| Outcome/accomplishment:
The NSF-funded Engineering Research Center (ERC) for Revolutionizing Metallic
Biomaterials (RMB), based at North Carolina A&T State University (NCAT),
has established itself as a global leader through research and educational
exchanges with member universities and research partner Hannover Medical
School (MHH) in Germany. The Center has organized ‘Think Tank’ conferences
in the US and in Italy.
Impact/benefits:
This international collaboration has enabled the Center to more rapidly
advance its research agenda in pursuing transformational applications of
biodegradable materials for the biomedical implant industry. Also,
these global activities contribute to students’ learning about the important
role of global collaboration in facilitating innovation and transferring
it into the economy.
Explanation/ background:
MHH, an international research partner, has facilitated collaboration with
Germany’s federally funded research organization, GKSS, on magnesium alloys
processing. Together with MHH, the Center organized the First BioMg
Think-Tank Workshop in North Carolina in 2009 for 70 attendees, and another
in Italy in July 2010 with 85 attendees. During summer 2010, five
undergraduates from RMB partner institution the University of Pittsburgh
visited an MHH lab in Germany under an exchange program to provide research
experiences for undergraduates. Two-way planning visits have occurred
with the Center’s global education and outreach partner, the Indian Institute
of Technology Madras (IITM), to plan student exchanges for summer 2011.
Each of the undergraduates
who traveled to Germany completed a research paper and made a presentation
on their work on the last day of their stay. Julia Kuhlmann, a Ph.D. student
at RMB partner institution the University of Cincinnati, conducted critical
experiments at MHH to improve her biosensor development concepts.
In November 2010, NCAT Ph.D. students Venkataraman Giridharan and Leon
White along with NCAT Associate Professor of Bioengineering Yeoheung Yun
visited MHH to explore: (1) the visualization of a magnesium-implanted
bone sample using a micro-CT facility; (2) measurement of corrosion rate
of Mg implants using a eudiometric system; and (3) the histology of hard
tissue implant with a Mg alloy. |
