Boynton Beach, Florida, June 28 , 2012 :Quantachrome Instruments (USA), the University of San Luis and CONICET (both Argentina) have signed a tri-lateral agreement to formalize collaboration and cooperation between all parties to further the development of porous materials synthesis and characterization both within Argentina and throughout Latin America.
An agreement for scientific and technical collaboration between Quantachrome Instruments (Boynton Beach, FL, USA), the National Institute of Applied Physics (INFAP, University of San Luis, Argentina) and the National Council for Scientific and Technical Research (CONICET, Buenos Aires, Argentina) was signed by Dr. Marta Rovira (President, CONICET), Dr. José Luis Riccardo (President and Technical Representative of the University of San Luis), and Quantachrome's President, Mr. Scott Lowell.
Dr. Karim Sapag (Technical Representative of INFAP and CONICET) and Dr Matthias Thommes (Technical Representative, Quantachrome) were also present at the signing which took place at Quantachrome Instruments' headquarters on May 3rd 2012 during the same week as the "Sixth International Workshop Characterization of Porous Materials From Angstroms to Millimeters" was being held at nearby Delray Beach, Florida.
The tri-lateral agreement's main objective is to regulate the level of assistance and cooperation between the involved parties to benefit the development and continued support of joint projects in the fields of synthesis and characterization of porous solids, and their use in applications such as adsorption, separation and storage of gases, water and industrial effluent filtration, catalysis, etc. These are all areas of interest for all the involved groups.
Quantachrome Instruments, INFAP (the research center depending on both UNSL and CONICET) and UNSL will now move forward with a cross-collaboration effort, consisting of research and assistance efforts plus support for investigation centers and industry in Argentina - and other South American countries - which would benefit the institutions. This will have the added advantage of helping the growth of the INFAP's laboratory facilities and personnel, which will in turn help bring more opportunities to strengthen research efforts and relationships with other institutions, academic and research groups, as well as industry worldwide by offering technical assistance where needed.
The organizations' joint efforts will also be used to plan and organize workshops, symposiums, and conferences in the field of characterization of porous solids and their applications. Also, they will be able to collaborate with the development of new theoretical models, as well as software models, to be used along with the Quantachrome line of instruments in order to expand the activities carried out in research centers across Argentina as well as their sphere of influence. Technical support, instrument operational training, and data interpretation support will be provided by Quantachrome for INFAP's personnel. Once training has been completed, both Quantachrome's experts and INFAP personnel will provide technical and after-sales support to instrument users in Argentina and other Latin American countries.
The National Institute of Applied Physics (INFAP) is a research center within the University of San Luis, also associated with CONICET. Its main objective is to conduct scientific research and develop technologies in the field of surface science and porous media. The laboratory that gave rise to INFAP, LACSUMP, was created in 1997 out of two research groups: The Physical Chemistry of Surfaces Group, led by Dr. Jorge A. Zgrablich, and the group of Membranes and Membrane Separation Processes, led by Dr. Joseph Marchese.
CONICET (Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas) is the leading organization dedicated to the promotion of science and technology in Argentina. One of its four major areas of activity is "agricultural sciences, engineering and materials" which comprises mainly applied research developments and to a lesser extent, experimental development and basic research related to technological problems. It includes within its lines of research the design of new materials. http://www.conicet.gov.ar/web/conicet/inicio
Quantachrome Instruments is an internationally recognized and prestigious instrument company headquartered in the State of Florida, United States, fully dedicated to the development and manufacturing of instrumentation for the analysis and characterization of porous solids (as well as several other closely related fields of study). The company possesses highly qualified personnel dedicated to research and development of new technologies in the field of porous media. http://www.quantachrome.com
Martin A. Thomas PhD
Director of Business Development
Quantachrome Instruments
1900 Corporate Dr
Boynton Beach FL 33426
USA
+1 (561) 731-4999
www.quantachrome.com