Planning Grant: I/UCRC for Advanced Drying Research

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1266339 Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI); Jamal Yagoobi 1266327 University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC); Hao Feng The proposed center will focus on improving the energy efficiency of various drying processes. Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) are collaborating to establish the proposed center, with WPI as the lead institution. The proposed center (CADR) will conduct industry-relevant research in developing novel dehydration technologies to reduce energy consumption by focusing primarily on agricultural and food processing, chemical, forestry products, pharmaceutical, and textile industries. By focusing at the intersection of mechanical and systems engineering with the agricultural and food sciences, and pharmaceutical research, the center intends to assemble a diverse and complementary set of researchers and industrial partners who are uniquely suited to tackle several "grand challenge" types of problems in food production, agriculturally-derived materials, and in chemical, forestry products, and pharmaceutical industries. The flow of basic science and applications among each of the technical areas will provide a cross-disciplinary and translational research environment that will attract top researchers and active industrial participation to the Center. The proposed center (CADR) will assist U.S. leadership in sustainable manufacturing via improving the corresponding processes efficiencies. Dissemination of results will be facilitated through the industry relationships that each collaborating institution has developed through extensive previous industry/university project work. Direct transfer of these results to industry will permit more rapid adoption of new sustainable processes. CADR envisions a national yearly symposium that will expand on the regional conferences. The new concepts discovered by the Center will also be incorporated into traditional transport phenomena coursework, equipping a new generation of engineers with the tools necessary to implement sustainable manufacturing practices. CADR personnel at WPI and UIUC are committed to cultural diversity to promote the participation of minority students in the Center's work.