New agreement between the UB and the USA National Institute of Standards and Technology to work on education and research
The University of Barcelona and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (United States) have signed an agreement to reinforce their collaboration in education and research. NIST is an agency from the Department of Commerce of the United States to promote innovation and industrial competitiveness by advancing measurement science, standards and technology.
The University of Barcelona and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (United States) have signed an agreement to reinforce their collaboration in education and research. NIST is an agency from the Department of Commerce of the United States to promote innovation and industrial competitiveness by advancing measurement science, standards and technology.
“This agreement, signed through the Faculty of Chemistry, opens the door to the UB researchers so they can work on topics regarding innovating and leading technology -mainly in the field of materials- aimed in particular at their application in the industry”, notes Professor Miquel Esteban, director of the Department of Chemical Engineering and Analytical Chemistry.
The main objective of the memorandum of understanding that was signed between the UB and NIST is to provide a general frame to set a long-term relationship to reinforce the cooperation between both institutions. In this framework, the collaboration will carry out joint research programs, training programs, workshops and conferences as well as the mobility of lecturers, researchers and students. Moreover, it will promote the collaboration and exchange of academic materials, publications and research reports. The initiatives of the UB that result from the agreement will be coordinated by Professor Esteban together with the lecturer Àngels Sahuquillo, from the same Department.
This initiative results from the previous collaboration between NIST and the UB with the Erasmus Mundus master studies in Quality in Analytical Laboratories (EMQAL). NIST entered as a partner in the master in 2017, which enabled scientists from this leading research center to teach in EMQAL in two editions and allowed five students to enjoy work placement in its laboratories. This Erasmus Mundus was one of the first ones to launch at the University in 2007 and the first to be coordinated by the UB, after 2012. So far, about a hundred and seventy students have taken part in it, and its validity has been renewed for the third time within the Erasmus Mundus program until 2025.
NIST, born in early 20th century, aims to promote innovation and industrial competitiveness in the United States. The NIST scientists and engineers -with five Nobel prizes among them- work in the fields of metrology, reference materials, chemical technology and science, materials science and engineering, physics, information technology, electric and electronic engineering, manufacturing engineering, and building and fire research.