NORA - North American Center for Research on Advanced Materials

BASF, Harvard University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and the University of Massachusetts (UMass) Amherst have established a research initiative called the "North American Center for Research on Advanced Materials."

The goal is to work jointly in research projects to generate a better fundamental understanding in the fields of interest to BASF and based on this develop next generation technologies and solve the most demanding materials, chemistry and biology-related problems. To achieve this goal we make use of the high level of creativity and strong expertise at BASF and our partner institutions and encourage an interdisciplinary approach to solving problems.

At NORA we are currently working on 20 projects at the three universities. The recent key research fields are micro/nano-structuring of materials and surfaces to achieve new properties, advanced hybrid and smart materials, functional polymers, new effects through biomimetics and bionics, new formulation concepts, multi-scale theoretical modeling of materials and mechanics, photonic and acoustic metamaterials, energy storage materials, catalysis systems and bioengineering. The currently more than 30 postdocs and students and 17 faculty members that are involved in these projects are closely collaborating with the key experts within BASF.

Scientists and engineers from several disciplines such as chemistry, physics, and biology collaborate in this
research initiative. The academic partners not only provide their expertise in materials science, modeling,
and formulation methods, but also offer interesting, new approaches to conducting research.

Besides fundamental scientific knowledge, BASF researchers contribute the necessary experience in
transforming research results into technically feasible processes and products. In addition, they provide
input about which materials are needed in different industries and applications. The ideas and topics to be researched are decided jointly by the researchers participating in the initiative.