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Carrier Collaborates with University of Notre Dame to Advance Centrifugal Compressor Technology, Establishes Carrier Center of Excellence at Notre Dame
 
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Chris Kmetz, Senior Vice President, Engineering, Carrier (center) and Notre Dame faculty cut the ribbon on the Willis Carrier Centrifugal Compressor Technology Laboratory at the Notre Dame Turbomachinery Lab in South Bend. Photo by: University of Notre Dame.
 

Carrier’s celebration of Engineers Week, an annual recognition aimed to increase awareness of and interest in engineering and technology careers, concluded with the dedication of the Willis Carrier Centrifugal Compressor Technology Laboratory and a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the new Carrier test cell at the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana. The event marks a three-year collaboration that expands research and development capabilities at the University of Notre Dame’s Turbomachinery Laboratory (NDTL), providing students with hands-on experience with Carrier’s largest centrifugal compressors and the company with access to the next generation of engineering talent.

A Carrier Center of Excellence was also established at Notre Dame as part of the collaboration. Through the Carrier Center of Excellence, students will have the opportunity to work with NDTL researchers and identify key scientific issues to support Carrier in advancing product designs, as well as participate in a joint internship and mentoring program.

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The Willis Carrier Centrifugal Compressor Technology Laboratory at the Notre Dame Turbomachinery Lab is Carrier’s largest compressor test facility worldwide. Photo by: University of Notre Dame.
 

“The new Willis Carrier Centrifugal Compressor Technology Laboratory will serve to advance our HVAC chiller capabilities as we implement more energy efficient and sustainable solutions,” said Chris Kmetz, Senior Vice President of Engineering, Carrier. “Carrier is excited to welcome Notre Dame as a research Center of Excellence and we look forward to leveraging this partnership to continue to develop industry leading and differentiated products for years to come."

Carrier’s investment provides the 2,200-ton calorimeter for research and development of compressors for energy-efficient industrial HVAC chiller systems. The project supports Carrier’s 2030 Environmental, Social & Governance goals to reduce its customers’ carbon footprint by more than one gigaton. Technology developed at the lab will advance energy efficiency, helping to lower greenhouse gases from electricity consumption and will test new lower global warming potential (GWP) refrigerants.

Each year, Carrier celebrates its 4,400 engineers worldwide who develop innovative products, services and delivery models that drive growth and differentiate our healthy, safe, sustainable and intelligent offerings. This year’s theme, “Reimagining the Possible,” recognized how engineers create new possibilities from green and healthy buildings that help deliver healthier, safer, more efficient and productive indoor environments to electrified solutions to cold chain solutions that help reduce food waste and deliver life-saving vaccines.