The UMass MRSEC has numerous valuable parnters on and off campus that combine to create a vibrant research and education community. With respect to facilities, Center materials capabilities in microscopy, spectroscopy, and molecular weight characterization are augmented by the support structure of the UMass campus, for example from the Institute for Applied Life Sciences (IALS) that organizes numerous core facilities for campus and external users. Valuable research partners and collaborators contribute intellectual breadth and diversity to the Center, including researchers at Mt Holyoke College, Smith College, Howard University, and the University of California Riverside. A collective effort among NSF-MRSECs to promote facilities is seen in the Materials Research Facilities Network (MRFN) that opens use of Center tools and facility staff expertise to all interested researchers.
Center partnerships with industry connect Center projects, and student researchers, to companies seeking solutions to pressing materials challenges. The UMass MRSEC partners with the Center for UMass-Industry Research on Polymers (CUMIRP) which facilitates interactions of Center faculty members with companies. Joint semi-annual MRSEC-CUMIRP meetings and program reviews bring industry partners to UMass for in-depth Center reviews, poster sessions, and networking activities with Center researchers. The Center additionally benefits from the UMass Innovation Institute (UMII), which promotes corporate relationships, spin-off technologies, and startup ventures, as well as the Technology Transfer Office which facilitates invention disclosures and patent filing associated with Center research.
