Morgan Advanced Materials Partners with Penn State to Establish R&D facility

At the Penn State Conference Center Hotel during CARBON 2016—the World Conference on Carbon, Morgan Advanced Materials, a U.K.-based global leader in engineered carbon and ceramic materials, announced a new industrial partnership with Penn State to establish a local research and development center in Innovation Park at Penn State.

“For us,” Mike Murray, chief technical officer at Morgan Advanced Materials, explained, “The decision to work with Penn State was a natural one. As a world leader in carbon-related research, Penn State has an unrivaled reputation for innovation in this field, which we believe will add real value for our customers. We hope the partnership will help accelerate our development of new products and capabilities, enabling us to continue to meet the future needs of our customers more quickly, efficiently and comprehensively.”

The partnership should be a boon to the economy with Morgan expected to make a multi-million dollar investment to create a world-class research facility. The center would provide a range of highly skilled research jobs for the next few years.

Another benefit to the region is the construction of a projected 30,000 square-foot mixed-use facility to house the Center of Excellence, which should open in late 2017.

The agreement is the first global industrial partnership formed through Invent Penn State, the University’s initiative to spur economic development, job creation and student career success, started by Penn State President Eric Barron last year.

Neil Sharkey, vice president of research at Penn State, explained: “The collaboration is a win-win situation for all involved. Our commitment to developing new methodologies and making further scientific discoveries in carbon science is closely aligned with Morgan’s company vision, mission and commitment to the markets it serves. Morgan’s expertise and commercial insights will provide our researchers with a solid foundation to deliver workable, commercially viable solutions that distinguish both Penn State and Morgan in a fiercely competitive marketplace, while contributing to job creation and economic development in State College and in the Commonwealth.”