(415d) University of Maryland High Shear Mixing Research Program

The High Shear Mixing Research Program (HSMRP) at the University of Maryland is an industrially sponsored consortium consisting of 15+ member companies. The research focuses on prediction and measurement of velocity fields and particle size distributions in high intensity contacting geometries that are capable of producing fine emulsions and dispersions. There is a good balance between academic pursuits and practical application, with an overall emphasis on gaining a fundamental understanding of the controlling physicochemical hydrodynamics, as well as emulsification and dispersion mechanisms. Among the members, there is a balance between chemical and pharmaceutical companies, and vendors of mixing equipment and computational fluid dynamics software. While other faculty participate when appropriate, this operation is essentially the effort of a single faculty investigator. The HSMRP was established in 1997 and is still growing.

The Principal Investigator (PI) will discuss his experience in developing and sustaining this somewhat unique and rather specialized industrial consortium. While the member companies provide the input that guides the direction of the research program, it is important for the academic PI to provide a strong leadership role in relating fundamental knowledge to process performance. He must also work to insure that the industrial participants apply this knowledge to benefit their companies. The benefits and disadvantages of such a form of university-industry collaboration will also be addressed.