The University of North Texas (UNT) is seeking to establish a research site joining with the currently funded NSF Industry/University Cooperative Research Center (I/UCRC) for Tire Research (CenTIRE) comprised of Virginia Tech (lead institution) and the University of Akron.
The UNT research site will focus on sustainable technologies of rubbers and tires including fuel efficiency, recycling of scrap tires, and tire materials with bio-products. The UNT site will conduct a cooperative research that features a highly leveraged and pooled research program that includes graduate students, faculty researchers and industry professional engineers. The research thrusts will provide solutions to significantly improve the industrys yield and contribute to its economic competitiveness.
The establishment of new research site at UNT will further extend the capability of the current Center for Tire Research, and enhance UNT's ability to open doors to many industry sponsors near the Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) area, as well as obtain funding from other federal and state agencies. The envisioned research topics on sustainability of tires at the UNT site will benefit society for reducing the negative environmental effects of tires. The proposed center site will plan to provide graduate students and faculty with a technology platform to conduct industry-relevant research, establish an effective mechanism for collaboration, and will help promote, catalyze, and accelerate the commercialization of innovative technologies.
This project aims at establishing a new center site at UNT of Industry/University Cooperative Research Center (I/UCRC), which is led by Virginia Tech. Industry focused pre-competitive research projects on tires were secured faculty from three departments - Mechanical and Energy Engineering, Materials Science and Engineering, and Biology at UNT. UNT hosted a planning workshop of CenTiRe on August 19-20, 2014 in which nine potential members attended together with the NSF/IUCRC director, evaluator, center director and organizer, and IAB directors. Intellectual Merit: The UNT research site identified a research theme - "sustainable technologies of tires" to build CenTiRe cooperatively and to add values. The sustainable technologies of tires include fuel efficiency, recycling of scrap tires, and tire materials with bio-products. During the planning workshop, UNT faculty and potential industry members exchanged ideas to initiate cooperative projects in order to develop a highly leveraged and pooled research program that includes graduate students, faculty researchers and industry professional engineers. Broader Impacts: The establishment of new research site at UNT will further extend the capability of the current Center for Tire Research, and enhance UNT's ability to open doors to many industry sponsors near the DFW area, as well as obtain funding from other federal and state agencies. The envisioned research topics on sustainability of tires at the UNT site will benefit society by reducing the negative environmental effects of tires. The proposed center site has a plan to provide graduate students and faculty with a technology platform to conduct industry-relevant research, establish an effective mechanism for collaboration, and will help promote, catalyze, and accelerate the commercialization of innovative technologies.
