Examining Research From the TSE Grant Program

Eddie Diaz

Melissa Hinton

Mark Stevenson

What will be covered…

• Project Goal• TSE Grant Program• Project Objectives• Methodology• Examples of Case Studies• Conclusions & Recommendations

Acronyms

• EPA – Environmental Protection Agency• TSE – Technology for a Sustainable Environment• NSF – National Science Foundation• PI – Principal Investigator• TRI – Toxics Release Inventory

Project Goal

To define an array of outcomes to assess the success of the TSE program, and to use our results to develop case studies in order to identify and

document in detail the effects of research conducted by ten PIs who were supported by the

TSE program.

Overview of the TSE Program

• Founded by EPA & NSF• Established in 1995• Supports Academic Research• Goal Statement

Evaluation of the TSE Program

• Conference held in May of 2004• Coordinated by the NSF & EPA• Panel comprised of academic and industrial

researchers.

Project Objectives:Key Questions

• What patents, licensing, and startup companies have been produced?

• What research projects are the PIs currently conducting?

• How much funding was awarded in addition to the TSE grants in order to further related research?

Project Objectives:Key Questions

• What impact has the TSE program had on the careers of the graduate students?

• Which technologies developed by the research are being used in industrial practices?

• Has the research resulted in the reduction of toxic materials and pollution?

Grant Period

Research

Activity

Immediate Impacts:

Presentations

Publications

Patents

Additional Funding Obtained

Industrial Process Improved

The Environment

Benefited

TSE grant money

PIs

GraduateStudents

IndustrialPartners

Developed Technology

Stimulated further researchFlow Chart

Selected PIs

• Dr. Eric Beckman (1995, 2003): Solvents, Alternative Synthesis

• Dr. George Kraus (1996): Alternative Synthesis • Dr. Nancy Ho (1997): Fuel/Energy, Rewenables• Dr. Joseph DeSimone (1997, 2001): Solvents,

Alternative Synthesis, Electronics• Dr. Chao-Jun Li (1997, 2000, 2004): Catalysts,

Solvents, Alternative Synthesis

Selected PIs

• Dr. Krzysztof Matyjaszewski (1998, 2001): Catalysts, Solvents, Alternative Synthesis

• Dr. Fred Ramirez (1998): Reactor/Process Design, EBM

• Dr. Yushan Yan (1999): Coatings• Dr. Valerie Thomas (2001): LCA• Dr. Richard Wool (2001): Coatings, Renewables,

Adhesives

Interviewing

• Interviews with PIs covered:• Further research

• Patents & licenses

• Changes in curriculum

• Publications of findings

• Interviews with graduate students focused on their work since completing the project.

Archival Research

• Grant application• Project reports• Published papers• Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge Award

Program• AirData and Scorecard

Quantitative Analysis

• Our quantitative analysis was used to show potential environmental impacts of the research, the results are potential because:• Some research was not used in industry

• The research that was used cannot be measured yet.

Quantitative Analysis ToolsScorecard

• Scorecard integrates over 400 scientific and governmental databases

• Contains data on several chemicals, several come from the TRI database

• Allows us to select with a range of over 750 industry types while TRI would only allow 28

• Most recent data (RY2001)

Quantitative Analysis ToolsAirData

• Less recent data (RY1999)• Has additional information we are interested in

that cannot be found in Scorecard• Industry types are the same as Scorecard (Over

750 Codes)

Results: Case Studies Examples

• Dr. Eric Beckman

• Dr. Fred Ramirez

Dr. Eric Beckman

• University of Pittsburgh, Chemical Engineering • Funded twice by the TSE

• Purification of proteins from cell broth using Carbon Dioxide

• Produce propylene acid using generated hydrogen peroxide

Dr. Eric Beckman:Academic Impacts

• Examples of research used in his elective courses although it did not impact curriculum

• Had several graduate students

Dr. Eric Beckman:Citations

1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004total # of citations

Affinity extraction into carbon dioxide. 1. Extraction of avidin using a biotin-functional fluoroether surfactant 0 0 0 0 1 1 2 1 5Solubilization of subtilisin in CO2 using fluoroether-functional amphiphiles 0 1 3 2 3 2 1 12Total # of citations per year 0 0 1 3 3 4 4 2 17Average # citations per article per year 0 0 0.5 1.5 1.5 2 2 1 8.5

Dr. Eric Beckman: Industrial Partners

• Genencor International • Materials

• Co-writing published papers and patents

• $60,000 to $70,000 funding

• Lyondell Chemicals & SNF• Funding

• Catalyst preparation

• Testing Facilities

Dr. Eric Beckman:Patents

• Completed patents:• US Patent 6638749, October 28, 2003. • US Patent 6342196, January 29, 2002• US Patent 6596884, July 22, 2003• US Patent 6710192, March 23, 2004.

