applications beyond
the electronic meeting room. In a project called the distributed electronic
meetings/Officelink project, CIMR is investigating ways to support meetings
when members are separated geographically. Distributed electronic meeting
technology enables members to communicate with one another although they are
in different locations. Marked improvements in the efficiency and speed of
collaborative projects are expected through the use of this technology.
The MIRROR, or virtual meeting room, project also addresses the needs of
groups that are geographically distributed. This project aims to provide a
spectrum of audio and video support, combined with the ability to share
information as rapidly as in face-to-face meetings. The MIRROR project hopes
to extend the capabilities of existing GroupSystems facilities and address the
needs of geographically distributed groups who need to interact as if they
were all in the same room at the same time. Characteristics of the proposed
MIRROR facility include individual workstations, video walls, extensive audio
support, and the development of sophisticated control system architectures.
The project's objective is to give the groups the impression that they are
together in a traditional meeting.
Center Headquarters
Center Co-Director: Jay Nunamaker
MIS Department
University of Arizona
College of Business and Public Administration
Tucson, AZ 85721
Phone: (602) 621-4475
Fax: (602) 621-3918
Center Co-Director: W. Michael McCracken
College of Computing
Georgia Institute of Technology
Atlanta, GA 30332-0280
Phone: (404) 894-3180
Fax: (404) 894-9442
E-mail: mike@cc.gatech.edu
Center Evaluator: David A. Tansik
College of Business and Public Administration
Department of Management and Policy
McClelland Hall, 405-R
University of Arizona
Tucson, AZ 85721
Phone: (602) 621-1710
Fax: (602) 621-4171
Center Evaluator: David J. Roessner
School of Public Policy
Georgia Institute of Technology
Atlanta, GA 30332-0345
Phone: (404) 894-6821
Fax: (404) 853-0535
NSF 93-97mm (rev. 7/96)
Research Center for Wireless Information Networks (WINLAB)
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
Advancing the future of wireless communications through education and research
Center Mission and Rationale
Little more than a decade ago, before the introduction of cordless and
cellular telephones, the majority of Americans had had little experience with
radio communications. Today, more than 35 million people in the United States
use cellular telephones, and perhaps twice that number use cordless
telephones. The ability to communicate without the tether of a wire has become
natural and commonplace, and is being expanded rapidly into new environments.
Radio is delivering on its promise of communications "anywhere."
Simultaneously, information networks have evolved which direct an explosion of
data into our communication systems; and increasingly this information will
find mobile users at its endpoints. Today's telephone and personal computer
will merge into an "information appliance," offering all forms of information
to the untethered user.
Despite this image of seamlessness, however, communications will traverse a
variety of wireless systems, interconnected by wideband backbone networks.
Even today a number of competing technologies, standards, and services have
emerged, and their number can be expected to increase. A focus of the Research
Center for Wireless Information Networks (WINLAB) is to understand and
evaluate these competing options, both individually and as interacting
elements of a global network.
Research Program
This focus links dozens of research projects, clustered in six Study Groups
that reflect WINLAB expertise in a variety of fields related to wireless
communications and mobility.
* Advanced architectures and radio technologies are addressed by the
Network Architecture Study Group and the Multiple Access Study Group. A
principal challenge facing these groups today is multimedia communications --
i.e., creating networks that simultaneously and optimally handle speech, data,
images, and video. Advanced versions of Time-Division Multiple Access (TDMA)
and Code-Division Multiple Access (CDMA), as well as Asynchronous Transfer
Mode (ATM), are included in the studies.
* Two Study Groups concentrate on network control strategies for mobile
information systems, applying theoretical tools to improving service quality
and system efficiency. The Radio Resource Manage ment Study Group brings
together techniques for channel allocation, power control, handoff, and
admission control. The Mobility Management Study Group is concerned with the
prompt, efficient delivery of information to moving terminals.
* The Mobile Computing Study Group creates and implements new
applications for the networks under consideration in the other Study Groups.
In contrast to today's computer services, available on the Internet and
elsewhere, these applications will have to overcome the special challenges
imposed by the radio environment, including the limited available power and
the mobility of the user.
* The Infostations Study Group explores a novel system design which
delivers high volumes of information to mobile terminals as they pass through
"islands" of high-bandwidth radio coverage. This new approach to information
delivery raises a wide range of issues including service definition,
protocols, radio design, and economics. It forms the basis of a new graduate
course that stresses the interdisciplinary nature of system creation.
Special Center Activities
WINLAB has a strong influence on education in communications technology at
Rutgers University and elsewhere, and maintains a concurrent focus on
information transfer to industry. From an initial course in "Wireless Access
to Information Systems" in the spring of 1989, Rutgers has continued to add
new courses at the graduate and undergraduate level which reflect the WINLAB
focus and systems viewpoint. Educational materials developed at Rutgers have
been adapted to serve the needs of WINLAB sponsors.
* Stimulated by WINLAB, Rutgers now offers a Certificate in Wireless
Communications in conjunction with graduate degrees in Electrical and Computer
Engineering. WINLAB workshops on Third Generation Wireless Information
Networks, held every 18 months, attract international experts who are creating
technologies for the communication networks of the next century, and weekly
seminars at WINLAB attract both students and practicing engineers.
* Under the Internship Program, students obtain summer or other
positions at the sites of our sponsors. Under the Visiting Scholar Program,
sponsor employees spend time at WINLAB, working with WINLAB researchers.
* WINLAB sponsors include more than 25 companies representing
telecommunications research, systems manufacturers, and service providers in
the United States and other countries, as well as the U.S. Army's
Communication Command.
Center Headquarters
Center Director: Dr. David J. Goodman
Rutgers University
Electrical and Computer Engineering Department/WINLAB
PO Box 909
Piscataway, NJ 08855-0909
Phone: (908) 445-5954
Fax: (908) 445-3693
Email: dgoodman@winlab.rutgers.edu
Center Evaluator: Dr. S. George Walters
789 Sergeantsville Road
Stockton, NJ 08559
Phone: (609) 397-0990
NSF 93-97nn (rev. 7/96)
Center for Advanced Communications
Villanova University
Cost-effective regional R&D is expected to promote economic growth and job
creation in the telecommunications industry
Center Mission and Vision
The mission of the Center for Advanced Communications is to establish a
nurturing and creative environment in a communications research program that
will help, serve, and guide students by linking them to the Industrial
Community. The Center, located on the Villanova University campus, is
supported by funding from corporations, the State of Pennsylvania (Ben
Franklin Technology Center), and the National Science Foundation. Our
organization conducts for the sponsors research and development projects
involving the transmission and reception of voice, video, data, and images.
These Communication Systems Technologies are vital to today's workplace.
The Center's goals are two-fold. The technology goal is to establish and
maintain a position as the leading provider of communication research in the
Delaware Valley. Our marketing goal is to train our students, through a
combined academic and research program, to become the next-generation employee
of our sponsoring organizations. Our policy is to maintain high research and
ethical standards across all of our research and services to our sponsors,
thereby enhancing our reputation for excellence.
Research Program
The research conducted by the Center's faculty and students includes a broad
range of topics in the field of communications. A sample of sponsored projects
includes:
* Low Profile Antenna Design
* Characterization of UHF Antenna
* Ceramic Filter Design using IC Components
* Digital Video Compression for Satellites
* CDMA Cross Correlation in Satellites
* Phased Arrays for Mobile Communications
* Low Noise Video Amplifier.
Our professional staff of professors are drawn from the following
Universities: Bucknell, Drexel, Lafayette, Lehigh, Pennsylvania, Temple, and
Villanova. Their areas of expertise include: Signal Processing and Spectral
Estimation, Dynamics and Control, Signal Detection and Estimation, Microwave
Photonics, Innovative R&D Management Studies, Antennas and Electromagnetics,
Radar Signature Analysis and Identification, Solid State Devices and
Electronics, Image Processing and Computer Vision, Communication Systems and
Microwaves, Electromagnetics Numerical Modelling, Computational Digital Data
Communications, and Speech Recognition.
Our student researchers are drawn from high school students, undergraduate,
and graduate students for positions ranging from Lab Aide to Research
Assistant. Students engage in team-based research involving a professor, other
students, and sponsor representatives who act as mentors. At the conclusion of
the graduate program, these students are fully qualified to take responsible
positions in industry.
Special Center Activities
A broad program for industrial collaboration and technology transfer has been
established. Benefits to our sponsors include:
* A regional base of technology expertise
* A stable base of research experts
* Economic growth and job creation
* Cost-effective R&D
* Resource and service support
* A strategic relationship in Information Technologies
* A pool of highly qualified students for recruitment as the next-
generation "knowledge worker"
* Highly visible publicity for our sponsors in appreciation of their
leadership role
* A position on the Center Advisory Board.
The sponsor services include assistance with new product development, new
process implementation, applied Research and Development, federal proposals,
prototype development and evaluation, technology seminars, and technology
assessment.
Facilities
Our center is a multi-university, multi-site center that functions as a
viutual R&D laboratory. All facility resources that are made available for
Center activities will be shared equally by the strategic partners.
