UMass and MIT get federal money for energy research

The University of Massachusetts at Amherst and the Massachusetts Insitute of Technology combined will receive $52.5 million from the federal government over the next five years to study ways to convert solar energy to power.

Earlier this year, both universities were named among 46 Energy Frontier Research Centers across the nation that are being funded by federal stimulus dollars, as well as money from the US Department of Energy.

"As global energy demand grows, there is an urgent need to reduce our dependence on imported oil and curtail greenhouse gas emissions," US Energy Secretary Steven Chu said yesterday in a statement announcing delivery of the money. "These centers will mobilize the enormous talents and skills of our nation's scientific workforce in pursuit of the breakthroughs that are essential to expand the use of clean and renewable energy."

Two MIT research groups will get $19 million and $17.5 million, respectively, so they can study how to better harvest energy from the sun and other heat sources, as well as how to convert solar energy to electricity that can be stored. UMass-Amherst will get $16 million for researchers to look at using polymer materials to convert sunlight to electricity.