Fiat High Temperature Ceramics

Dear Alfred University students, staff, and faculty:

On Friday, August 12, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) visited our campus to announce that Alfred University will be awarded several million dollars in funding from the Fiscal Year 2022 Appropriations Bill. The award will support a partnership between Alfred University and the U.S. Army Research Laboratory to conduct research into the development of high temperature ceramic materials for use in military applications.

The research—most of which will be conducted at the Center for High Temperature Characterization (CHTC) at Alfred University—will develop new ceramic materials which can withstand ultra-high temperatures.

Gabrielle Gaustad ’04, dean of our Inamori School of Engineering and vice president of Statutory Affairs for our New York State College of Ceramics, said the funding announced by Senator Schumer “has the potential to be one of the most significant research awards Alfred University has ever landed.” 

Our facilities for researching high temperature ceramic materials—including the CHTC, which was completed in 2014 with $4 million in state funding and has much of the equipment needed to investigate the physical, microstructural, and chemical changes of ceramic materials at various temperatures and under controlled atmospheres—played a significant role in Alfred University being considered for federal funding.

Youtube video link of Senator Schumer’s visit to Alfred University

Senator Schumer called Alfred University “a treasure, for Allegany County and the Southern Tier, and all of America.” He lauded our University for having one of the top ceramic engineering programs in the United States and noted that we are one of only two institutions in the country which can perform cutting-edge research specified in the partnership with the Army Research Lab.

“Alfred University will soon be a kiln of innovation for the U.S. I am proud to have secured this significant award to help turn up the heat on Alfred’s ceramics program and expand this already nationally recognized science and education program,” he said. “This research can only be done with expertise and facilities we have here in Allegany County and is going to help us strengthen our national defense all while creating the next generation of the Southern Tier’s scientific workforce.”

Please join me in thanking Senator Schumer for his commitment to Alfred University and the Southern Tier. And please also join me in congratulating Gabrielle Gaustad and the faculty in our Inamori School of Engineering for their expertise that was pivotal to securing the federal research grant.

Fiat High Temperature Ceramics!

Mark