{"id":161816,"date":"2025-09-29T08:45:10","date_gmt":"2025-09-29T12:45:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/?p=161816"},"modified":"2025-10-03T10:31:18","modified_gmt":"2025-10-03T14:31:18","slug":"dayton-business-journal-3m-nsf-grant-funds-wright-states-recyclofacturing-nationwide-research-project","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/2025\/09\/29\/dayton-business-journal-3m-nsf-grant-funds-wright-states-recyclofacturing-nationwide-research-project\/","title":{"rendered":"Dayton Business Journal: $3M NSF grant funds Wright State’s ‘recyclofacturing’ nationwide research project"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>\u201cRecyclofacturing\u201d is set to enter Dayton\u2019s manufacturing vocabulary, as two faculty members at one of the region\u2019s largest universities undertake the transformation of scrap metal recycling into new products.<\/p>\n

Natasha and Sean Banerjee, associate professors in Wright State University\u2019s Department of Computer Science and Engineering, have secured a nearly $3 million research grant to spearhead research into a more sustainable metal recycling process. This is the second-largest National Science Foundation research grant Wright State has ever received.<\/p>\n

The two will lead the research project, collaborating with California\u2019s Santa Clara University and Chapman University; the University of Lynchburg in Virginia; and New York\u2019s Clarkson University.<\/p>\n

Wright State will serve as the project\u2019s lead institution.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis grant brings novel technologies to Wright State,\u201d Natasha Banerjee said. \u201cWright State will be the face of pushing new technologies for manufacturing.\u201d<\/p>\n

The couple\u2019s goal is to keep more manufacturing operations in the United States by equipping recycling facilities with advanced technologies, allowing workers to turn usable metal parts into new products rather than shipping scrap overseas. For example, a customer could request a custom item, such as a pencil holder, that would be designed, cut and assembled locally from recycled materials.<\/p>\n

Recycling plant employees would be trained as \u201crecyclofacturers,\u201d using AI-driven design tools, virtual reality headsets for step-by-step guidance and collaborative robots to assist with assembly and welding. This approach can be likened to the small fabrication shops once common across the U.S., but with a modern, high-tech update.<\/p>\n

Instead of robots eventually replacing workers, a concern that has been voiced to the Banerjees, the researchers will focus on how robots can be used collaboratively, like tools, in the workplace.<\/p>\n

As part of the project, the Wright State team will acquire high-tech equipment in September, including a robotic weld-training system, a robotic arm, a high-performance GPU computer and augmented reality and virtual reality systems.<\/p>\n

The project incorporates an education and workforce development component, offering both community courses to introduce new tools and techniques and research assistant roles for Wright State students beginning in spring 2026.<\/p>\n

Read the complete article at bizjournals.com\/dayton<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Natasha and Sean Banerjee, associate professors in Wright State\u2019s Department of Computer Science and Engineering, secured a nearly $3 million research grant to spearhead research into a more sustainable metal recycling process. Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":43,"featured_media":161940,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[730],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-161816","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-wright-state-in-the-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/161816","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/43"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=161816"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/161816\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":162029,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/161816\/revisions\/162029"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/161940"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=161816"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=161816"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=161816"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}