Center Headquarters
Center Executive Director: Joseph DiGiacomo
Center for Advanced Communications
119 Tolentine Hall
Villanova University
Villanova, PA 19085
Phone: (610) 519-4263
Fax: (610) 519-7375
E-Mail: joseph@ece.vill.edu
Center Evaluator: Dr. Walter Zacharias
Office of Research and Sponsored Projects
101 Tolentine Hall
Villanova University
Villanova, PA 19085
Phone: (610) 519-4221
Fax: (610) 519-7839
E-Mail: zacharias@ucis.vill.edu
NSF 93-97oo (rev. 7/96)
Advanced Control of Energy and Power Systems (ACEPS)
Colorado School of Mines, Arizona State University, Wichita State University
Advanced control, instrumentation, utilization design, and system optimization
will significantly impact the reliability and quality of electric power from
generation to transmission, distribution, and utilization
Center Mission and Rationale
A reliable energy source is an essential infrastructure support component for
any type of manufacturing system, from petrochemical and materials processing
to transportation, biomedical, and food processing. Energy is used to process
raw materials into finished products. In order for U.S. manufacturers to be
competitive in the international market, all elements of the manufacturing
infrastructure need to be improved, including energy and materials processing.
Thus, an optimal process of energy generation, transmission, distribution, and
utilization directly impacts the economics of every industry, both nationally
and internationally. These energy sources are in one way or another in the
form of electric energy, with energy flowing from the source to the load by
means of "electric power flow."
Generation of electric energy is facing new challenges now, due to factors
such as increase in demand, stringent requirements on power quality,
uncertainty in load variation and growth, fuel prices, introduction of highly
sensitive digitally controlled industrial equipment, difficulties brought
about by increasing public concern and regulation on environmental issues,
independent power producers, the trend towards deregulation and competition,
and the aging of existing facilities. Thus, there is a real need for
fundamental and integrated analysis of power generation through utilization
using advances in the areas of electronics (especially higher-power solid
state devices), automatic control, smart sensors and actuators, modeling
simulation, computer control, the national information network, and artificial
intelligence. Due to the nature and size of the problem, this fundamental
study would not be successful unless it is done by an interdisciplinary
research team in close collaboration with industry.
The mission of the Center is --
To conduct fundamental and applied research supporting the technical
advancement of the electric utility industry, their customers, and component
suppliers in the field of electric power systems, with special emphasis on
advanced/intelligent control, predictive maintenance and diagnostics, and
power quality in the generation, transmission, distribution, and utilization
stages -- using such research as a means of advancing graduate education.
This Center focuses on the problems facing the U.S. utility industry and its
users. The Center investigates development of feasible and innovative ideas
necessary for these industries to meet the power quality, power generation,
and utilization challenges of the next century. Another area of emphasis is
intelligent monitoring and diagnostics to reduce failures and maintenance
costs. Other Center activities, such as seminars and workshops, will be
designated to foster rapid technology transfer; these activities will take
place both on the participating university campuses and at the sites of
industrial affiliates. One key element of our studies on automatic control and
power quality is the integration of all aspects of power systems, from
generation to utilization. Thus, the Center's objectives are --
* Development of innovative ideas for intelligent control of power
generation, transmission, distribution, and utilization
* Development of advanced techniques for enhanced power quality
* Integration of technological advances in the areas of artificial
intelligence, automatic control, neural networks, fuzzy logic, and
microprocessors to develop powerful and analytically based techniques that are
feasible and will provide increase power quality, intelligent generation
systems, optimal energy transmission, distribution, and utilization strategies
* Incorporation of advances in the development of smart sensors and
actuators to enhance the operation of power and energy systems and provide
predictive maintenance
* Integration of a national information network for optimal power
transmission, hazard mitigation, and improved energy/power economy
* Applications of modeling and simulation techniques to study nonlinear,
time-varying events, including introduction of energy storage devices, and
formulation of intelligent monitoring and diagnostic methodologies
* Serving the industrial members through delivery of tangible research
results, continuing education, conferences, and short courses.
Special Center Activities
* ACEPS offers a variety of power engineering, research, and educational
services to its members. Engineering work includes studies of specialized
electric loads (e.g., electric vehicle battery chargers, electronic-ballast
compact fluorescent lamps, "energy efficient" load testing of components for
power distribution circuits; development of software tools; testing of
advanced control methods for the power industry; and consultation for power
control and power quality applications. Special thrusts of the Center are
electric power quality, automatic generation control, load modeling, and
intelligent diagnostics. Research reports are circulated to the members, and
ACEPS members are often participants in the preparation of technical papers.
Educational activities of the Center include--
* Short courses on power quality, power testing, advanced control topics
(e.g., fuzzy logic, artificial neural networks)
* Specially scheduled technical seminars on topics of generation,
transmission, distribution, and utilization of electric power (e.g., a seminar
series on advanced generation control; a seminar on the application of
wavelets for power quality analysis)
* Workshops on IEEE Standards
* Videotaped presentations on technical topics
* Student assistants to work in the power industry.
Center Headquarters
Center Director: Dr. Rahmat A. Shoureshi
Center for the Advanced Control of Energy and Power Systems
Brown Building 330
Colorado School of Mines
Golden, CO 80401-1887
Phone: (303) 273-3650
Fax: (303) 273-3602
E-mail: rshoureshi@mines.colorado.edu
Center Co-director: Dr. Gerald T. Heydt
Center for the Advanced Control of Energy and Power Systems
Arizona State University
P.O. Box 875706
Tempe, AZ 85287-5706
Phone: (602) 965-8307
Fax: (602) 965-3837
E-mail: heydt@asuvax.eas.asu.edu
Center Evaluator: Dr. Otto Doering
School of Agricultural Economics
Purdue University
West Lafayette, IN 47907
Phone: (317) 494-4226
Fax: (317) 494-9176
E-mail: doering@agecon.purdue.edu
NSF 93-97pp (rev. 7/96)
Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Center (ACRC)
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Environmental concerns are driving the development of new coolant technologies
Center Mission and Rationale
The Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Center (ACRC) has two major goals:
first, to contribute technology toward the development of energy-efficient
equipment that uses ozone-safe refrigerants; and, second, to provide a forum
for manufacturers to coordinate research and share results at the
precompetitive stage.
The Center was founded in 1988 with a grant from the estate of Richard W.
Kritzer, the founder of Peerless of America, Inc.; a grant from the Illinois
Governor's Science Advisory Council helped build the laboratory facilities.
ACRC currently receives support from 18 industrial sponsors, the Richard W.
Kritzer Endowment, and the National Science Foundation.
Research Program
More than a dozen faculty members are involved in ACRC's research program. The
systems under study include domestic refrigerators and mobile and stationary
air conditioning systems. Related topics include:
* Properties. Viscosities, vapor pressures, and densities of
refrigerant-lubricant mixtures and refrigerant blends.
* Processes. Local heat transfer and pressure drop, frosting, controls,
tribology, and oil circulation.
* Components. Evaporators, condensers, capillary tubes, orifice tubes,
suction-line heat exchangers, insulation, and flexible refrigerant tubing.
The ACRC research program involves about 40 graduate students and more than 20
undergraduates. Students are attracted by the opportunity to participate in
industrially relevant research. Many of the Center's students, upon
graduation, are hired by ACRC's industrial sponsors.
Special Center Activities
The Center communicates detailed research results to its industrial sponsors
in the ACRC Technical Reports series. A typical research project yields one to
three ACRC technical reports per year, plus occasional technical memoranda and
other reports to sponsors.
The ACRC's modern equipment and facilities include--
* Thermophysical property test chamber. Accurately controls temperature
from 100 degrees F to 400 degrees F and pressure up to 35 atmospheres to
obtain thermodynamic and transport property data for refrigerant blends and
lubricant mixtures.
* Condensation and evaporation loops. Measures local heat transfer and
pressure drop coefficients in test sections of 1m, 3m, and 6m length.
Refrigerant-lubricant mixtures and refrigerant blends are tested with
smooth-and enhanced-surface tubes and microchannel extrusions.
* Falling-film wind tunnel. Provides a realistic environment with vapor
flow over falling-film evaporator or condenser tubes to determine falling-film
mode transitions and local and averaged heat transfer behavior.
* Evaporator and condenser wind tunnels. Support heat-transfer and
pressure-drop studies over the range of air velocities and temperatures
encountered in refrigerators and stationary or mobile air-conditioning
applications.
* Air-side wind tunnel. Provides a carefully controlled air flow for
analysis of air-side enhancements. Naphthalene sublimation techniques are used
to investigate effects on local heat transfer and surface efficiency.
* Orifice and capillary tube facilities. Specialized test loops support
investigations of suction-line heat exchangers and expansion device
performance.
* Environmental chambers. Capable of subjecting air conditioners and
refrigerators to temperature and humidity conditions far outside the range of
standard rating conditions.
* Mobile and stationary air conditioning test facilities. Dedicated
breadboard systems support studies of transient performance and system control
strategies.
Some of the Center's accomplishments include --
* Developing a device for online measurement of oil concentration in air
conditioning and refrigeration systems. A digital counter-timer together with
an ultrasonic transducer determines oil concentration (within ± 0.25%) from
the acoustic velocity in the refrigerant-lubricant mixture.
