West Virginia University announced today (Sept. 6) that it has received $380,000 from the Bayer Foundation to create the Bayer Scholars for Extrusion-Compounding Program in the Department of Chemical Engineering.
The new fellowship program in the College of Engineering and Mineral Resources will fund three WVU graduate students pursuing doctorates in chemical engineering over a five-year period.
The program is competitive with other prestigious fellowships, such as those awarded by the National Science Foundation.
Bayer scholars will be members of the WVU Center for Extrusion-Compounding of Additives for Superior Plastics Performance, a state-of-the-art polymer engineering facility that is part of the Department of Chemical Engineering.
The center is involved in pioneering innovative plastics processing methods that utilize both nanotechnology andgreen,or sustainable, processes to produce novel polymer composites.
In addition, Bayer scholars will complete internships at a Bayer MaterialScience research and development laboratory either in the United States or overseas.
We are grateful to the Bayer Foundation for this grant, WVU President Mike Garrison said.West Virginia University changes lives, and by providing support for graduate education in engineeringwith a particular focus on bringing more women and underrepresented minorities into the sciencesBayer will help us achieve that goal.
We are delighted to make this gift to help further the work and mission of a chemical engineering department that shares our own vision and commitment to advancing plastics technologies in the 21st century,said Gregory S. Babe, president and chief executive officer of Bayer MaterialScience LLC and board member of the Bayer Foundation.
Babe pointed to the WVU centers current investigation of using nanoparticles to design composites with innovative properties, as well as its work to develop modern methods for recycling plastic components found in electronics, such as radios and television, for use in new products.
WVUs Center for Extrusion-Compounding is particularly valuable for todays chemical engineering graduate students because it is one of the few university research facilities that actually mirrors an industrial research laboratory, affording students the requisite real-world experience for todays global marketplace,Babe explained.
Babe is a West Virginia native, a 1980 graduate of WVU with a bachelors degree in mechanical engineering, and a member of the Distinguished Alumni Academy of the WVU Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering.
The Center for Extrusion-Compounding is closely aligned with the Universitys Polymer Research Initiative, which aims to stimulate new polymer research activities across campus in areas including polymers and the environment, advanced composites, bio-based polymers (plant-based) and biomedical applications. The center is a state-of-the-art engineering facility funded by the West Virginia Research Challenge Grant, the Mid-Atlantic Research Center for End-of-Life Electronics (MARCEE), the WVU Research Corporation and several other organizations.
In addition to this latest gift, Bayer has awarded $250,000 in fellowship grants to WVU over the last decade to support the Department of Chemical Engineering and the College of Engineering and Mineral Resources.
Bayer fellows have participated in research at the U.S. Department of Energys Brookhaven National Laboratory and have garnered national student awards from the American Institute of Chemical Engineering.
About the WVU College of Engineering and Mineral Resources
Located on the Evansdale Campus, the WVU College of Engineering and Mineral Resources is dedicated to the development of engineering practice, science and research. The college offers a wide range of engineering and computer science degrees at the bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral levels. Expert faculty members provide students at all levels with a cutting-edge learning experience in the classroom and laboratory, in addition to hands-on experience in research and development with industry and government partners. For more information, visithttp://www.cemr.wvu.edu.
About The Bayer Corporation and Foundation
The Bayer Corporation, headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pa. is a subsidiary of Bayer AG, an international health care, nutrition and innovative materials group based in Leverkusen, Germany. In North America, Bayer had 2006 net sales equivalent to 7.8 billion euros and employed 17,200 at year end. Bayers three subgroups, Bayer HealthCare, Bayer CropScience and Bayer MaterialScience, improve peoples lives through a broad range of essential products that help diagnose, prevent and treat diseases, protect crops and enhance yields and advance automobile safety and durability. The Bayer Foundation is an endowed 501�(3) entity and is the primary source of Bayer Corporation’s philanthropy in the United States. With a programmatic focus on civic and social service programs, education and workforce development, arts and culture and health and human services, the Bayer Foundation creates and supports partnerships that improve communities in which Bayer employees live and work.