To help industry develop miniature cooling technologies, Purdue University is forming a National Science Foundation Industry/University Cooperative Research Center, enlarging the scope of its former Compact High-Performance Cooling Technologies Research Consortium. The technology is applicable in areas such as electronics, computers, telecommunications and advanced aircraft. Cooling processes studied will include tiny fans that use 1/300 the electricity of conventional fans, and materials that turn from solid to liquid as they absorb heat. The concentrated circuits in a semiconductor computer chip can generate extreme heat, which can reduce performance and destroy delicate circuitry. Solving that problem is important to the making of smaller electronic devices.

The center will be funded annually with $75,000 from the foundation, $30,000 from corporate members and additional financing from Purdue.