IUCRC Phase III New Jersey Institute of Technology: Center for Membrane Applications, Science and Technology (MAST)

Membranes are used in a variety of industries such as the manufacture of drugs, production of food and beverages, treatment of drinking and wastewater and recovery of valuable chemical species from waste streams. The Center for Membrane Applications, Science and Technology (MAST) is collaborating with membrane manufacturers and users in these fields and others, to promote scientific knowledge and to develop new products that advance human health, prosperity and welfare.

By establishing multidisciplinary project teams with scientists from a range of industries as well as university researchers across four institutions, the MAST Center is addressing challenging real world technical issues that are of significant societal impact in the areas of healthcare and environmental sustainability. At New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT), the MAST Center is working with industry to develop membranes, membrane devices and processes to produce efficiently pharmaceuticals, drug delivery and gene therapy vehicles and biopharmaceuticals; treatment of organic solvent-based process streams is of special interest.

Membrane treatment of wastewater to remove ubiquitous pollutants is an additional focus area to further wastewater reuse.

The Center for Membrane Applications, Science and Technology (MAST) conducts industrially relevant research in six areas: (1) development and characterization of new membranes; (2) development of green membrane manufacturing methods; (3) development of membrane processes for water treatment; manufacture of products for the (4) biopharmaceutical industry, (5) pharmaceutical industry and (6) membrane applications in food and beverage industries. The Center works with industrial partners representing membrane users and manufacturers and faculty and students from four institutions in order to develop technological solutions to challenging separations.

In parallel, the Center trains students to be future leaders of technology development. At New Jersey Institute of Technology, the MAST Center has developed unique approaches to membrane development and applications for separations in organic solvent-based systems used in small-molecule drug manufacturing as well as for efficient development of vehicles for small molecule drug delivery and gene therapy.

The MAST Center is studying high pressure membrane processes for removal of trace pollutants for water recycle and reuse. The Center is also engaged in development of suits to protect from toxic gases and chemical warfare agents. The Center is tapping into a variety of programs at NJIT to train a broadbased workforce.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.