BASF and University of California (UC), Berkeley, USA, are celebrating the 10-year anniversary of their collaboration known as the California Research Alliance (CARA). The multidisciplinary research center is focused on evaluating new materials, technologies and processes that will help address key sustainability challenges. To mark the anniversary, BASF and CARA hosted a scientific symposium on sustainable transformation in chemistry on April 22, 2024. The symposium brought together academic researchers, government representatives, and BASF scientists to celebrate the achievements of CARA and discuss how industry and academia can continue to work together to tackle the challenges facing the industry and society as a whole.

In its 10 year history, CARA has fostered 117 research projects resulting in 94 peer-reviewed papers, 47 patent applications and multiple technologies that have been integrated into BASF products. Since 2014, the collaboration has expanded to 11 California universities, including UC Santa Barbara, UC Irvine as well as Stanford University, California Institute of Technology, and University of Southern California. More than 80 faculty members and 170 postdocs/graduate students have worked with BASF and CARA, and BASF has hired 11 postdocs/students from the CARA community. In 2022, BASF and UC Berkeley renewed their Master Research Agreement for an additional five years.

“We are proud of the achievements of the CARA program over the past 10 years and excited to celebrate this milestone with our academic partners,” said Dr. Helmut Winterling, President of Group Research, BASF SE. “This symposium is an opportunity to value this collaboration, to reflect on our progress and discuss how we can continue to work together to address the challenges of our society and the transformation of the chemical industry.”

“The California research community appreciates this long-term support from BASF. Looking back at the 10 years of CARA operation, I am very much impressed with its output and impact,” said Prof. Peidong Yang, CARA director at UC Berkeley. “Over the years, CARA has trained many talented researchers, many papers have been published, and many patents have been filed. CARA indeed represents an ideal model for effective industry-university collaboration. By closely interacting with our industrial partners, CARA researchers are delivering critical technological solutions by answering fundamental scientific questions. I look forward to the continued success of CARA for years to come.”

BASF currently holds collaborations with approximately 280 academic institutions globally for advancing research and development as well as a means to engage with early-in-career talent.

“I am convinced that our continued partnership within CARA is not just about developing solutions together, but also nurturing and developing the talent pipeline in the chemistry field,” said Dr. Kerstin Schierle-Arndt, Vice President Research Inorganic Materials and Synthesis, BASF SE and Associate Director of CARA. “Through continued interaction, BASF aims to engage with the bright minds, jointly empowering them to become the future leaders and innovators in industry and academia.”

For more information on CARA, please visit: www.basf.com/cara.