UMass Gets $16M in Tech Funding from NSF

The University of Massachusetts at Amherst got itself a $16 million grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to further its research in the field of nanotechnology, in which atomic-level materials are developed for such tasks as data storage, delivery of pharmaceuticals and energy-saving technologies, the Associated Press reports via Boston.com.

Speaking at a ceremony at the Mass. State House, Gov. Mitt Romney, Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, and a handful of additional political and educational representatives said UMass is often overshadowed by such area schools as Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, but that the NSF is recognizing the university’s technology potential, according to the AP.

“This was a tough competition. This was a tough challenge, and to know—and to have the nation know—that the University of Massachusetts at Amherst is selected … is an extraordinary tribute,” Kennedy said, according to the AP.

There are greater than 50 UMass staffers working on nanotechnology-related projects, which involve the rearranging of atoms toward a specific goal, in eight different departments, the AP reports.

Since 1997, UMass has garnered $54 million in funding for nanotechnology-related research from the U.S. government and industry entities, and the new cash will enable the university’s Center for Hierarchical Manufacturing to start researching nanotechnology-scale manufacturing, nanotechnology materials and bionanotechnology, the AP reports.

As a stipulation of the deal, UMass must make a contribution of $5 million toward the cause in order to receive the $16 million, and Romney filed for said funding on Monday, according to the AP.

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