• Filed patents:• US Patent Application 20040186319, September 23,

2004.

Dr. Fred RamirezQuantitative Example

• Professor at the University of Colorado, Chemical Engineering.

• Developed a model for an Electric Arc Furnace (EAF) that could be used in the steel industry.

• After developing his model, he used data from two plants to test it out.

Dr. Fred Ramirez: Potential Environmental Impacts

• Predicts that Carbon Monoxide (CO) emissions could be reduced in both plants by over 90%.

• We looked at CO emissions in the U.S. to find potential environmental impacts of Ramirez’s research.

Dr. Fred Ramirez:

Quantitative Results

Industry Type (SIC)

Number of Facilities

Percent of Total Facilities

Pollutant Emissions

Percent of Total Emissions

3312 - Blast Furnaces And Steel Mills 155 0.536 721,717 17.19

CO Emissions from “Blast Furnaces and Steel Mills”

Conclusions & Recommendations

• Academic Impacts• Industrial Impacts• Potential Environmental Impacts• Recommendations to the TSE program

Conclusions:Academic Impacts

• Many use their research as examples during classes (Kraus, Beckman)

• Only a couple PIs generated new classes as a result of their research (Li, Wool)

• All but one (Ho) sponsored at least one graduate student

• Some worked with faculty outside their departments or institutions (Kraus, Wool)

Conclusions:Responses From Graduate Students

• “Part of my work is improving the model I developed in school.” Sam Matson (worked with Dr. Ramirez, currently employed at an engineering consulting firm)

• “By working on [the TSE grant], I was able to find a research area that I was passionate about.” Audrey Lee (worked with Dr. Thomas)

• “The TSE research I did helped make me a polymers expert.” John LaScala (worked with Dr. Wool)

Conclusions:Dr. Richard Wool’s Academic Impacts

• Helped create courses in green engineering and polymer science

• Collaborated with faculty at University of Delaware, Georgia Tech, Howard, Michigan State, and Colorado State to explore the creation of a national research center for green materials

• Sponsored 4 graduate students

Conclusions: Industrial Impacts

• Possible contributors to the lack of industrial effects• Too recent

• Too much financial risk (Kraus, Ramirez)

• Research still theoretical

• Results were not as beneficial as originally thought (Beckman)

Conclusions: Industrial Impacts

• When an impact has been made• Multiple industrial partners (Matyjaszewski, Beckman)

• One or more patents (Matyjaszewski, Beckman)

• Further funding (Li, Beckman, Yan)

• Many PIs do not know (Li), or are not allowed to say (Matyjaszewski), how companies use their research

Conclusions:Dr. Krzysztof Matyjaszewski’s Industrial Impacts

• Was awarded two patents directly related to his atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) research

• Helped create two industrial consortia involving over twenty companies

• Licensed his ATRP method to six companies

Conclusions: Potential Environmental Impacts

• Estimates of potential impact outdated • Actual emissions may have changed• Don’t know how much of the emissions are due to

traditional technology or process

Conclusions: Potential Environmental Impacts

• Most estimates focus on production as opposed to use of a product

• Some PIs did not specify chemicals that would be reduced or removed

Recommendations

• Improvements to TSE Grant Application• TSE should have potential PIs indicate as specifically

as they can which chemicals could be reduced or removed

• Should encourage more industrial involvement in research

Recommendations

• Follow-up Procedures• Need better publicizing of successful research

• TSE should maintain contact with PIs, even after research has been completed

• Should continue this evaluation with other PIs

Acknowledgements:

• Our Liaisons• Diana Bauer

• April Richards

• Our Advisors• Professor Demetry

• Professor Petruccelli

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