Newswise — The University of Kansas today announced that a research center whose mission is to develop environmentally friendly and economically viable chemical processes for industry was selected to receive $17 million under the National Science Foundation Engineering Research Centers Program.
The five-year grant is the largest single federal research award ever received by a Kansas university. Additional funding streams and donated facilities as a result of the award are expected to bring the total package value to nearly $30 million.
The Center for Environmentally Beneficial Catalysis (kuh-TAL-uh-sis) is a multidisciplinary, multi-university research center led by KU, with the University of Iowa and Washington University in St. Louis serving as core partners.
Professor Bala (BAHL-uh) Subramaniam (soo-brah-MAH-nee-uhm) of the KU Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering is the CEBC director. Professor Daryle H. Busch of the KU Department of Chemistry is the deputy director, while professors John Rosazza, University of Iowa, and Milorad Dudukovic, Washington University, will serve as CEBC associate directors at their institutions.
"This award is a testament to the University of Kansas' commitment to bring together technology and industry to produce tangible innovations that benefit the public," KU Chancellor Robert Hemenway said.
"The program will protect our environment and strengthen the economic viability of corporations. It also will promote environmental stewardship to K-12 students and create exceptional opportunities in engineering and science for undergraduate and graduate students from diverse ethnic backgrounds."
CEBC Director Subramaniam said the award is an important milestone for the university.
"Our team is honored to be part of NSF's prestigious Engineering Research Centers Program," said Subramaniam, who is leading the multi-institutional effort. "It puts us in the major league of research centers.
"The center will foster collaborative research among scientists and engineers from various disciplines, from universities and industries worldwide, to develop environmentally friendly technologies for the chemicals-processing industries," Subramaniam continued. "This approach allows our team to investigate a process technology in detail from the molecular scale to the plant scale using state-of-the-art research tools."
To the tune of $340 billion annually, the U.S. chemicals industry is vital to the nation's economy, Subramaniam said.
Catalysis is the acceleration of a chemical reaction through the presence of a material -- a catalyst -- that is chemically unchanged at the end of the reaction.
"Catalysts are key to enabling chemical reactions essential to the production of many of the things people rely on, such as medicines, food products and even the gasoline for our cars," said CEBC Deputy Director Busch. "An important benefit of CEBC will be its academic impact as the center's researchers expand the understanding of how catalysts work and invent new catalysts to do important chemistry while protecting the environment."
The CEBC also will develop hands-on opportunities for the next generation of engineers and scientists.
"Undergraduate and graduate students will have a unique educational experience, working in a multidisciplinary setting to solve real-world problems," Subramaniam said. "Outreach programs will expose K-12 students and pre-college teachers to cutting-edge science and technology."
More than 35 faculty members at three institutions will contribute their research expertise to address a variety of issues. Industrial partners will pay membership fees and will have the first opportunity to implement new technologies devised by the center. Ultimately, the CEBC will sustain its growth and innovation with funding from industrial memberships and additional sponsors of research projects.
The center will establish partnerships with educational institutions that have high populations of Hispanic, African American and Native American students, such as Garden City (Kan.) Community College, Kansas City Kansas Community College, Haskell Indian Nations University in Lawrence, and the University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras campus.
The NSF backing is a landmark for KU, said Jim Roberts, interim vice provost for research and president and chief operating officer of the KU Center for Research.
"In the world of engineering education, this is winning a BCS bowl or going to the basketball Final Four. This is what top-tier universities do," Roberts said.
The National Science Foundation is an independent federal agency that supports fundamental research and education across all fields of science and engineering. John Brighton, head of the NSF Directorate for Engineering, explained the multiple aims of all NSF Engineering Research Centers.
"The ERCs advance knowledge and develop new technologies to transform U.S. industry," Brighton said. "The centers foster collaboration among researchers from many disciplines and provide an educational and research environment that prepares a new generation of engineering leaders."
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