The Center for Innovative Sintered Products (CISP) is a true partnership between universities, industry, government agencies and professional and trade associations to develop cutting-edge technology for the processing of sintered materials. CISP was formed as an outgrowth of the P/M Lab and other campus-wide efforts to focus Penn State resources on this important industry. The Center is headquartered at University Park, but shares tasks with engineers and scientists from universities and companies across the U.S. and abroad. Our goals are 1) research, 2) training students and industry professionals, and 3) transfer of new technology into the production line. The Center's researchers have core competencies in sintering, heat transfer, controls, surface chemistry, tolerancing, statistical process control, durability, mechanical testing, microscopy, and computer modeling.

The Center offically began operations on 1 June 2000, with 85 member companies as well as collaborations with trade associations and other universities (U.C. Davis; Kamamoto University, Japan; Nanyang Technological Institute, Singapore; Austrian Research Center, Seibersdorf, Austria; Tsinghua University, Beijing,China; University of Science and Technology, Beijing, China; University Carlos III de Madrid, Spain). CISP offers 3 levels of membership participation, depending on the benefits the company desires. The Center is supported by Penn State, industry memberships, federal funding (NSF, NASA, DOD), and sponsored projects.