A tenant of the Louisiana Business and Technology Center at LSU Innovation Park has received a $746,325 grant from the National Science Foundation.
Louisiana Multi-Functional-Materials Group LLC will use the grant to develop an affordable sealant for sealing joints in transportation infrastructure, like cracks in asphalt and concrete pavement.
An LSU mechanical engineering faculty member and two of his postdoctoral students founded the LLC in 2016.
LAMG produces a sealant that expands when cooled and contracts when heated, which contrasts the thermal characteristics of concrete, according to a news release. The company aims to make the technology available to the transportation community at a relatively low cost.
“The Louisiana Multi-Functional-Materials Group at Innovation Park demonstrates what we can accomplish when we capitalize on LSU faculty brain power and support women-owned businesses,” LSU Innovation Park Executive Director Charlie D’Agostino says in a statement. “What’s particularly exciting about LAMG receiving Federal Lab support is it gives exposure and rewards women and universities who are working hard to bring value to the community.”
The grant will facilitate the next two years of lab and field testing of the sealant. LAMG also will test the product with the Louisiana Accelerated Loading Facility machine, a device that simulates the weight and movement of traffic for pavement testing.
