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The NSF Partnership for International Research and Education (PIRE)

The National Science Foundation has awarded faculty of the University of Rhode Island $2.4 million to support educational and research initiatives in collaboration with their partners in Germany. Building on URI’s existing relationship with the Technische Universität Braunschweig (TU-BS) in the area of microfluidic technology and its Dual Degree Master’s Program, this new project will develop research opportunities from the undergraduate through the graduate level, culminating in a new International Ph.D. The NSF funding will support several graduate students in the coming five years, all of whom will be spending part of their programs in Braunschweig. The project’s technical goals are focused on two applications:

1. Design of a system to detect the early response to pathogen infection using a microfluidic “lab-on-a-chip.”
2. Use of microfluidic technology to study the generation of fluid pressures in sediments due to seismic loading and lead to a better understanding of the triggering of tsunamis.

A key element of the project is the international collaboration with scientists and students at the Technische Universität Braunschweig, which has the complementary technical infrastructure and expertise necessary to pursue this program of research. URI is a leader in training engineers for the global marketplace through its renowned International Engineering Program. It has partnered with Braunschweig on engineering education for undergraduates for 10 years, and has exchanged over 300 students during that period. An international Dual Degree Master’s Program was launched in 2004, and this new grant will support development of a joint doctoral level program.

University of Rhode Island faculty involved in this project are:

• Mohammad Faghri, Professor of Mechanical Engineering
• Otto Gregory, Professor of Chemical Engineering
• John M. Grandin, Professor of German and IEP Director
• Thomas Mather, Professor of Entomology
• Shahid Karim, Research Associate
• Donna Meyer, Assistant Professor, Mechanical engineering
• Zongqin Zhang, Professor of Mechanical Engineering
• Stephan Grilli, Professor of Ocean Engineering
• Christopher Baxter, Associate Professor, Ocean and Civil Engineering

Braunschweig faculty include:

• Wolfgang Augustin, Senior Researcher, Institute for Chemical and Thermal Process Engineering
• Stephanus Büttgenbach, Vice President, Professor and Head, Institute for Microtechnology
• Stefan Dübel, Professor and Head, Institute for Biochemistry and Biotechnology
• Dieter Dinkler, Dean of School of Civil Engineering, Professor and Head, Institute for Statics
• Dieter Jahn, Professor and Head, Institute for Microbiology
• Manfred Krafczyk, Professor and Head, Institute for Computer Applications in Civil Engineering
• Martin Koch, Professor and Head, Tetrahertz Systems Group at Institute for High Frequency Technology
• Peter Nübold, Director, Language Center
• Hocine Oumeraci, Professor of Hydromechanics and Coastal Engineering, Institute for Hydrology
• Stephan Scholl, Professor and Head, Institute for Chemical and Thermal Process Engineering
• Rainer Tutsch, Dean for Curricular Affairs of School of Mechanical Engineering, Professor and Head, Institute for Production Measurement Technology
• Hermann Wätzig, Professor and Head, Institute for Pharmaceutical Chemistry