The proposed site, the University of Arkansas Fayetteville, requests funding for a planning meeting to establish a partner site of the Membrane Science, Engineering & Technology (MAST) Center that is currently comprised of the New Jersey Institute of Technology (lead institution) and the University of Colorado at Boulder, as a research partner.
The addition of the University of Arkansas site to the current MAST Center will bring new areas of expertise and complement existing expertise. A particular focus of the new site will be the application of membrane based separations for sustainability and in the manufacture of food and beverages. The presence of strong departments in food science and poultry science at the University of Arkansas will enable the MAST Center to grow its research program in these new areas. In addition to these new areas, the faculty at the University of Arkansas has expertise that complements existing strength in the core areas of membrane formation, modification, characterization and performance. Faculty members from across the University of Arkansas have been identified who would have strong potential interest in participating as MAST Center researchers.
Establishing the proposed MAST site would lead to the education and training of graduate students and post-doctoral fellows for the membrane and related industries. The director of the Arkansas MAST Center site will work with the Arkansas Research Alliance to introduce the MAST Center to local industry. Numerous Arkansas based companies have been identified that could directly benefit from graduate students and postdoctoral researcher who have been trained in membrane science and technology. Further industry mentorship of research projects at the proposed site provides a unique opportunity for graduate students to hone their communications skills and learn to work effectively in teams in addition to the technical skills required by the research projects. The site director plans to work with existing programs on campus to attract students from underrepresented groups in science and engineering to the MAST Center; and, advances in the applications of membrane separation technologies will be incorporated in the undergraduate courses in separations, reactor design and chemical engineering laboratories.
The planning meeting was held 14-15 April 2013 at University of Arkansas Fayetteville. The aims of the planning meeting were as follows: Provide a forum for potential sponsors of a University of Arkansas Site of the MAST Center to learn about the NSF I/UCRC program and in particular the technology and expertise that resides in the MAST Center. Provide a venue for potential sponsors to meet the NSF program director and evaluator as well as the directors of the University of Colorado Boulder and New Jersey Institute of Technology Sites of the MAST Center. Provide an opportunity for potential sponsors of the University of Arkansas Site to meet current sponsors of the MAST Center. This was achieved by holding the Spring MAST Center Industrial Advisory Board Meeting immediately following the planning meeting (15-17 April 2013). Allow potential sponsors to determine the tremendous benefits of Center membership for their organizations. Highlight the unique educational and training opportunities available to graduate students working on Center projects. Highlight the positive impact a University of Arkansas Site of the MAST Center will have on work force development in an EPSCOR state. The planning meeting was extremely successful. The outcomes of the planning meeting were as follows: We achieved all of our objectives as listed above. Our potential sponsors indicted that they gained a very good understanding of the NSF I/UCRC program and its aims. They were particularly impressed by the expertise resident in the MAST Center and were enthusiastic about the establishment of a new MAST Center Site in Arkansas. Four organizations joined as members of the University of Arkansas Site of the MAST Center: Garver USA (engineering design firm), Tyson Foods (meat and poultry products), Southwestern Energy (energy producer), Arkansas Bait and Ornamental Fish Growers Association (fish producer), 3M (global innovation company). 3M joined the New Jersey Institute of Technology Site of the MAST center. Discussions are continuing with several other potential sponsors. The potential impact on workforce development in Arkansas is significant. In fact, many of our sponsors indicated that a major benefit of MAST Center membership is the possibility of employing our students after they graduate.
