Southfield — Lawrence Technological University will dedicate its Center for Innovative Materials Research (CIMR) on Friday, May 2, from 4 to 6 p.m., on its campus at 21000 West Ten Mile Road in Southfield. And Civil Engineering Department Chair Nabil Grace and his research team are an integral part of making it happen.

For more than a decade, the Egyptian-born and bred Grace has conducted research on using noncorrosive carbon, glass and aramid fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP, GFRP, AFRP) materials and other advanced composites to replace steel reinforcement bars in bridge construction. Composites are more expensive, but eliminating steel corrosion reduces maintenance costs and can double the longevity of bridges, according to Grace.

Lawrence Tech’s CIMR is a unique national research facility that offers four ways to test materials:

•  Concrete components up to 100 feet long can be tested for stress under both static and repeated loads up to a million pounds of force.

• An environmental/loading chamber to be built this year will measure the impact of both repeated and static loads in simulated climactic conditions ranging from Antarctica to equatorial South America.

• A fire/loading chamber installed in 2007 can test structural components up to 2300 degrees Fahrenheit and approximate conditions at the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001.

•  Nanotechnology testing equipment can measure such things as the tensile strength of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) in reinforced concrete and fabric.

MDOT recently designated the Civil Engineering Department at Lawrence Tech as a Center of Excellence for Sustainable Infrastructure & Structural Testing for its ongoing research at CIMR to improve the structural integrity and longevity of concrete bridges. MDOT engineers will work with  on the development of new ways to increase the longevity of bridges and decrease maintenance costs.

The composites also have military applications. Innovative and advance carbon fiber materials are being developed at CIMR that can help reduce the weight of military vehicles and body armor while providing greater protection and durability. Less weight in vehicles also improves fuel economy.

CIMR researchers are collaborating with the U.S. Army Research Laboratory and the U.S. Army Tank Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center (TARDEC) on the design, testing, evaluation and durability of military materiel.

Carbon fiber can be used to improve the durability of wind turbine blades, and there are many other potential commercial uses for composite materials developed and researched at CIMR.

Public officials who are scheduled to provide remarks at the dedication include U.S. Senator Carl Levin, U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow, Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson and MDOT Director Kirk Steudle.

Gov. Jennifer Granholm has praised CIMR for its potential to create new jobs in Michigan in addition to helping develop new products with military and civilian applications.  “The center is a prime example of the intersection of high technology and homeland defense,” Granholm has observed. “Building the center will create jobs today. Putting the technology the center develops to work will create jobs tomorrow, and all of it will help protect America’s troops. This is a win for our economy today and a win for its future.”

Lawrence Technological University’s civil engineering program has experienced double-digit annual enrollment growth in recent years, capped by a 24 percent increase in undergraduate majors for the 2007 spring term. How can a small private university with higher tuition than public universities keep attracting more students, especially during a downturn in Michigan’s economy?

Nabil, university distinguished professor and chair of the Department of Civil Engineering, says he has mainly relied on a single guiding principle to sustain this growth – innovation.

Since his arrival at Lawrence Tech from the private sector in 1988, Grace has won more than 20 grants and contracts totaling more than $13 million with his proposals for innovative research. The steady flow of grant money has set in motion a cycle of creativity in the civil engineering program.

What sets civil engineering at Lawrence Tech apart from programs at most other universities is that the research projects have a direct impact on the quality of the educational experience for both undergraduate and graduate students.

“Schools must have outstanding professors and good students in order to grow. We have been able to attract both at Lawrence Tech with innovative projects that win the support of grants,” Grace said. “It has to be a continuous process. You can never stop innovating if you want to continue to grow and improve.”

Finding innovative ways to improve civil engineering is a guiding force in Grace’s professional career. A native of Egypt who earned his bachelor’s degree in civil engineering at Cairo University, Grace came to the United States by way of the University of Windsor, where he earned his master’s degree in 1981 and his PhD in 1986.

For four years he worked at Giffels Associates of Southfield, where he was a group leader. It was there that he gained a greater appreciation for the ability of private enterprise to solve problems more quickly. He also saw there is no substitute for experience in the field.

Much of Grace’s research has centered on replacing steel in the concrete structure of bridges with carbon fiber in order to virtually eliminate the corrosion damage caused by salt and other chemicals. That improvement should double the lifespan of bridges in states like Michigan that have harsh winter conditions.

In 2004, Grace was awarded a U.S. patent for hybrid ductile fabric based on his National Science Foundation-funded research on carbon-fiber reinforced polymer materials. The name has also been copyrighted. In addition, he has applied for patents for an innovative corrosion-free bridge system and composite armor structure for military vehicles.

In 2005, Grace secured a major new source of funding for his research when the U.S. Army recognized that his research had tremendous potential for military applications. Lawrence Tech began a five-year, $11 million cooperative agreement involving both the Army Research Laboratory and the U.S. Army Tank Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center in Warren, Michigan.

To make that type of sophisticated research possible, the contract agreement provided funding for construction of Lawrence Tech’s $3.2 million Center for Innovative Materials Research (CIMR). The 7,200-square-foot research facility that opened in 2006 features a 30-foot clearance height and a 25,000-pound crane to accommodate testing of full-scale structural components, such as portable battlefield bridges, up to 100 feet long.

Researchers can test structures subjected to various types of loads up to one million pounds. A fire chamber with dynamic and static loading capabilities, which can reach 2,300°F, can simulate conditions like those of the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Center. A full-scale environmental chamber will simulate harsh weather conditions.

Current research projects at CIMR are supported by a variety of grants that Grace has attracted with innovative proposals, including:

• Michigan 21st Century Fund, Michigan Economic Development Corp., 2006-11, $899,996.

• Michigan Department of Transportation, 2006-09, $168,000.

• U. S. Department of Defense, 2006-10, $1 million.

• U.S. Department of Transportation, 2006-10, $1.17 million.

• National Science Foundation, 2005-08, $400,000.

Lawrence Technological University, www.ltu.edu, offers more than 60 undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral degree programs in Colleges of Architecture and Design, Arts and Sciences, Engineering, and Management. Founded in 1932, the 5,000-student, private university pioneered evening classes 75 years ago, and today has a growing number of weekend and online programs. Lawrence Tech’s 102-acre campus is in Southfield, with education centers in Livonia, Clinton Township, Traverse City, and Petoskey. Lawrence Tech also offers programs with partner universities in Canada, Mexico, Europe, and Asia.