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President, researchers accept $3.6 million federal research award |
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Nov 1, 2006 |
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U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur was on the Main Campus again last week, announcing a $3.6 million award from the U.S. Department of Defense to establish a Center for Solar Energy and Hydrogen at The University of Toledo.
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| Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur and Legislative Assistant Richard Shordt, center, talked with Dr. Robert Collins, UT professor of physics and Nippon Electric Glass Endowed Chair in Silicate and Materials Science, left, and President Lloyd Jacobs after a press conference last week. |
"This university is going to help lead America into a new day of energy independence," Kaptur said in the crowded McMaster Hall lobby. "In fact, this university is going to be a world leader.
"The Department of Defense joins as a new partner because it also understands that America has to change,” Kaptur added. “The Army, Air Force, Navy and Marines know they can't depend on imported oil. They know we have to find new ways of powering the future."
UT President Lloyd Jacobs expressed the gratitude of the University community for Kaptur's efforts in securing the funding.
"This is a celebration of perseverance," Jacobs said. "It's a big dream to think we can harness the energy of the sun, but it's actually not just our democracy but all of humanity that can benefit from this kind of work."
Establishment of a Department of Defense research center for alternative energy was UT's top federal research priority during the current federal fiscal year, and Kaptur, a senior member of Congress, championed the project from her position on the defense subcommittee of House Appropriations.
The announcement comes on top of five previous $1 million federal awards to support the University's photovoltaic research. Within the past year, second-generation thin-film products have achieved commercial manufacturing success, but existing designs will not meet the projected needs of the U.S. military.
In her remarks, Kaptur acknowledged the contributions of the late Harold McMaster, after whom the building the press conference was held in was named. She said McMaster was "a modern-day Thomas Alva Edison," an inventor and entrepreneur who saw the potential of glass not just for automobiles and building materials, but also for the production of energy.
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