Herty Advanced Materials Development Center, an affiliate of Georgia Southern University, will celebrate its 75^th anniversary on May 8 at 11 a.m.

Georgia Governor Nathan Deal will be in attendance at the Herty Center in Savannah, according to a news release from GSU.

Deal and others will commemorate how Herty continues in the tradition of innovation by expanding its scope into new markets, developing innovative products and creating novel processes, with a focus on green processes, biomass and alternative energy solutions, according to a news release.

For GSU, the commemoration may draw attention to the material science engineering major and attract students. Right now, Georgia Institute of Technology is leading in having over 300 students in the major, Brenda Beckler, sophomore material science engineering, said.

The material science engineering major has the smallest amount of students in the engineering department, Beckler said.

Many objects and everyday items that people use are made from recycled materials, such as t-shirts, Beckler said.

Material science engineering is a field that people need to know about, Beckler said, because plastics are the future.

Herty, located on 10 acres in Savannah, is an international leader in advanced materials innovation.

Herty is a new product and process accelerator that provides technical, market and manufacturing expertise within a 120,000 square foot facility.

Manufacturers from around the world look to Herty for assistance with fiber recycling, roll-based composites, hydrophobic pellet development and wood-paper conversion, according to a news release.

Considerable contributions have been made to the pulp and paper industry by preparing recycled fibers, adding strength to building and paper products and developing synthetics for the medical industry, according to its website.

According to the news release the center offers a range of contract manufacturing, research and cooperative development services.