National Science Foundation funds interdisciplinary fluid power research center

Discovering ways to reduce fuel consumption, developing devices for people with mobility impairments, and designing state-of-the-art rescue robots are just three of the goals of a new multi-million dollar research center involving the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

“We have some unique expertise in fluid mechanics, control and dynamical systems, and biomechanics here at Illinois which we will add to the multidisciplinary interests of faculty from the other institutions involved in the center,” explained Andrew Alleyne, the Ralph and Catherine Fisher Professor of Engineering within the Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering.

Illinois is one of the core universities involved in the new Engineering Research Center for Compact and Efficient Fluid Power. Based at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities campus, the center is being funded by a $15 million, five-year grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF). Industry partners will augment NSF funding with $3 million, and the 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,” stated Lynn Preston, leader of the NSF Engineering Research Centers (ERC) Program. “We are impressed with the ambitious goals of the center for research and education and the strong partnership with industry.”

“Back in the 1950s and 1960s, the United States led the world in fluid-power research, but now Europe and Asia have passed us by,” said Kim Stelson, a mechanical engineering professor and director of the new research center and at the University of Minnesota. “We hope that this new center will get us back on track in this growing field.”