By Rebecca Wyatt, OU Web Writer

In time to mark the second anniversary of OU’s Fastening and Joining Research Institute (FAJRI), leaders from the institute signed a four-way research collaboration agreement with DaimlerChysler, Mercedes Benz and the Material Testing Institute of the University of Stuttgart in Stuttgart, Germany.

The four entities will collaborate on a research project, called Fastening and Joining of Automotive Composites and Polymers, which will assist in the growing trend of using composite materials in automotive applications. 

“The agreement will bring strength to the areas OU needs, and OU can provide strength in the areas the others need,” said School of Engineering and Computer Science Dean Pieter Frick.

The agreement also includes the possibility for student and faculty exchanges, where OU engineering students and faculty members will spend six weeks at the University of Stuttgart, regarded as the finest engineering university in Germany. 

FAJRI researchers explore the fundamental and applied research to develop and disseminate new technology for the fastening and joining of metals, composites and polymers.

An academic, nonprofit research facility, FAJRI is the only facility of its kind in the world and has thrived since its beginning in June 2003 with nearly 20 people on staff and $6.8 million in approved grants.

“The Fastening and Joining Research Institute has become such a success story,” said Sayed Nassar, director of FAJRI. “This new agreement will continue that momentum into the future.”

For more information, visit the Fastening and Joining Research Institute Web site.