New Engineering Research Center coming to OSU to study natural rubber
Columbus, OH – The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) announced a 5-year investment of $104 million, with a potential 10-year investment of up to $208 million, in four new NSF Engineering Research Centers (ERCs) to create technology powered solutions that benefit the nation for decades to come.
“NSF’s Engineering Research Centers asks big questions to catalyze solutions with far-reaching impacts,” said Sethuraman Panchanathan, NSF Director. “NSF Engineering Research Centers are powerhouses of discovery and innovation, bringing America’s great engineering minds to bear on our toughest challenges. By collaborating with industry and training the workforce of the future, ERCs create an innovation ecosystem that can accelerate engineering innovations, producing tremendous economic and societal benefits for the nation.”
One of the four new centers is TARDISS: Transformation of American Rubber through Domestic Innovation for Supply Security. The Ohio State University (OSU) partnered with Caltech, North Carolina State University, Texas Tech University, the University of California Merced, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and Case Western Reserve University for this new center. This makes OSU the only university in the nation to lead 2 ERCs simultaneously. Faculty members in the Food, Agriculture and Biological Engineering Department led the effort.
The centers build partnerships with educational institutions, government agencies and industry stakeholders to support innovation and inclusion in established and emerging engineering research. TARDISS will lead fundamental research towards U.S. natural rubber security, through the creation of a “Silicon Valley of Domestic Rubber Production.” The “Modern Marvels” series (History Channel) stated that the world’s four most important natural resources are “… air, water, petroleum and rubber.”
Synthetic rubbers cannot replace natural rubber, a strategic raw material essential in tires and many other products. Currently the single commercial source is the tropical rubber tree, with production areas far from the U.S. Disruption of supply chains, mostly in Southeast Asia, would paralyze the U.S. economy. The pandemic and the Ukraine war exposed supply chain vulnerability built on trust in a global economy.
“TARDISS will lay the groundwork for sustainable expansion of the domestic rubber industry. Our vision aligns perfectly with the funding program that supports Convergent Research leading to strong societal impact and Innovation through Inclusive Partnerships and Workforce Development. TARDISS will include neurodiverse people with untapped potential and currently underrepresented in the workforce. We are excited about this opportunity to have an ERC positioned here at Ohio State University making the University and Ohio a lead in the domestic rubber industry. The outcomes of the ERC will be a sustainable domestic rubber industry and a new, young workforce converging agriculture and engineering trained through a new American Rubber Academy. Our Innovation Ecosystem initially brings together over 30 small to large companies, researchers, students, national labs, and communities and features novel programs such as the Piranha Pit to encourage innovation.” said Dr. Judit E. Puskas.
This article was written by Dr. Judit E. Puskas is a Distinguished University Professor, in the Department of Food, Agricultural and Biological Engineering (FABE). Dr. Ajay Shah is a Professor in FABE. Dr. Puskas is the principal investigator of TARDISS, and Dr. Shah is the center director.