Mission
To create and translate advanced manufacturing research for polymers and soft materials for manufacturing science and scale-up.
About
Building on our existing expertise in polymer manufacturing and worker health and safety, we expanded our research into nanomanufacturing in 2004 with the award of the National Science Foundation (NSF) Center for High-rate Nanomanufacturing (CHN) program. This NSF Nanoscale Science and Engineering Center (NSEC), was one of only four in nanomanufacturing nationally. The five year program, a collaboration of UMass Lowell, Northeastern University, and the University of New Hampshire, was renewed for an additional five years. Further aiding the explosive growth of Nanomanufacturing research at the University was the Commonwealth of Massachusetts designation of UMass Lowell as a Nanomanufacturing Center of Excellence (NCOE), with funding through the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative (John Adams Innovation Institute). These research sponsorships triggered additional funding and growth from the US Army (Army Research Office) and other Federal sources. Currently the Center leverages this legacy with programs such as the Flexible Hybrid Electronics program, NextFlex, part of the President’s Manufacturing Innovation Initiative (MII).