* Making the first measurements of liquid refrigerant carryover at the
exit of an evaporator, using a laser-doppler particle analyzer to measure
droplet velocity and size distributions, and establishing their relationship
to slug flow in the evaporator.
* Designing and building a pressurized tribotester that provides a
realistic test environment for evaluating friction and wear characteristics of
compressor contact geometries, material pairs, and refrigerant-lubricant
combinations. Found that tests run in a pressurized environment yield results
significantly different from those obtained under the nonpressurized
conditions used by industry for screening studies in the past.
* Obtaining detailed understanding of refrigerator cabinet heat
transfer: investigating conductive, convective, and radiative phenomena in the
door seal area; and determining sensible and latent loading during
door-opening transients.
Center Headquarters
Center Director: Clark W. Bullard
Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Center
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering
1206 West Green Street
Urbana, IL 61801
Phone: (217) 333-3115
Fax: (217) 333-1942
E-mail: bullard@uiuc.edu
Center Evaluator: Peter A. DeLisle
W. H. Severns Professor of Human Behavior
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering
1206 W. Green Street
Urbana, IL 61801
Phone: (217) 333-7241
Fax: (217) 244-6534
E-mail: 1-del@uiuc.edu
NSF 93-97qq (rev. 7/96)
Emission Reduction Research Center (ERRC)
New Jersey Institute of Technology
A university-based research program for source reduction of waste
Center Mission and Rationale
The Emission Reduction Research Center (ERRC) is a consortium of four academic
institutions headquartered at New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT). The
participating institutions are Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT),
NJIT, the Ohio State University (OSU), and the Pennsylvania State University
(PSU). The Center also receives support from the Advanced Technology Center
program of the New Jersey Commission on Science and Technology.
The Center's mission is to promote pollution prevention through source
reduction of waste in all phases of manufacturing by --
* Research to develop "clean " manufacturing technologies
* Development of advanced information tools for designing minimum waste
generation manufacturing systems
* Development of educational tools for assimilating source reduction
methodologies into the workplace
* Encouragement of government/industry collaboration through joint
projects and consensus decision-making in regulatory development.
The Center's strategy for implementing its mission has been to work with
specific industry sectors that share a common technology base, so that the
Center can provide full coverage of all technology opportunities in a
multimedia waste reduction approach. To date, ERRC's primary focus has been on
batch manufacturing technologies typically used in the pharmaceutical/chemical
specialties industry.
Through its industry-university collaborative research since 1992, the Center
has contributed advanced technologies which can be applied in site specific
industrial situations to minimize waste generation at the source and thereby
reduce reliance on end-of-pipe treatment, as well as develop computer aided
systems, based on applications of artificial intelligence techniques, to
identify source reduction opportunities, evaluate process alternatives for
achievable source reduction within regulatory and cost constraints, and to
integrate such assessments into a product life cycle analysis.
Research Program
Center research focuses on five specific research areas --
* Solvent replacement, with the objective of replacing hazardous
solvents with environmentally benign solvents
* Novel reactor technology, with the objective of maximizing batch
reactor product output for a given amount of solvent input
* Novel separation technology to reduce waste generation in product
separation and purification steps
* Aqueous cleaning methods to eliminate or reduce reliance on organic
solvents for equipment cleaning
* Computer-aided information systems specifically, to develop (1) CAD
systems for optimizing process selection and development with cost-effective
minimum waste generation, (2) dynamic simulation tools for unsteady state
batch processes, and (3) data bases for optimum solvent selection.
Special Center Activities
In addition to its general research program, the Center participates in
programs with other universities to develop educational tools for teaching the
use of pollution prevention methodologies, conducts interactive programs of
company-specific research with member companies to aid technology transfer of
pollution prevention technologies generated in the generic research program,
and provides assistance to both member and non-member companies for
implementation of pollution prevention approaches, as well as the development
of industrial education programs to integrate pollution prevention methodology
and awareness into the workplace.
Center-developed technologies are currently under evaluation at several member
organizations, including Pfizer Inc., G. D. Searle Co., Production Base
Modernization Activity (PBMA) at the Picatinny Arsenal, Sandoz Pharmaceutical,
Bristol-Myers Squibb, and Hoffmann-La Roche.
Currently the Center is working under a grant from the Naval Research Office
to expand its CAD system for application to ordnance manufacture, for
integration into an Ordnance Life Cycle system under development by the Armed
Services. ERRC maintains a working relationship with the New Jersey Technical
Assistance Program for Industrial Pollution Prevention that provides
opportunities to identify and address pollution prevention and technical needs
of small- and medium-sized companies.
Center Headquarters
Center Director: Dr. Daniel J. Watts, Ph.D.
Center for Environmental Engineering and Science
New Jersey Institute of Technology
University Heights
Newark, NJ 07102-1982
Phone: (201) 596-5850
Fax: (201) 642-7170
E-mail: watts@admin1.njit.edu
Center Evaluator: Dr. S. George Walters
789 Sergeantsville Road
Stockton, NJ 08559
Phone: (609) 397-0990
Fax: (609) 397-0990
NSF 93-97rr (rev. 7/96)
Hazardous Substance Management Research Center (HSMRC)
New Jersey Institute of Technology
The nation's largest university-based hazardous waste management research
program is in place at the Hazardous Substance Management Research Center
Center Mission and Rationale
The Hazardous Substance Management Research Center (HSMRC) is a consortium of
six academic institutions headquartered at the New Jersey Institute of
Technology (NJIT). The participating institutions are NJIT, Princeton
University, Rutgers University, Stevens Institute of Technology, Tufts
University, and the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey. The
Center is a member of the Advanced Technology Center program of the New Jersey
Commission on Science and Technology.
Through its industry-university collaborative research, the Center has
contributed since 1984 to advanced engineering management of hazardous
substances, developing new management technologies and testing and evaluating
existing technologies to assess their operating ranges and performance
capabilities. The researchers at HSMRC also are building a database to
identify effective, environmentally safe, and economically viable hazardous
waste treatment and remediation technologies. This database and the
technologies developed through the Center's research are expected to --
* Assist industry to minimize, treat, and manage hazardous waste
* Furnish the technology to identify and remediate hazardous substance
spills and burial sites
* Facilitate technology transfer between industry, Government, academia,
and the public
Research Program
The Center operates through seven divisions:
* Biological and Chemical Treatment Division -- Aims to produce
effective and efficient biological and chemical treatment technologies
* Health Effects Assessment Division -- Conducts research on the effects
of hazardous substances in the environment on human health, with an emphasis
on multi-chemical mixtures
* Incineration Division -- Seeks to broaden the use of thermal
destruction processes
* Monitoring and Assessment Division -- Conducts research and
development on innovative field assessment and monitoring technologies;
designs and develops programs that will enhance the technology transfer rate
* Physical Treatment Division -- Develops information on physical
treatment processes to irreversibly transform hazardous substances into
nonhazardous forms, or to isolate hazardous materials for later treatment
* Public Policy and Education Division -- Performs research on how
hazardous substance public policy is formed and implemented and on how public
education regarding hazardous substance issues can be improved
* Site Assessment and Remedial Action Division -- Assesses the public
health and environmental hazards of existing and proposed hazardous and
solid-waste disposal sites and develops cost-effective technologies to
remediate contaminated sites.
Special Center Activities
The Center participates in domestic and international research programs and a
range of educational programs. HSMRC collaborates with the Environmental
Protection Agency's (EPA) Northeast Hazardous Substance Research Center
(NHSRC) headquartered at NJIT, the Emission Reduction Research Center at NJIT,
and the EPA Center for Airborne Organics (headquartered at the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology). These centers share a common pool of researchers and
work in close cooperation on a variety of hazardous waste and environmental
issues.
Center-developed technologies are currently under evaluation in the EPA
Superfund Innovative Technology Evaluation Demonstration Program, at various
Department of Energy (DoE) and Department of Defense (DoD) installations, at
industrial sponsor sites, and in conjunction with the New Jersey Department of
Environmental Protection.
In collaboration with the EPA NHSRC, Center researchers are conducting
collaborative research with faculty at minority academic institutions,
providing research and retraining for DoD military and civilian personnel who
have been displaced because of base closings and realignments, and providing
technical expertise to communities affected by hazardous waste sites.
HSMRC also performs collaborative research with industry/university research
centers in Ireland and France and is working with colleagues at the University
of Indonesia, Khon Kaen University in Thailand, and the University of the
Philippines to develop similar industry/university cooperative research
centers in the environmental areas in those two countries and to develop
student and faculty exchange programs.
The Center participates in several educational programs in engineering and
science, including Young Scholars; Teacher Enhancement Projects; Research at
Undergraduate Institutions; and the Women, Minority, and Disabled High School
and Undergraduate Engineering Research Assistants program.
