LOUISIANA: LSU and LA Tech Partner to Create Center for Structural Integrity
LSU and Louisiana Tech University are proud to announce the establishment of the Center for Innovations in Structural Integrity Assurance, or CISIA, the first Industry/University Cooperative Research Center, or I/UCRC, for either institution.
CISIA will serve as a trusted source for transformative insights, predictive capabilities, and materials innovations across broad industrial sectors, focusing on structural integrity assurance for small and large structures and mechanical components.
In addition to research for establishing linkages between material properties, infrastructure performance, and structural integrity—which is beyond the scope of most industrial research and development organizations today—the academic and industrial members of CISIA will collaborate closely to produce engineers who are trained to utilize modern methods of structural health monitoring and analysis.
Students will be trained in state-of-the-art testing and evaluation facilities to become some of the most highly-qualified and productive workforce, which will contribute to enhancing the global competitiveness of U.S. industries. Through outreach and education activities that reach a diverse audience of college students at four- and two-year colleges, CISIA will raise awareness of not only the infrastructure problems facing the country, but also the career opportunities and positive impacts on the nation’s economy provided by a multidisciplinary STEM education.
“This is a watershed moment enhancing our efforts to produce eminent engineers of the future, groundbreaking research, and innovative solutions that will significantly further the critical work to address failing and aging infrastructure around the country,” said LSU Interim Executive Vice President & Provost Matt Lee. “We are proud to partner with Louisiana Tech on this cooperative research center, and to better serve our students, the industrial sector, and our nation through the research, training, and collaboration that will be done at the Center for Innovations in Structural Integrity Assurance.”
The NSF IUCRC program catalyzes breakthrough pre-competitive research by enabling close and sustained engagement between industry innovators, world-class academic teams, and government agencies. IUCRCs help industry partners and government agencies connect directly and efficiently with university researchers to achieve three primary objectives: 1) Conduct high-impact research to meet shared and critical industrial needs in companies of all sizes; 2) Enhance U.S. global leadership in driving innovative technology development, and 3) Identify, mentor and develop a diverse, highly skilled science and engineering workforce.