Contact: Phil Hearn
STARKVILLE, Miss.--Mississippi State is changing the name of a major research center to reflect its expanding role as a developer of clean energy systems and catalyst for state economic advancement.
The state College Board earlier this month approved the name change for the university's Diagnostic Instrumentation and Analysis Laboratory--known for years by its acronym DIAL--which now is designated as the Institute for Clean Energy Technology, or ICET ("ice tea").
"In response to national, state and local priorities, MSU is beginning to focus more of its research effort in the area of energy systems," explained Roger King, associate dean of the Bagley College of Engineering for research and graduate studies.
"This focus will help in not only meeting national needs for energy, but also in enhancing economic development in the state of Mississippi," he predicted, noting the name change will entail no new costs for the university.
Established in 1980 as a research unit of the engineering college, DIAL has operated combustion test and plasma torch facilities for decades to test high-temperature materials and perform a variety of other research functions. It has supported U.S. Department of Energy environmental mediation projects since 1993.
Located in the Thad Cochran Research and Technology Park adjacent to the university's North Farm, DIAL has generated 24 patents and three computer software copyrights over the past eight years. The variety of research and development projects range from energy production to environmental control and infrastructural assurance.
In recent years, DIAL has developed a high-tech sensory device that can detect the early symptoms of diabetes in a person's breath and devised new "Hollow Deck" technology that pinpoints flaws in concrete structures such as bridges.
The lab also is helping reduce the pollution that is attacking India's Taj Mahal and using moisture sensors to control humidity in museums and gas pipelines, while working with nearly 50 companies in Mississippi and the rest of the nation.
"Mississippi State is developing innovative solutions to some of today's most pressing problems involving energy, the environment, infrastructure and industrial processes," said Colin Scanes, the university's vice president for research.
King, who has served as the lab's interim director for the past year, said the new ICET will encompass DIAL and two other existing engineering college units: the new Center for Advanced Portable Power Technology and Manufacturing, and fuel cell research thrusts previously housed in the Center for Advanced Vehicular Systems.
"This synergy will serve as a catalyst for the university's research for the 'hydrogen economy' and for the clean use of other forms of energy," said King. "We believe this renaming accurately describes the functions of the combined units and the focus of their efforts."
He said the new institute's four research thrusts will focus on characterization, processing engineering and development, production and storage, and environmental mediation. The search for a full-time director of the institute begins immediately.
With the cost of fuel sharply rising, researchers continue to explore alternative means of powering cars and other vehicles. Fuel cell technology has become a key component of a new global energy strategy.
A fuel cell converts chemical energy directly into electricity by combining oxygen from the air with hydrogen gas, which can be acquired from a variety of sources, including water. The technology produces lower emissions, increased efficiency, lower maintenance costs, a quieter ride, and continuous operation without recharging.
Materials from plants or animals--biomass--also provide a replacement for dwindling supplies of petroleum in the future production of fuels and other important chemicals. Future industries may depend on multiple feedstocks based on lipid, sugar, protein, hydrogen, synthesis gas, and methane platforms, researchers contend.
The ICET name-change is the third in the long evolutionary history of the research program. When begun in the 1970s, the project was known as MHD--an acronym for magnetohydrodynamics, a branch of the science of the dynamics of matter.
For more, contact Dr. King at (662) 325-2189 or rking@engr.msstate.edu.