Center Headquarters
Center Director: Professor Richard S. Magee, Sc.D., P.E., DEE
Center for Environmental Engineering and Science
New Jersey Institute of Technology
University Heights
Newark, NJ 07102-1982
Phone: (201) 596-3006
Fax: (201) 802-1946
E-mail: magee@admin.njit.edu
Center Evaluator: Dr. S. George Walters
789 Sergeantsville Road
Stockton, NJ 08559
Phone: (609) 397-0990
Fax: (609) 397-0990
NSF 93-97ss (rev. 7/96)
Queen's University Environmental Science and Technology Research Centre
(QUESTOR)
The Queen's University of Belfast, Northern Ireland
Researchers supported by industry partners are looking at the basic science
underlying improved methods of effluent treatment, clean technology, life
cycle assessment, modelling, and environmental communications.
Centre Mission and Rationale
The QUESTOR Centre is an industry/university co-operative research centre
carrying out fundamental and strategic, integrated, multidisciplinary
scientific research in selected critical aspects of environmental science and
technology. The research programmes seek to provide understanding aimed at
finding cost-effective solutions to environmental problems allied to
encouraging industrial endeavour and minimising environmental impact.
Results of the Centre's research should:
* Help to set the agenda for research into the basic science underlying
effluent treatment and clean technology processes, thereby leading to more
environmentally friendly production
* Improve technology transfer between the University and the industrial
members
* Identify and train promising post-graduates and post-doctoral
scientists and engineers for employment in industry.
Research Programme
The Centre's research is interdisciplinary. Research projects are carried out
in the Departments of Agricultural Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, Chemistry,
Civil Engineering, Computer Science, Microbiology, and Psychology. Research
carried out by the post-graduate students and post-doctoral staff is
supervised by academic staff in the various departments.
The main focus of the research programme is on techniques for effluent
clean-up and clean technology. Research on the application of parallel
processing to air and water modelling is also being undertaken, as are studies
on the defects in environmental communications between experts and the public
and the applications of life cycle assessment. A wide range of projects are
being funded in the Centre's six research areas --
* Adsorption. Studies are under way on the effectiveness of the natural
materials peat and lignite and their derived activated carbons for the removal
of heavy metals and organics such as dyes and pesticides. Removal of odours
using microbes supported on peat and lignite is also being studied. Initial
results on the effectiveness of these low-cost materials are promising.
* Clean Technology. Research is under way or planned for clean organic,
inorganic, and microbial synthesis to reduce pollution arising from waste
products.
* Communications. Methods are being sought to detect and repair the
breakdown in communications between the expert and the layman on environmental
matters.
* Flocculation. Research here concentrates on understanding the
mechanism of formation of flocs using aluminum, iron, and mixed iron/aluminum
reagents. Electron microscope and atomic force microscope studies have
revealed important details of the formation of the floc, which should lead to
more stable flocs. Work is being carried out on a pilot plant
flowing-flocculation system.
* Microbial Degradation. Research into the biochemistry, genetics, and
physiology of anaerobic microorganisms such as Rhodococcus is under way.
Degradation of chlorinated alkanes, polycyclic aromatics, and compounds with
the carbon-phosphorus bond is being studied by two groups.
* Parallel Processing. Applications of parallel processors to existing
air and three-dimensional water models have shown speed improvements of up to
a factor of ten. Current work aims to give a similar improvement for modelling
of contaminants in the vadose zone and also modelling of odours.
Special Features
The QUESTOR Centre was the first environmental centre outside the United
States to use the National Science Foundation (NSF) model for
industry/university co-operative environmental research. As a non-U.S. centre,
QUESTOR is unique in having an NSF Centre evaluator.
The Centre funds a mix of post-graduates working towards PhDs and post-docs
carrying out research. This mix is very valuable to the students, who learn
from the post-docs. In addition, it is found that a PhD carried out in
collaboration with industry, with well-defined goals to be met, is a highly
valuable training mode and better prepares the student to enter industry.
International links are very important. Joint research is being carried out
with the Hazardous Substance Management Research Center (HSMRC) in New Jersey
and the Institute of Biochemistry and Physiology of Microorganisms at
Pushchino, Russia. Links are also in place with RECORD in France and formative
centres in Canada and Germany.
The existence of the Centre has greatly increased the interactions between the
University and industry. It has also brought into the University
state-of-the-art equipment which would not otherwise be available. This means
that students can be exposed to modern equipment before leaving the
University. The Centre has the only tandem mass spectrometer in Ireland and
the only ICP-mass spectrometer in Northern Ireland. Other equipment includes a
high-resolution mass spectrometer, a porosimeter, a capillary zone
electrophoresis instrument, a thermal analyser, an ion chromatograph, an HPLC,
a GC-FTIR, and computer-controlled fermentation vessels.
Pump-priming funding for the QUESTOR Centre came from the International Fund
for Ireland, administered along the lines of an NSF Centre grant by the
Northern Ireland Industrial Research and Technology Unit. Additional funding
came from the European Community STRIDE programme for developing the
infrastructure for R&D in Northern Ireland. Most recently the Centre received
£2.74 from the European Union-funded TDP programme, the successor to the
STRIDE programme. This funding will build the clean technology side of the
research programme and also install a major demonstration facility which will
be used to show current remediation and clean technologies to members and also
industry in general throughout Ireland. In addition, the International Fund
for Ireland has made a further grant of £1.06 to the Centre to develop an
outreach programme to facilitate environmental technology transfer to industry
throughout Ireland, paying particular attention to small and medium- sized
enterprises. Industry contributions to the Centre come from its members, which
range from manufacturers of pharmaceuticals, chemicals, instruments, textiles,
and beverages through suppliers of electricity and water. The Department of
the Environment for Northern Ireland is also a member.
The Centre was a winner in the prestigious UK-wide competition, "The Queen's
Anniversary Prizes for Higher and Further Education" for 1996.
A highly successful conference entitled "Hazardous Waste Management - The
Incineration Option" was held in September 1992, at which industry and
government regulators and planners achieved a much greater appreciation of the
other's point of view. Regular workshops between the QUESTOR academics and
industry members are held to discuss the research strategy of the Centre.
Each summer a number of second-year undergraduates are employed to work in the
Centre, where they gain experience in employment and a better understanding of
the requirements of industry. A programme to involve primary school teachers
is currently being planned to counteract the worrying trend of many students
to turn away from science and engineering.
Center Headquarters
Centre Director: Prof. Jim Swindall
The QUESTOR Centre,
The Queen's University of Belfast,
David Keir Building
Stranmillis Road,
Belfast BT9 5AG
Northern Ireland
Phone: +44 (1232) 335577/8
Fax: +44 (1232) 661462
E-mail: j.swindall@qub.ac.uk
Centre Evaluator: Dr S. George Walters
789 Sergeantsville Road
Stockton, NJ 08559
Phone: (609) 397-0990
Fax: (609) 397-0990
NSF 93-97tt (rev. 7/96)
Ocean Technology Center (OTC)
University of Rhode Island
Technology for understanding and utilizing the ocean and the 70 percent of
Earth's surface that lies beneath it
Center Mission and Rationale
Rhode Island -- "the Ocean State" -- has a long tradition of fostering marine
industry, and the University of Rhode Island (URI) has a long tradition of
education and research programs in oceanography, ocean engineering, and
related marine disciplines. Many commercial firms and government agencies that
work in ocean science and technology are clustered in southeastern New
England. The Ocean Technology Center (OTC) brings together these regional
resources and those of organizations in other parts of the country to perform
research that will advance our ability to understand the ocean and to benefit
from it. In particular, our goal is to assist our members in developing tools
and systems that solve real-world problems in the ocean.
Research Program
Ocean Technology is an extremely broad field, encompassing everything from oil
rigs to fishing gear to electronic charts. At present the OTC's research
program focuses on two sectors of ocean technology, marine environmental
monitoring systems and underwater mapping systems. Beginning in 1997, the
research program will expand into a third sector, which we call marine foods
technology -- aquaculture and seafood processing. The Center funds faculty,
graduate students, and staff from departments throughout the University to
work on projects related to these areas.
* Coastal Zone Data Collection -- Two projects address problems having
to do with data collection in the coastal zone. The first is a small,
affordable underwater winch that sits on the sea floor and deploys a sensor
package through the water column, either on demand or according to a
predetermined schedule. After the sensor package reaches the sea surface, it
is reeled back down to the winch, where it is stowed out of harm's way until
the next scheduled sampling cycle. Data can be relayed via satellite, while
the sensors are on the surface, or stored for later retrieval.
The second project deals with the problem of efficiently storing,
displaying, and retrieving large amounts of data from a distributed
network of sensors in the marine environment. COASTMAP is a PC-based
software system for doing that, as well as for using the data in
embedded numerical models to predict future ocean conditions or the
location of pollutants in the ocean. The underwater winch and COASTMAP
are especially useful in the coastal environment, where high gradients
and human activity make environmental sampling programs both necessary
and complex.
* Ocean Floor Measurements -- Two URI scientists are conducting
theoretical and experimental research into the generation and propagation of
"acoustic bullets," small packets of acoustic energy that are capable of much
better resolution and range than conventional pulse-echo sonar systems. In
principal, systems using acoustic bullet techniques could provide improved
underwater search capabilities and might have applications in other areas,
such as medical diagnostics.
