The American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) has announced its intention to form a Rapid Advancement in Process Intensification Deployment (Rapid) Manufacturing Institute. The new institute aligns with the objectives of the United States National Network for Manufacturing Innovation (NNMI).
The RAPID Manufacturing Institute will apply for the support of the U.S. NNMI’s Modular Chemical Process Intensification Institute for Clean Energy Manufacturing, a partnership sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). The RAPID Institute’s focus will be on the application of process intensification — a fundamental area of knowledge in chemical engineering — to manufacturing processes as a means of lowering costs, improving energy- and resource-efficiency, and increasing overall productivity.
To achieve these goals, AIChE is assembling a consortium representing chemical process industries, pulp and paper, metals, and other key DOE focus industrial areas, along with academic and government research institutions, to leverage each participant’s unique areas of expertise in process intensification — ranging from separations, catalysis, and transport processes to kinetics and reaction engineering.
June Wispelwey, Executive Director of AIChE, stated that the objectives of the RAPID Manufacturing Institute are well suited to the aptitudes of AIChE’s diverse industrial and individual membership. “Process intensification is the heart of chemical engineering,” said Wispelwey. “By bringing the theories and practices of process intensification to manufacturing, the RAPID Institute will help AIChE and its members make a positive impact on industry and the economy by reducing energy consumption, improving efficiencies, and transforming U.S. manufacturing.”
The RAPID Manufacturing Institute is envisioned as one of the numerous organizations that are part of the NNMI, a network of linked manufacturing innovation organizations that have common goals but unique concentrations of expertise. In the network and its niches, partners collaborate and co-invest to nurture manufacturing innovation and accelerate commercialization.
In leading the RAPID Manufacturing Institute, AIChE will leverage the expertise of its global network of industrial and academic professionals, as well as its decades of experience managing subsidiary technical centers such as the Center for Chemical Process Safety (CCPS), the Design Institute for Physical Properties (DIPPR), and the CHO Genomic Systems Consortium.
Learn more about the RAPID Manufacturing Institute and its objectives at www.processintensification.org.
About AIChE
AIChE is a professional society of more than 50,000 chemical engineers in 100 countries. Its members work in corporations, universities and government using their knowledge of chemical processes to develop safe and useful products. Through its varied programs, AIChE continues to be a focal point for dialogue related to chemical engineering research in areas such as energy sustainability, biological and environmental engineering, and nanotechnology and chemical plant safety and security. More information about AIChE is available at www.aiche.org.