Research on the Horizon

Georgia Southern’s Herty Advanced Materials Development Center takes University research to the next level

In a move impacting the future of research and economic development in the state of Georgia for generations to come, Governor Nathan Deal signed legislation transferring management of the Herty Advanced Materials Development Center in Savannah, Ga., to Georgia Southern University. Effective July 1, this merger blends the unique large scale development and manufacturing capabilities of Herty and the scientific expertise of Georgia Southern faculty and students.

According to Georgia Southern President Brooks Keel, Ph.D., this strategic alignment is a win-win situation for all involved. “This new partnership has generated the potential for the University to engage in global research opportunities,” he said, “and provides an outstanding opportunity for us to combine Georgia Southern’s broad base of engineering and scientific expertise with Herty’s leadership and reputation in advanced materials innovation.”

Founded in 1938, Herty’s clients include global corporations, as well as numerous Fortune 500 companies, focused in the transportation, forest and paper related products, building materials, energy and the environment and bio-products industries. The facility is one of only a small number offering lab and pilot scale development and small production-line capability for test marketing. Herty’s project managers and operators have produced products from literally hundreds of varieties of fiber blends.

Georgia Southern now has the opportunity to integrate faculty research interests with Herty’s industrial development capabilities. “Herty allows the University to accelerate its research interests in the material sciences and provides an avenue for applied research and development that most universities without dedicated research parks can only dream of,” said Charles Patterson, Ph.D., vice president for research and economic development and dean of the Jack N. Averitt College of Graduate Studies.

“We’ve got all the building blocks for a strong industry research and development presence – now the challenge is to leverage the opportunity,” said Don McLemore, Ph.D., director for the Office of Industry Relations and Economic Development. McLemore knows Herty well, having served as the Center’s chief operating officer from 2005-2011, and he is currently linking industrial research projects and economic development opportunities with the University and Herty.

These “building blocks” include the talents of more than 100 Ph.D. scientists and engineers said McLemore, and he suggested that the University also has the opportunity to expand its base of scientific expertise by hiring additional researchers to teach in various colleges.

“This is a real opportunity for Georgia Southern to fill a gap,” Keel added. The industry is looking for well-educated scientists and engineers who have practical capabilities to solve problems and support the growth of commerce all across the state of Georgia,” he said.

Without a doubt, Keel said the merger advances Georgia Southern’s research mission and elevates the University’s established research programs. “Students stand to benefit through potential internships and hands-on learning experiences with Herty’s clients,” Keel added.

THE HISTORY OF HERTY

“In many ways, this merger reunites Georgia Southern with our history,” said Keel, mentioning Dr. Charles Herty’s groundbreaking experiments in a pine forest in 1901, the future site of the First District A&M School.

During Gov. Deal’s statewide tour promoting economic development, he signed Georgia Senate Bill 396 into law on the steps of the Marvin Pittman Administration Building on Sweetheart Circle. This historic and meaningful event represented a homecoming of sorts for Herty, the chemist and revolutionary researcher who saved the turpentine and rosin chemical industry more than a century earlier in the northeast corner of the Circle.

Herty’s pioneering invention of a simple cup-and-gutter system – at the site later renamed Herty Pines — collected resin without harming pine trees, and ultimately saved the nation’s naval stores.

In the 1930s, Herty made another research discovery with southern pines, discovering that newsprint and paper could be made from the fast-growing trees. Due to those findings, Herty is largely considered the founding father of the pulp and paper industry, and the tree farming industry. In 1938, the Georgia legislature recognized Herty for his significant research contributions by establishing the Herty Foundation (later renamed the Herty Advanced Materials Development Center).

INNOVATION AND IMPACT

Herty’s areas of expertise have expanded from early work in tree-based natural fibers to include process and product development, technical analysis, economic analysis and laboratory testing for projects and products employing a broad spectrum of natural and synthetic materials. One example is their production of pellets from pine trees. “Herty has aided several companies in the development of processes for drying, resizing, blending, specialized treatment and pelletizing of pine. In several projects, multi-ton quantities of pellets have been produced and shipped to Europe to be used as fuel for generation of electricity,” said Herty’s Director Jill Stuckey, who also serves as the director for Georgia’s Center for Innovation in Energy.

“Herty’s aim is to accelerate the commercialization of new concepts, new products and new businesses,” said McLemore, and the Center has conducted development for a variety of different products. One project, in collaboration with the U.S. Mint, explored the capabilities of printing currency with Braille for the visually impaired. Herty also worked with the company P2i to test a new plasma coating technology, which is used on products ranging from running shoes and clothing to hearing aids. “If a product – such as running shoes – is treated with this ultra-thin polymer layer, it doesn’t absorb liquids,” said McLemore, about the liquid repellant nano-technology. Companies such as Hi-Tec, Adidas Golf, Nike, Magnum and Ecco have used this technology, as well as the global hearing aid market.

Herty’s longevity, expertise and knowledge in the field of pilot testing have made it the natural choice for companies looking for ways to improve efficiency and give them an advantage in the marketplace. According to Stuckey, companies eager to introduce a new product to the market utilize Herty’s equipment and testing capabilities before a launch. “We work out the small details, so a company will know with certainty that a product is going to work before spending millions of dollars to construct a facility,” she said. “We take a lot of the mystery out of it for them,” she added, describing the process.

PARTNERSHIP POTENTIAL

Georgia Southern’s Herty Advanced Materials Development Center has opened the door for potential partnerships, especially with the significant manufacturing cluster growing between Statesboro and the coast. “These companies need engineering skills, manufacturing skills and materials knowledge – all which we can provide,” said McLemore.

Another essential component of the partnership is the promise of economic development, said Patterson. “If a company is interested in a compound that can be extracted from pine trees, Herty can advance that process in the lab to demonstrate proof-of-concept as well as bring the process to the commercial (manufacturing) scale. In addition, working hand-in-hand with our economic development professionals in the region and the state, we want to attract industries to the region that can benefit from our rich abundance of biomass,” he added.

Bringing Herty under the umbrella of Georgia Southern will help the University become a driving force in accelerating the region’s future economic development, said Keel. This includes encouraging companies to relocate to the state and hire Georgians, and Herty’s new CEO and president Dr. Alexander Koukoulas has plans to continue this growth. Koukoulas, the former managing director of ANL Consultants, LLC, a private consulting firm supporting the pulp and paper, biomaterials and bioenergy industries, began his duties on Nov. 1. His goals are to enhance the Center’s existing industry relationships as well as forge new strategic worldwide partnerships.

Keel is excited about what the future holds for the Georgia Southern Herty Advanced Materials Development Center, as the University continues toward its goal of achieving national comprehensive research institution status.

“Now that these two entities have come together, Georgia Southern has the opportunity to be at the center of all of the development in our state,” he said. “There are so many distinct advantages — not only can companies utilize the piloting capabilities of Herty, but also benefit from our faculty researchers. Georgia Southern is aligned with a facility that can grow ideas.”