Another OTC-sponsored project having to do with the ocean floor is an
experimental program to improve techniques for remote classification
of sea floor sediments. Several test ranges have been established in
Narragansett Bay. The ranges have been densely sampled, and their
bottom characteristics are known in detail. A variety of sonars and
other systems will be run over the ranges in a systematic study of
methods for determining ocean sediment types without physical
sampling.
* Ocean Surveying -- Surveys of the ocean bottom or water column are
time- consuming and expensive. Improving the efficiency of these operations is
a high priority for both researchers and survey ship operators. The OTC has
started a project aimed at achieving higher efficiency from survey ships by
using a Geographic Information System (GIS)-based system to track, display,
and modify a survey in near real time. This system will have the capability to
display several layers of data (e.g., bathymetry, magnetics, and sub-bottom
profiles) and will enable a user to correlate this information while at sea.
Special Center Activities
Although the OTC is relatively young, some of its research projects have
already begun to bear fruit. The underwater winch, for example, is being
produced in small numbers for use in coastal zone measurement programs.
COASTMAP and an associated sensor network are going to be implemented by the
City of Warwick to monitor pollution in nearby Greenwich Bay.
Center Headquarters
Center Director: Dr. Jeffrey Callahan
Graduate School of Oceanography
University of Rhode Island
Narragansett, RI 02882
Phone: (401) 874-6210
Fax: (401) 874-6578
E-mail: callahan@gsosun1.gso.uri.edu
Center Evaluator: Prof. Russell Koza
Management Science Department
University of Rhode Island
Kingston, RI 02881
Phone: (401) 874-2089
Fax: (401) 874-4312
NSF 93-97uu (rev. 7/96)
Center for Innovation Management Studies (CIMS)
Lehigh University
Effective management of innovation is important if we are to reap the full
benefits of advances in science and technology
Center Mission and Rationale
The Center for Innovation Management Studies (CIMS) is devoted to the study of
the management of technological innovation -- its focus is on management
disciplines rather than science or engineering disciplines. CIMS is the hub of
a network of industrial sponsors and academic research associates across the
country who are interested in developing a better understanding of the
relationships between technological innovation, management decisionmaking, and
industrial growth and productivity. CIMS-sponsored research is currently being
carried out at more than 12 universities.
CIMS' mission is to produce and disseminate knowledge about the management of
technological innovation in a form that will create or support productive
changes in industry practices and to generate, publish, and disseminate
research results that are highly regarded within the academic research
community.
The Center's goals are to --
* Improve understanding of the relationships between technological
innovation, management decisionmaking, and industrial productivity and
competition
* Create a knowledge base of innovation performance and management
practices to support the education and training of technology managers
* Bring new investigators into the field, and take the lead in setting
the research agenda for the study of innovation-management policies and
practices.
Research Program
Innovation management is the set of managerial activities that stimulate the
generation of productive ideas, that provide the resources and incentives to
transform these ideas into inventions, and that facilitate the
commercialization of these inventions in ways that serve the economic and
competitive interests of businesses and society. Innovation management is the
management of technological change and is distinct from the management of
stable organizations and processes.
CIMS research encompasses the following areas --
* Linking technology and business strategy
* Internal management of research and development
* Technology transfer and commercialization
* Measuring R&D and innovation performance.
Special Center Activities
CIMS is regarded as one of the premier sources in the United States of data
and information related to industrial R&D and innovation. The Center is one of
the very few sources of funding for research in the R&D, innovation, and
technology management areas. For example, CIMS has supported eight research
projects focused on reducing the time length of the product development cycle.
The preface of a 1993 book, Winning in High Tech Markets, published by the
Harvard Business School Press, credits CIMS and the Sloan Foundation for
helping to fuel the study on which the book was based.
CIMS has developed a comprehensive database on the nation's major industrial
firms that perform R&D. In association with the Industrial Research Institute
(IRI), CIMS designed and conducted a survey of the IRI membership in 1982 and
1988. The survey data were then used to construct a database, which was
greatly expanded in 1993. CIMS has become a major research arm of the IRI and
its Research-on-Research Committee.
The Center maintains awareness of state-of-the-art research on critical issues
concerning research and innovation management. CIMS sponsored a study of the
changing ethnic, racial, and gender diversity of the professional technical
workforce and its implications for supervisory practices and career
development. The study, being conducted by Rutgers University, has been
mentioned in the Wall Street Journal as well as the technical press.
A CIMS-sponsored study by Villanova University on decision-support systems for
technological innovation led to the design and implementation of an
information system that tracks process development projects in real time and
permits users to compare the firm's needs at the strategic, product line, and
technical levels with actual accomplishments at each of these levels over
time. The system is being used by a CIMS sponsor to manage capital
expenditures for newly developed production systems and equipment.
Software developments that can be used for technology benchmarking are another
benefit available to the Center's sponsors. One study sponsored by CIMS paved
the way for the development of a patent-analysis algorithm that can be used to
assess the relative technical strength of firms holding patents in particular
fields of technology. This project, developed by Mogee Associates of Great
Falls, VA, is moving toward commercialization under SBIR grants from the NSF,
with support from industry.
Center Headquarters
Center Director: Dr. Alden S. Bean
Kenan Professor of Management and Technology
Lehigh University
Rauch Business Center #37
Bethlehem, PA 18015
Phone: (610) 758-3427
Fax: (610) 758-3655
E-mail: asb2@lehigh.edu
Center Evaluator: Jean Russo
Center for Social Research
Lehigh University
Bethlehem, PA 18015
Phone: (610) 758-5082
Fax: (610) 974-6439
E-mail: mjr6@lehigh.edu
NSF 93-97vv (rev. 7/96)
Center for Virtual Proving Ground Simulation: Mechanical and Electromechanical
Systems
The University of Iowa and the University of Texas at Austin
Virtual prototyping reduces mechanical system development time and improves
product quality
Center Mission and Rationale
Powerful, stand-alone computer-aided engineering (CAE) and analysis tools are
broadly used in industry by specialists from various disciplines. New methods
are being developed by the Center for Virtual Proving Ground Simulation:
Mechanical and Electromechanical Systems to enable these tools to function in
an integrated, concurrent engineering environment to support large-scale
mechanical system development. The Center advances basic technologies in
mechanical system dynamic simulation, durability and reliability analysis,
maintainability analysis, structural design optimization, and real-time
operator-in-the-loop simulation methods and software, and it creates an
integrated multidisciplinary virtual prototyping software environment.
Research Program
The Center's basic technical objectives are to develop--
* Dynamic simulation methods for broad classes of mechanical and
electromechanical systems. The Center has developed high-speed recursive
dynamics formulations that can achieve real-time simulation on parallel
processor computer systems.
* Virtual prototyping capabilities to support the design of
human-operated equipment. The Center utilizes real-time, operator-in-the-loop
simulation to place the operator directly in control of a high-fidelity,
dynamic simulation of the system under design with realistic cueing feedback.
This revolutionary new capability allows designers to tune the design of
equipment to the capabilities of the operator.
* Structural design sensitivity analysis (DSA) and optimization methods.
The Center has developed linear and nonlinear structural design sensitivity
analysis and optimization methods using finite element analysis results from
ANSYS, MSC/NASTRAN, and ABAQUS. This capability enables optimization with
respect to material properties, sizing, shape, and configuration design
parameters that are defined using CAD and geometric modelers such as
Pro/ENGINEER and PATRAN.
* Durability and reliability analysis methods for mechanical components.
The Center has developed capabilities to predict component failure, based on
fatigue crack initiation and propagation due to general nonproportional
loading histories obtained from dynamic simulation. A component-level
reliability analysis capability has been developed, based on simulation and
prediction of multiple failure modes that result from general loading
histories.
* Maintainability analysis. The Center has developed maintainability
analysis methods and software to support the rapid assessment of
maintainability, using computer models of maintenance personnel for mechanical
systems and support equipment. The software helps the user identify design
features that cause maintainability problems and propose design modifications
to eliminate problems encountered during maintainability analysis.
* Methods to integrate engineering software tools in a broad range of
mechanical system analysis, design, and manufacturing disciplines. The Center
has developed an integrated concurrent engineering environment that allows
engineers from various disciplines to collaborate effectively. This
environment supports design data sharing, design process management,
distributed computation, and design trade-off analysis.
The Center believes that performing pilot research projects with its sponsors
is the most effective means of focusing on key problems that must be solved to
create a virtual prototyping capability that meets industry needs. Since its
inception, the Center has carried out pilot projects related to military and
commercial vehicles and construction equipment. These pilot projects have been
augmented by major research projects sponsored by the Department of Defense's
Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA), the Defense Modeling and Simulation
Office (DMSO), and the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT).
The goal of one special joint project with ARPA is to develop a virtual
prototyping-based concurrent engineering environment for ground vehicles. The
US Army Tank-Automotive Command (TACOM) and several military vehicle
industrial firms are participating in this project. The project focuses on
virtual prototyping for system acquisition and is demonstrating the
feasibility of supporting vehicle system acquisition using soldier-in-the-loop
simulation. Operator-in-the-loop simulation of wheeled and tracked vehicles
with an engineering level of realism has been created, and databases suitable
for off-road military vehicle simulation with the soldier-in-the-loop have
been developed and demonstrated.
