Center for Innovative Sintered Products

Fundamental and Applied R&D in Sintered Materials


Students working in the CISP lab

Overview

A preeminent academic teaching, research, and service enterprise, focused on particulate materials processing.

The Center for Innovative Sintered Products (CISP) is a true partnership between universities, industry, government agencies and professional and trade associations to develop cutting-edge technology for the processing of sintered materials. CISP was formed as an outgrowth of the P/M Lab and other campus-wide efforts to focus Penn State resources on this important industry. The Center is headquartered at University Park, but shares tasks with engineers and scientists from universities and companies across the U.S. and abroad. Our goals are 1) research, 2) training students and industry professionals, and 3) transfer of new technology into the production line. The Center has core competencies in sintering, powder characterization, binder assisted shape forming, manufacturing tolerancing, statistical process control, mechanical testing, microscopy, and computer modeling.

The Center offically began operations on June 1, 2000 under the directorship of Randall M. German to serve the broad sintered material community. In 2007, Donald F. Heaney became the new director of the center and refocused it towards supporting the refractory and hardmaterials industries. CISP offers 2 levels of membership participation, depending on the benefits the company desires. The Center is supported by Penn State, industry memberships, federal funding (NSF, NASA, DOD), and proprietary sponsored industrial research projects.