KINGSPORT, TN – Eastman Chemical Co., Kingsport, TN, has signed a master agreement with the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to conduct research in chemistry and materials science.

The agreement provides a minimum of $1.5 million over six years to support collaborations between Eastman scientists and UNC scientists, staff and students. Those collaborations include research projects, visits to both the UNC campus and Eastman manufacturing facilities, and identifying and applying for federal or other funding opportunities. This collaboration was modeled after and complements the previously announced agreement between Eastman and North Carolina State University.

Faculty members from UNC’s Department of Chemistry will periodically submit research proposals in response to Eastman developed problem statements or Requests for Proposals (RFPs). UNC proposals will then be selected for funding each year by Eastman. The first decisions about the projects are expected to be made in the spring.

Eastman’s agreement with UNC follows a similar partnership for cutting-edge research with North Carolina State University. The Eastman Innovation Center will open on N.C. State’s Centennial Campus in the spring of 2013.