The Center has carried out special joint projects with a number of industries.
One project with Ford Motor Company, for example, involved the development of
DSA capabilities for dynamic frequency response for noise, vibration,
harshness (NVH) suppression that are now in use by Ford engineers.
Special Center Activities
The Center has developed dynamic simulation and structural optimization
software that is used by a number of Center members and is also being
commercialized. Real-time dynamic simulation capabilities developed by the
Center have established the feasibility of virtual prototyping-based design of
complex mechanical systems and enabled development of the nation's most
advanced ground vehicle driving simulator, the Iowa Driving Simulator (IDS),
which is available for Center member use. The real-time simulation technology
was also the foundation for a Department of Transportation (DOT) project that
is creating the world's most advanced ground vehicle driving simulator, called
the National Advanced Driving Simulator (NADS). This world-class facility will
be acquired by the DOT, located at The University of Iowa, and operated in
cooperation with the Center. The Center has collaborated with many other
I/UCRCs and universities.
Center Headquarters
Center Director: Edward J. Haug
Mobile-EB
The University of Iowa
Iowa City, IA 52242
Phone: (319) 335-5726
Fax: (319) 335-6061
E-mail: haug@ccad.uiowa.edu
Center Co-Director: William F. Weldon
Center for Electromechanics
10100 Burnet Road Bldg. 133
Austin, TX 78758-4497
Phone: (512) 232-1626
Fax: (512) 471-0781
E-mail: b.weldon@mail.utexas.edu
Center Evaluator: Arthur H. Miller
Department of Political Science
314 SH
The University of Iowa
Iowa City, IA 52242
Phone: (319) 335-2347
Fax: (319) 353-2239
E-mail: arthur-miller@uiowa.edu
NSF 93-97ww (rev. 7/96)
Center for Health Management Research (CHMR)
Arizona State University and the Network for Health Care Management
Understanding and solving problems in the management of health care delivery
organizations is a growing national concern
Center Mission and Rationale
Health care has become one of the foremost domestic issues in the United
States; health care costs represent about 14 percent of the Gross Domestic
Product. Government, industry, and the public share growing concerns about a
range of health care matters. Governments at all levels recognize that,
despite a variety of regulatory as well as competitive initiatives, health
care costs continue to escalate. Business and industry view the increased
costs of health care and health-care benefits as impediments to their ability
to compete in international markets. At the same time, 37 million Americans
are uninsured or underinsured. Health-care-delivery organizations and
university researchers have independently sought to address these problems.
The Center for Health Management Research brings together academic faculty and
health-industry leaders to address these critical issues. The Center believes
that its research, which combines the resources of 15 universities, will
provide important insights into health-care cost, quality, and access.
Research Program
The Center's research goals are to --
* Develop a research agenda together with its corporate sponsors
* Perform research, development, and evaluation projects on behalf of
its sponsors and disseminate research results
* Identify and disseminate relevant research findings and successful
innovations and management practices from other industries, countries, and
health care organizations.
Research at the Center is organized around the major theme of integrated
health care systems. Specific themes include new ways of managing quality,
managed care, patient care restructuring, physician-organization integration,
information systems, and community health.
Six research projects have been undertaken at the Center.
* Evaluating New Ways of Managing Quality was undertaken by faculty from
Northwestern University, the University of California at Berkeley, and the
University of Colorado at Denver. This project provides shared knowledge about
different ways of implementing quality improvements and offers guidelines and
suggestions to improve current practices.
* Managed Health Care: Inside the Black Box was undertaken by faculty at
the University of Washington. This project provides indicators of the nature
and degree of managed care within participating organizations and measures the
relationships among alternative structures of managed care, physician-hospital
integration, and costs and outcomes of care.
* Restructuring Patient Care Delivery was conducted by faculty at
Arizona State University and Ohio State University. The project reviews
alternative approaches for patient care restructuring and examines their
respective expectations.
* Evaluating Physician-Organization Arrangements is an ongoing project
being conducted by faculty at the University of Michigan, the University of
California at Los Angeles, the University of Pennsylvania, and Arizona State
University. The project is exploring alternative approaches to such
arrangements and will enhance understanding of conditions for and
characteristics of successful integration.
* Clinical Practice Patterns and Health Care Information Systems is
being undertaken by faculty at the University of Missouri and the University
of North Carolina. The project seeks to identify how information technology
can enhance practice patterns across the continuum of care.
* Prenatal Services for Teens is being conducted by faculty at the
University of Colorado at Denver. The project is exploring how member
organizations can develop and enhance prenatal services for teens and improve
community health.
The Center has also commissioned papers on:
--Physician leadership
--Incorporating health promotion and disease prevention into integrated
delivery systems
--Advances in clinical integration
--Implication of physician "right-sizing"
--Dissemination and utilization of innovation
--Economies and financial implications of re-engineering, work redesign, and
cost reduction
--Organizational implications of re-engineering, work redesign, and cost
reduction.
The Center's academic participants include faculty from graduate programs in
health services management and policy at the following universities: Arizona
State University, University of California at Berkeley, University of
California at Los Angeles, University of Colorado at Denver, University of
Southern California, University of Washington, San Diego State University,
Northwestern University, Ohio State University, University of Michigan,
University of Missouri, University of North Carolina, The University of
Pennsylvania, University of Toronto, and Virginia Commonwealth
University/Medical College of Virginia.
Ten health-care-delivery organizations across the nation are corporate members
of the Center for Health Management Research.
Special Center Activities
The Center disseminates information about its research by holding an annual
Dissemination Conference that brings together multiple members of each of the
corporate sponsors and research organizations.
The Working Paper Series is another means by which the Center disseminates
information. The Working Paper Series is a series of papers resulting from the
Center's ongoing and recently completed projects. The papers are distributed
to the corporate and affiliate sponsors, research organizations, and faculty
members for their review and comments. After the members review and comment on
the papers, they may be submitted to professional journals. Many of these
papers have been published in health-related journals.
The CHMR record is sent out quarterly to update readers about Center
activities and ongoing research.
Research results and findings also are incorporated into teaching programs on
the member university campuses, thus benefitting the students in their
respective programs.
Center Headquarters
Center Director: Prof. Howard S. Zuckerman
School of Health Administration and Policy
College of Business
Arizona State University
Tempe, AZ 85287-4506
Phone: (602) 965-2363
Fax: (602) 965-9606
E-mail: ichsz@asuvm.inre.asu.edu
Center Co-Director: Catherine A. Robinson
Executive Director
The Network for Healthcare Management
2168 Shattuck Avenue, Suite 300
Berkeley, CA 94704
Phone: (510) 642-0790
Fax: (510) 642-3890
Center Evaluator: David A. Tansik, Ph. D.
College of Business and Public Administration
University of Arizona
Tucson, AZ 85721
Phone: (602) 621-1710
Fax: (602) 621-4171
NSF 93-97xx (rev. 7/96)
Center in Ergonomics
Texas Engineering Experiment Station -- The Texas A&M University System
Helping industry improve its competitiveness by improving worker performance
and reducing injuries and illnesses related to cumulative trauma disorders in
the workplace
Mission and Goals
The mission of the Center in Ergonomics focuses on cumulative trauma disorders
(CTDs). CTDs, also known as repetitive trauma disorders, are the most frequent
and costly illnesses in the industrial workplace.
Goals of the Center are three-fold: to determine the root causes of cumulative
trauma disorders; to identify effective interventions to combat these
illnesses; and to identify emerging technologies and issues related to CTDs.
The Center seeks:
* To contribute to the technology and information base necessary to
evaluate and redesign existing workplace environments and work methods that
affect CTDs, while providing leadership for the effective design of future
work systems
* To provide an opportunity for industry to develop, select, and
evaluate CTD research topics in response to both safety and health issues and
ergonomics guidelines and standards that are being developed and proposed.
Every industrial sector can benefit from CTD research, since cumulative trauma
disorders seriously affect competitiveness by decreasing productivity and
increasing costs. Significant concerns exist in general manufacturing, office
environments, heavy industry, transportation and logistics, data processing,
and the semiconductor, food, defense, and aerospace industries.
Research Program
The purpose of ergonomics -- fitting the work to the person -- is to improve
worker performance and safety. Ergonomics researchers study general principles
that govern the interaction of humans with machines, materials, and working
environments.
Cumulative trauma disorders are one specialty in the field of ergonomics.
Carpal tunnel syndrome, a progressive and disabling disease of the hand-wrist,
is the best known CTD. The most frequent and costly CTD illness, however, is
low back pain, a debilitating musculoskeletal disorder.
The Center's 10-year focus is to predict injuries and illnesses by analyzing
CTD risk factors. CTD risk factors can be grouped into four categories:
occupational, nonoccupational, personal, and psychosocial.
