The National Science Foundation has designated the Center for Membrane Applied Science and Technology (MAST) as an NSF Multi-University Research Center with sites at CU-Boulder and the University of Cincinnati.
The award status was conferred on the MAST Center by the NSF Industry/University Cooperative Research Center for an initial period of five years.
Professor Richard Noble, co-director of the CU-Boulder center, is proud of MAST's success in the highly competitive Industry/University Cooperative Research Center awards process at the NSF. The MAST Center also is very pleased that The University of Cincinnati has joined as the second site.
"The synergy of the research done at both sites will allow us to expand the range of applications that we can study," said Noble. "The center will benefit greatly from the collective expertise of both sites."
A number of leading companies in petrochemicals, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, water treatment and other industries sponsor research at the MAST Center.
Researchers look for innovative filtration and separation technologies that benefit their industry sponsors with significant improvements in operational efficiency and quality. In return, sponsor companies receive royalty-free, non-exclusive intellectual property rights to all MAST Center research.
The CU-Boulder MAST Center also has seen a generous increase in its state funding this year. The Colorado Commission on Higher Education has awarded the center research support of $100,000 for the fiscal year 2002, a significant increase over the previous funding of $45,500.
The University of Colorado also provides direct support of $80,000 per year. The investments by the university and the state have resulted in more than $5 million dollars in additional research obtained by center researchers.
The Center for Membrane Applied Science and Technology was founded in 1990 to conduct research, transfer technology and promote education in membrane technology. The MAST Center co-directors are Alan R. Greenberg and Richard D. Noble from CU-Boulder and William B. Krantz and Sun-Tak Hwang from the University of Cincinnati.
Headquartered at CU-Boulder, the MAST Center has a 12-year track record of innovation, operating efficiency and broad-based corporate support, making it the leading global membrane research center.
For more information visit www.mastcenter.org/.