Multimedia Gallery
New NSF ERC CISTAR
Purdue University chemical engineering undergraduate student Zige Huang, at left, and graduate student Michael Cordon perform research related to work that will be supported by a new National Science Foundation Engineering Research Center called CISTAR, Center for Innovative and Strategic Transformation of Alkane Resources.
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The National Science Foundation (NSF) has invested nearly $80 million in four new Engineering Research Centers (ERCs) to create novel technology platforms to address national challenges in health and energy sustainability.
Over the next five years, the centers will create new knowledge and high-tech innovations, as well as transform existing industries in ways that bolster the U.S. economy, support national security and build America's global competitiveness through the preparation of engineering graduates.
The NSF Engineering Research Center for Innovative and Strategic Transformation of Alkane Resources (CISTAR) will develop technologies for responsible conversion of light hydrocarbons from shale gas into fuels and chemicals using a network of portable, modular processing plants. Led by Purdue University in partnership with the University of New Mexico, Northwestern University, the University of Notre Dame and the University of Texas at Austin, CISTAR could enable lower carbon emissions and improved energy efficiency, and provide a viable bridge to a sustainable energy future.
Learn more about the new ERCs in the NSF news release 4 new NSF Engineering Research Centers will advance US health, energy sustainability. (Date image taken: August 2016; date originally posted to NSF Multimedia Gallery: Dec. 11, 2018)
Credit: John Underwood, Purdue University
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