In a novel bid to promote multidisciplinary research, the North Carolina State University has entered into an agreement with the Eastman Chemical Company to jointly conduct advanced research in material science, chemistry and other relevant scientific fields.
The duration of the joint research agreement is 6 years. According to the agreement, Eastman Chemical will grant funding of US $10 million to be disbursed over the agreement period of 6 years. The collaboration that is dubbed as the Eastman Chemical Company Center of Excellence (ECCE) partnership also includes the establishment of the Eastman Innovation Center (EIC) laboratory. The 2000sq.ft EIC will be located on NCSU’s nationally renowned research site, the Centennial Campus. According to NCSU Chancellor Randy Woodson, the partnership validates the University’s commitment to be at the forefront of public-private research collaborations. Both Woodson and Dr. Greg Nelson, Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer at Eastman Chemical Company opine that the partnership will help in the quick transition of new ideas from the lab to the market.
The agreement also addresses the aspect of intellectual property rights. A research steering committee with equal representation from the company and university will select the participants for the collaborative research projects from atleast six colleges of the NC State University. The departments that will participate in the first level research interactions are materials science, chemical and biomolecular engineering, chemistry, textile engineering, industrial design, graphic design, forest biomaterials and the Center for Innovation Management Studies. The agreement has provisions that allow NCSU researchers to work at Eastman labs and for visiting Eastman researchers to work in the NCSU labs.