REU Site: From Bench to Market: Engineering Systems for High Efficiency Separations

阿肯色大学这个为期三年的REU项目将为学生提供参与创新分离研究的机会。化学和制药制造的成本主要是分离过程的成本，以获得纯净的产品。事实上，据估计，高达10-15%的世界能源预算和90%的药品制造成本是由分离过程造成的。从混合物中回收和纯化感兴趣的化合物的分离过程对现代社会的几乎每个方面都是必不可少的，包括饮用水，治疗，食品和饮料。每年将选出10名本科生，在一名成功教员的实验室里进行为期10周的研究。此外，学生将参加商业化评估培训系列，这将使他们准备思考传统假设驱动研究的潜在商业化。学生将离开REU项目，了解学术研究和商业化如何共同解决社会的重大挑战。化学和制药制造的成本主要是分离过程的成本，以获得纯净的产品。事实上，据估计，高达10-15%的世界能源预算和90%的药品制造成本是由分离过程造成的。阿肯色大学REU网站的总体目标是教不同群体的本科生如何创建和执行涉及分离的研究，同时了解评估其项目商业潜力所需的技能。他们将通过一个基于NSF I-Corps精益画布方法的定制设计的商业化系列来引导。学生将在包括化学工程、土木工程、生物医学工程和化学与生物化学在内的多个部门的成功实验室中工作。MAST中心为REU参与者提供了独特的机会，通过工业指导、工厂参观和REU项目结束时的直播演讲，与分离领域的行业领导者进行互动。学生将离开REU课程，了解学术研究和商业化如何协同工作，以解决人文学科的重大挑战。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This three-year REU site at the University of Arkansas will provide students with opportunities to participate in innovative separations research. The cost of chemical and pharmaceutical manufacturing is dominated by the cost of separation processes to obtain a pure product. In fact, it is estimated that up to 10-15% of the world energy budget and 90% of pharmaceutical manufacturing costs are due to separation processes. Separations processes that recover and purify compounds of interest from a mixture are essential for almost every aspect of modern society including drinking water, therapeutics, food, and beverages. Ten undergraduate students will be selected each year to spend ten weeks performing research in the laboratory of a successful faculty member. In addition, students will participate in a commercialization assessment training series that will prepare them to think about the potential commercialization of traditional hypothesis-driven research. Students will leave the REU program with an understanding of how academic research and commercialization work together to solve society’s grand challenges. The cost of chemical and pharmaceutical manufacturing is dominated by the cost of separation processes to obtain a pure product. In fact, it is estimated that up to 10-15% of the world energy budget and 90% of pharmaceutical manufacturing costs are due to separation processes. The overall objective of this REU site at the University of Arkansas is to teach a diverse group of undergraduate students how to create and execute research involving separations, while simultaneously becoming aware of the skills needed to assess the commercial potential of their projects. They will be led through a custom designed commercialization series based on the NSF I-Corps Lean Canvas methodology. Students will work in successful laboratories across multiple departments including chemical engineering, civil engineering, biomedical engineering, and chemistry & biochemistry, The MAST Center provides the unique opportunity for the REU participants to interact with industry leaders in the separation field through industrial mentorships, plant tours, and live-streamed presentations at the close of the REU program. Students will leave the REU program with an understanding of how academic research and commercialization work in tandem to solve humanities grand challenges.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.