Mitsubishi Pledges $15 Million to Engineering

Mitsubishi Chemical Corp. of Tokyo has pledged support over five years for two research centers at UCSB's College of Engineering: $12.5 million to establish the Mitsubishi Chemical Center for Advanced Materials (MC-CAM), and $2.5 million as a philanthropic donation for the existing Center for Solid State Lighting and Displays under director Shuji Nakamura.

MC-CAM's founding director Glenn Fredrickson, professor and chair of chemical engineering, said the new center "will focus [on] functional soft materials." These materials have at least one organic component, meaning the presence of carbon as in a plastic (polymer) or biomaterial. Materials that are physically soft tend to be easy to process and to exhibit useful transport and diffusion properties, he added.

An example of a MC-CAM research focus is photonic band-gap materials, for which pioneering work has been done by UCSB scientists. The idea is to create from such materials a transistor for the switching of particles of light or photons in the way semiconducting materials have been used to create switches for electron flow.

Such potentially transformative technology fits into Mitsubishi Chemical's business strategy, which emphasizes specialty-use chemicals with high profit margins. According to Chief Technology Officer George Stephanopoulos, "Mitsubishi Chemical is well positioned to translate basic discoveries at UCSB into the marketplace for advanced photonic and electronic materials."

The University of California will own inventions ensuing from the MC-CAM research funded by Mitsubishi Chemical, which will have first option for exclusive license to the use of that technology. In addition, Mitsubishi will have the opportunity for a royalty-free nonexclusive license.

"The basic research of our scientists in advanced materials and solid state lighting and displays has reached a point of technological breakthrough," said Chancellor Henry Yang. "This cooperation between Mitsubishi and UCSB is solidly founded on broad, complementary strengths between the two institutions in basic discoveries and product innovation."

Fredrickson estimated that the materials effort involves some 100 UCSB faculty, working collaboratively in interdisciplinary teams. Most of the Mitsubishi Chemical money, he noted, will support student and postdoctoral researchers, supplies, and equipment for their research.

MC-CAM will be linked with the Materials Research Laboratory (MRL) administratively and physically in order to leverage the physical plant, professional staff, research facilities, and equipment while maintaining its autonomous research program. The MRL, in return, benefits from MC-CAM's annual contributions to enlarge the research equipment base and staff support available to both centers.