Rust Belt Bites Back
Don’t look now, but the U.S. Defense Department is backing an academic program that may ultimately offer long-term aid in the area of resource conservation. The Cleveland Plain Dealer reported on Tuesday that the University of Akron, with the help of a $2.3 million Defense Department grant, has begun laying the groundwork for an engineering program aimed at the understanding and prevention of corrosion, a pervasive blight eating away at our domestic infrastructure at an estimated rate of $400 billion per year.
The Defense Department spends upwards of $22 billion a year (1/3 of their maintenance costs) on reigning in the degrading effects of corrosion. Dan Dunmire, director of the department’s Office of Corrosion Policy and Oversight, says the problem has created “almost a sense of crisis.”
Though some level of corrosion will occur in any climate, materials in cold-weather, snowy climates are prone to higher levels of corrosion mainly due to the use of salt and chemicals to aid in winter driving, compounded by repeated freezing and thawing of water, thus making northern Ohio, with it’s potential for extreme weather in both winter and summer, an ideal location for the program. Also, the city of Akron is located about 30 miles up state route 5—just past Kent State University—from an Army ammunition plant in Ravenna, Ohio.
Planners of the 5-year undergraduate program intend to utilize the knowledge of local companies that make corrosion-slowing products, such as Sherwin Williams. Edward Evans, a U.A. chemical engineering professor currently working on the curriculum, says, “Bringing in people who work in the industry and having students interact with them will be a big part of the program.”
At the outset, U.A. Engineering Dean, George Haritos expects to enroll 20 to 25 students, but sees the program eventually growing to 100 students or more. He calls it “a career for people who want to make a difference.” U.A. hopes to start the program in the fall of 2010.
Photo credit: Bloomgal at flicker