The abrupt increases in injury/illness rates, health care costs, workers'
compensation costs, and regulatory activity have dictated the Center's
near-term research agenda and its key CTD research areas, which include--
* National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) lifting
guidelines energy expenditure validation
* Job rotation schedules
* Biomechanical modeling to determine cart design
* Worker physiology studies such as work hardening and thermal stress
* Standing fatigue affected by footwear and anti-fatigue devices
* Evaluation of alternate keyboards and input devices, such as split
keyboards, trackballs, touch pads, etc.
The Center's Industrial Advisory Board meets twice annually to evaluate
ongoing research and set research priorities. Center funding also is
complemented by support from a NIOSH ergonomics training grant.
Facilities
In addition to interdisciplinary resources available on the campus of Texas
A&M University, the Center's facilities include 20,000 square feet of
laboratory space. The Center is fully equipped to support research on work
environment simulations, work physiology, manual materials handling,
continuous lifting studies, workplace design and evaluation, psychomotor and
perceptual investigations, adjustment and reconfiguration for optimal
ergonomic design of computer workstations, and kinetic and kinematic data
acquisition.
Center Headquarters
NSF I/UCRC in Ergonomics
Phone: (409) 862-1345
Fax: (409) 845-6443
Center Director: Jerome J. Congleton, PhD, PE, CPE
NSF I/UCR Center in Ergonomics
Safety Engineering Program
Nuclear Engineering Division
Texas Engineering Experiment Station
The Texas A&M University System
College Station, Texas 77843-3133
Phone: (409) 845-5574
Fax: (409) 845-6443
E-mail: ergo@acs.tamu.edu
Associate Director: Alfred A. Amendale, PhD, PE, CPE
Safety Engineering Program
Nuclear Engineering Division
Texas Engineering Experiment Station
The Texas A&M University System
College Station, Texas 77843-3133
Phone: (409) 845-4107
Fax: (409) 845-6443
E-mail: amen@acs.tamu.edu
Associate Director: Carter J. Kerk, PhD, PE, CSP
Safety Engineering Program
Nuclear Engineering Division
Texas Engineering Experiment Station
The Texas A&M University System
College Station, Texas 77843-3133
Phone: (409) 862-4149
Fax: (409) 845-6443
E-mail: kerk@acs.tamu.edu
Center Evaluator: Craig Blakely, PhD
Public Policy Research Institute
H.C. Dulie Bell Building, Ste. 314
Texas A&M University
College Station, Texas 77843-4476
Phone: (409) 845-8800
Fax: (409) 845-0249
E-mail: craig@ppri-nw.tamu.edu
NSF 93-97yy (rev. 7/96)
Center for Aseptic Processing and Packaging Studies (CAPPS)
North Carolina State University and The University of California, Davis
Aseptic processing may reduce costs while maintaining or improving product
quality and nutritive value
Center Mission and Rationale
Aseptic processing and packaging refers to the continuous procedure in which a
product first passes through a heat-hold-cold process, with subsequent filling
and sealing in a sterile package in a sterile environment. This technology may
save energy, packaging, and distribution costs while maintaining, and even
improving, product quality and nutritive value. Successful development and
implementation of this technology requires knowledge of the interrelations
between product components, process conditions, and the post-process
environment. The Center for Aseptic Processing and Packaging Studies (CAPPS)
was chartered to provide leadership and coordination for aseptic processing
and packaging research and as a mechanism to align the resources and expertise
of universities to meet the research needs of participating industries.
As its mission CAPPS focuses on conducting industrially relevant, fundamental
research directed at developing methods and technologies for the safe
production of marketable, high quality, shelf-stable aseptic products.
Research Program
CAPPS supports research that provides the knowledge to--
* Enhance safety of aseptic products
* Characterize continuous flow thermal sterilization processes
* Ensure the integrity of aseptic packaging processes.
The Center employs an interdisciplinary approach utilizing engineering,
microbiology, and chemistry to meet these objectives. Engineering studies
focus on properties, kinetics, process evaluation, validation, modeling, and
design. The opportunities for two-phase (solid-liquid) processing present
special challenges. The slowest heating point in the fastest moving particle
dictates the minimum thermal treatment. Factors which influence temperature in
the particle include carrier fluid flow rate and properties; particle
population, properties, and size; type and rate of heat transfer; and
particle/fluid residence time distributions.
CAPPS has developed new techniques to measure thermal properties of fluids and
particles at high process temperatures and techniques to measure
residence-time distributions. Research is ongoing, using Magnetic Resonance
Imaging (MRI) and other techniques, to measure the temperature history of a
particle's interior as it moves through a thermal system. To meet the
engineering challenge of developing rapid, non-chemical, cost-effective
methods for on-line package sterilization, the center conducts research on
leak detection, rapid sealing, and rapid nondestructive testing of seals.
CAPPS supports microbiology projects that aim to achieve and maintain product
and package sterility and to document sterility in order to validate packaging
machinery sterilization. The goal is to ensure the microbiological integrity
of the finished products. Other projects include production, recovery, and
documentation of the resistance of biological indicators (bacterial spores)
and the mechanisms of spore inactivation.
The Center's microbiologists and engineers have collaborated on projects to
develop and evaluate alternative procedures to sterilize packaging materials
and equipment, to understand inactivation kinetics and mechanisms in
continuous thermal processes, and to develop methodology for sterilization
validation of surfaces and particulate matter.
Aseptic technology poses chemical challenges prior to and during processing.
Fundamental investigations are necessary to ensure that the applied result is
attractive and of high quality. CAPPS supports projects that deal with product
quality considerations relating to color, texture, flavor, particulate
integrity, and nutritional attributes. Reaction chemistry at high temperatures
and kinetic studies to predict properties are also under active investigation.
Additionally, nonthermal processing is of interest. Related projects range
from investigations on colloidal stability of aseptic product, including
shelf-life prediction studies, to enzyme stability and inactivation under
high-temperature, short-time processing conditions. Interactions of packaging
materials with critical quality constituents are also part of this overall
effort.
Studies on physical attributes include texture, thermal characteristics of
particulates, and techniques to measure the physical properties of fluids at
high temperatures. CAPPS projects also deal with generic issues expected to
improve the quality of aseptically processed and packaged products.
Special Center Activities
CAPPS participates in various joint research programs. The Asia Pacific
Economic Cooperation (APEC) Partnership for Education links CAPPS to
institutions in the Pacific Rim region. APEC activities have included
cooperative research, personnel/student exchanges, education, training, and
joint research projects.
An aseptic pilot plant is housed in the Department of Food Science at NCSU.
State-of-the-art aseptic processing and packaging equipment is installed and
fully operational. Current processing units include direct heating/vacuum
cooling (steam injection) and indirect heating/cooling (tubular, plate, and
scraped surface heat exchangers). Paper-foil laminate aseptic packaging,
shrink-wrap and boxing facilities are available. Complementary facilities at
the University of California at Davis include MRI facilities for flow
visualization, rheological properties and sensory analysis, and a complete
line of membrane separation technologies which complement many aseptic
projects. Also, an ohmic system, marlen pumps, and dewatering systems are
being made available.
In addition to the facilities at NCSU and UCD, CAPPS research is conducted at
many additional U.S. universities. During the past eight years, projects have
been funded at Michigan State University, North Carolina A&T, Indiana
University, Purdue University at Fort Wayne Campus, Rensselaer Polytechnic
Institute, The Ohio State University, the University of Illinois at
Urbana-Champaign, University of Rochester Medical Center, and Virginia
Polytechnic Institute and State University. The scientific knowledge and
laboratory facilities of these academic institutions extend and enhance the
overall program of CAPPS.
Center Headquarters
Managing Director and NCSU Site Director: Kenneth R. Swartzel
Box 7624
North Carolina State University
Raleigh, North Carolina 27695-7624
Phone: (919) 515-2951
Fax: (919) 515-7124
E-mail: krs@unity.ncus.edu
Web: http://www2.ncsu.edu/ncsu/CIL/CAPPS/
UCD Site Director: Sharon Shoemaker
CIFAR/250 Cruess Hall
University of California at Davis
Davis, California 95616
Phone: (916) 752-2922
Fax: (916) 752-4759
E-mail: spshoemaker@ucdavis.edu
Center Evaluator: Denis O. Gray
Department of Psychology
North Carolina State University
Raleigh, NC 27695-7801
Phone: (919) 515-2251
Fax: (919) 515-7634
NSF 93-97zz (rev. 7/96)
Center for Integrated Pest Management (CIPM)
North Carolina State University
Managing pest species in agricultural environments requires judicious choices
among chemical, biological, cultural, and mechanical controls
Center Mission and Rationale
The Center for Integrated Pest Management fosters pest management programs
leading to a high level of knowledge of pest biology coupled with choices of
control technology and monitoring tools which result in the most economically
sound, environmentally compatible, and sociologically responsible integrated
crop management and production. We seek to play a vital, national role in
Integrated Pest Management (IPM) research, education, and training. The Center
supports IPM through the evaluation of emerging technologies, information
management and dissemination, environmental stewardship, estimation of
economic consequences, resistance management tools and systems, and
integration of disciplinary expertise in general.
Research Program
The Center's research program encompasses seven core areas:
* Impact of pest management on environmental quality -- Research is
under way to define the parameters that are important in determining the
environmental impact of pest management practices. Once the appropriate
factors have been identified and their importance ranked in some quantifiable
manner, models can be developed to predict the potential impact of pest
management decisions.
