Center Configuration, Leadership, Team Structure
To achieve the Center’s vision, CBiRC has assembled from eight U.S. and two foreign institutions a group of NSF-funded research faculty who are internationally recognized leaders in their respective fields. ISU serves as the lead institution. Core partner institutions include the University of California–Irvine, University of New Mexico, Rice University, University of Virginia, and University of Wisconsin–Madison. Institutions contributing affiliated faculty include the Salk Institute for Biological Studies and the University of Michigan. CBiRC’s foreign partner institutions include the Fritz Haber Institute of the Max Planck Society in Berlin and the Technical University of Denmark.
CBiRC is organized around research thrusts rather than around institutions. Each research thrust has researchers from multiple institutions. To accomplish its goals, CBiRC forms partnerships among outstanding faculty from these universities who have complementary expertise. Three criteria were used to assemble the faculty participants: (1) renowned engineers and scientists with cutting-edge research programs in CBiRC-related biorenewables areas; (2) evidence of pre-existing collaborative relationships with other Center faculty members; and (3) commitment to collaborative research as the key to advancing the goals of CBiRC. While much of the Center leadership team resides at ISU, two of the three research thrusts are led by faculty from partner institutions. The education efforts for the Center will be led from ISU.
