The Gates Corp., a fluid power solutions provider, has joined with the National Science Foundation, several universities, and other industrial companies to establish a $21 million Fluid Power Engineering Research Center.

Researchers at the center will study ways to use fluid power more efficiently in manufacturing, agriculture, construction and mining. The center will also develop portable, wearable and autonomous fluid-power devices capable of operating for long periods of time without external energy sources.

"The center will define and expand new research frontiers in engineering and increase the ability of faculty, students and the fluid power industry to work with researchers from across the country in a variety of interdisciplinary areas," said Lou Braga, group president of Gates Worldwide Fluid Power Division.

NSF recently announced a $15-million, five-year grant to support the new center. Gates and other industry partners will be donating $3 million, and seven universities involved in the center will contribute an additional $3 million.

"This center will advance fundamental knowledge, providing a platform for technology that will spawn new industries. We are impressed with the ambitious goals of the center for research and education and the strong partnership with industry," said Lynn Preston, leader of the Engineering Research Centers Program at the National Science Foundation.

Universities involved in the center will be the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities (where the center will be based), University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Georgia Institute of Technology, Purdue University, and Vanderbilt University. Outreach universities include the Milwaukee School of Engineering and North Carolina A&T State University. Outreach institutions include the National Fluid Power Assn., Project Lead the Way, and the Science Museum of Minnesota.

NSF-funded Engineering Research Centers conduct pioneering research in emerging technologies and help develop the next generation of engineers.

Each center, while based at one university, is a collaborative partnership drawing together individuals and resources from other universities, industry partners, and pre-college teachers and students.