* Benefits assessment protocols and determination of economic thresholds
-- The ability to accurately assess benefits for specific IPM practices as
well as potential crop losses from pest outbreaks is essential to successful
IPM practice. Predictive data on crop loss are also needed when the
Environmental Protection Agency conducts risk/benefit analyses in pesticide
registration cases.
* Genetic engineering for improved pest management -- Recent advances in
biotechnology -- especially the ability to rapidly manipulate genetic traits
among species -- offer great potential in many areas of IPM. Two research
subjects of high priority are whether crop plants and livestock can develop
increased resistance to pests and whether biological control agents can be
greatly improved.
* Improved understanding of pest biology and ecology -- Proper
management of many crop and livestock pests depends on the ability to predict
if and when a particular pest species will cause a problem. Research designed
to better understand the biology of pest species will aid in the development
of specific management options that produce fewer adverse effects.
* Detection and management of pesticide resistance -- Pesticides are and
will continue to be a major method of pest control. One of the most common
reasons that a pesticide ceases to be useful is the development of chemical
resistance by the target pest. Research programs designed to understand
pesticide resistance at the molecular level and at the pest population level
will help to delay or even avoid this phenomenon.
* Development of decision support systems for IPM-- IPM decision makers
(farmers, consultants, extension agents, and chemical distributors) make
complex decisions that may have grave economic consequences. Many times the
factors that must be considered are so numerous that it is not humanly
possible to properly assess them all. Computer technology gives IPM decision
makers the computational speed necessary to consider all the factors that
impact a decision and to evaluate multiple scenarios. Developing decision
support software for IPM will be one of the Center's major research
components.
* Electronic information transfer -- This is a prerequisite for modern
IPM technologies. The Center for IPM is at the forefront of developing and
promoting IPM information provision on the Internet's Wide World Web.
Inexpensive, accurate, and timely information transfer to growers,
consultants, and retailers, together with provision of decision aids, is
critical to IPM acceptance and use. The National IPM Network, founded by the
Center, now includes a national server at the USDA, four regional servers, and
numerous state cooperators.
Center Headquarters
Center Director: Dr. Ron Stinner
Center for Integrated Pest Management
North Carolina State University
840 Method Road, Unit 1
Raleigh, NC 27607
Phone: (919) 515-1648
Fax: (919) 515-2824
E-mail: cipm@ncsu.edu
Center Evaluator: Dr. Denis Gray
Department of Psychology
North Carolina State University
Raleigh, NC 27695-7801
Phone: (919) 515-2251
Fax: (919) 515-7634
E-mail: denis_gray@ncsu.edu
NSF 93-97aaa (rev. 7/96)
Center for Enhancement of Science and Mathematics Education (CESAME)
Northeastern University
Fostering innovations in pre-K through 12 science and math education
Center Mission and Rationale
The Center for Enhancement of Science and Mathematics Education (CESAME) is a
unique and dynamic multisector partnership of federal and state agencies,
private foundations, and industry, established in 1991, with a continuing
mission to foster innovations in pre-K-12 science and math education. The
Center believes that teachers -- because they best understand students'
learning needs -- represent a largely untapped source of innovation in our
schools.
CESAME brings together the resources of teachers, scientists, engineers, and
mathematicians to improve Massachusetts school children's access to,
excitement about, and understanding of mathematics and science. CESAME acts as
resource center for K-12 educators, hosts workshops on grant writing and
curriculum development, provides access to specialists for assistance with
project development, and offers opportunities to network with teachers and
others involved in math and science education.
CESAME maintains a comprehensive database of 2,000+ teachers and
administrators across the state. These individuals receive the CESAME
newsletter, workshop and seminar announcements, and CESAME proposal
solicitations. CESAME staff also make presentations at local science and math
meetings and provide information via on-line information services.
Education Initiatives
CESAME has two primary initiatives --
* The Teacher Innovation Program (TIP) is designed to support teacher
innovation within a school, group of schools, or district(s) via minigrants in
which technical assistance and monitoring extend the relatively modest
monetary grants to empower and support innovative teachers. Grant awards range
from $5-10K per project per year. Since its inception, CESAME has funded close
to 50 TIP projects across the Massachusetts.
* The Statewide Implementation Program (SIP) is designed to assist a
school, group of schools, or district(s) to implement a "SIP-approved"
exemplary curriculum or teacher enhancement project that has already been
developed, field-tested, and proven effective in improving the mathematics,
science, and/or technology education of our students. Grant awards are in the
range of $15K per year for a three-year period; CESAME is currently funding
ten SIP projects in 1995-96.
The SIP initiative was launched in January 1994. Funding from The Noyce
Foundation and the National Science Foundation totals $4.7 million over the
next five years.
Other educational initiatives include the following:
CESAME is currently coordinating the field test of the Active Physics
curriculum. Active Physics is an NSF-supported curriculum project developed by
the American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT) and the American Institute
of Physics (AIP) with assistance from the American Physical Society (APS).
Active Physics is an alternative physics course for high school students who
do not currently enroll in physics. Because of its limited prerequisite math
and reading skills, this activity-based course can be successfully used with
students from the 9th-12th grades.
CESAME's sister organization, the Center for Electromagnetics Research at
Northeastern, has also taken a leadership role in developing initiatives to
enhance the quality of pre-K-12 education in New England.
The NSF Young Scholars Program is an intensive, six-week summer experience for
26 Massachusetts high school juniors and seniors who have demonstrated
outstanding academic ability in math and science. Participants learn about
careers in engineering while earning a stipend working in research
laboratories at Northeastern's College of Engineering and the Center for
Electromagnetics Research. The program consists of seminars, lab research
classroom experiences, and field trips. Student assignments are in chemical,
civil, electrical, mechanical, and other engineering fields working on such
endeavors as the exacting task of designing microelectronics instruments, new
applications for lasers, research on aerogels, ground-penetrating radar, and
earthquake simulation experiments. Northeastern's dedication to encouraging
industry-relevant experiences and classroom education is the major thrust of
the program. Many Young Scholars alumni pursue engineering and physics degrees
at MIT, Harvard, Stanford, Princeton, and Northeastern, to name but a few.
The Project SEED program (Science Education through Experiments and
Demonstrations) is an enhancement program for middle school science teachers
supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation. Project SEED is an
inquiry/activity-based integrated science/mathematics program with a focus on
physical science. One of the main goals of the program is to familiarize
teachers with many inexpensive activities that they can use to enhance their
students' understanding of the basic concepts and principles of physical
science.
Project RE-SEED enhances science education by training retired science
professionals to be volunteer Science Resource Agents (SRAs) who assist middle
school science teachers with activity-based teaching.
Project PRO-SEED trains middle school science teachers to be Leader Teachers
who will conduct after-school science workshops in their geographic areas. The
external after-school workshops comprise the EX-SEED program in which the
Leader Teachers teach some of the hands-on SEED activities to their
colleagues.
Special Activities
CESAME is based on the National Science Foundation's Industry/University
Cooperative Research Centers (I/UCRC) model "... to foster and support the
research projects of scientists and engineers working in technological areas
relevant to industry." Accordingly, CESAME nurtures and disseminates research
projects conducted by teachers working toward systemic education reform.
In keeping with the systemic vision of educational reform, CESAME collaborates
with the Massachusetts statewide systemic initiative, PALMS (Partnerships
Advancing the Learning of Mathematics), a NSF-funded project spearheading
statewide reform in K-12 science and mathematics standards, methods, and
policy. In addition, CESAME works closely with the National Diffusion Network
(NDN), the Technical Education Research Center (TERC), the Education
Collaborative of Greater Boston (EDCO), The Network, Inc., the Regional
Alliance for Science and Education Reform, and the Eisenhower National
Clearinghouse.
CESAME is currently supported through financial and in-kind contributions from
Northeastern University, the National Science Foundation (its prime federal
partner), the Bay State Skills Corporation (its prime state partner), the
Massachusetts Biotechnology Council, Massachusetts Biotechnology Research
Institute, Massachusetts Corporation for Educational Telecommunications
(MCET), U.S. Army/Natick Research Development and Engineering Center, the
Noyce Foundation, the Millipore Foundation, and the Oliver S. & Jennie R.
Donaldson Charitable Trust.
Center Headquarters
Center Director: Dr. Michael B. Silevitch
Center for the Enhancement of Science and Mathematics Education
Northeastern University
716 Columbus Avenue, Suite 378
Boston, MA 02120
Phone: (617) 373-3033
Fax: (617) 373-8496
E-mail: msilevit@lynx.neu.edu
TIP Evaluator: Dr. Paula G. Leventman
Northeastern University
College of Engineering
140 Snell Engineering Center
Boston, MA 02115
Phone: (617) 373-4835
Fax: (617) 373-8496
SIP Evaluator: Susan Cohen
Program Evaluation and Research Group
Lesley College
29 Everett Street
Cambridge, MA 02138-2790
Phone: (617) 349-8458
Fax: (617) 349-8668
NSF 93-97bbb (rev. 7/96)