Kaptur: University of Toledo Awarded $235,035 from National Science Foundation
July 27, 2016
Washington, DC — Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur (OH-9) today announced that the University of Toledo has secured $235,035.00 in a four-year award from the National Science Foundation (NSF), through the Civil, Mechanical and Manufacturing Innovation (CMMI) Division.
“This is welcome news for the University of Toledo, an institution that is leading the way in scientific research,” said Rep. Kaptur. “The NSF award will facilitate the discovery of hard, wear-resistant and corrosion-resistant coatings which could be used on fuel-efficient jet engines, high temperature concentrating solar power plants, and wind turbines.”
The awarded project is entitled "DMREF/Collaborative Research: Nitride Discovery - Creating the Knowledge Base for Hard Coating Synthesis," is under the direction of Dr. Sanjay V. Khare, Professor and Director of the Professional Science Masters in Photo-voltaics and Director of the Minor in Renewable Energy Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Toledo.
“This is research through which we hope to accelerate discovery of hard, wear-resistant and corrosion-resistant coatings for emerging applications including fuel-efficient jet engines and gas turbines, environmentally-friendly lubricant-free cutting tools, high-temperature concentrating solar power plants, and wind turbines,” said Dr. Khare. “Potential impact would be for improving US defense machinery and cutting tools for industrial manufacturing.”
William Messer, Jr., Vice President of Research at The University of Toledo, explained that “Dr. Khare's research builds on theoretical studies that predict a class of molecules known as nitrides could be useful in manufacturing hard coatings for a variety of applications. Such materials have been difficult to make by traditional approaches, but Dr. Khare is combining theory and experimental approaches to control chemical reactions at the surface of the coatings to achieve a new set of durable materials. These studies have broad implications for manufacturing jet engines, gas and wind turbines and solar power plants among other applications.”