Houston, Texas – A federally-funded nanotechnology program supported by U.S. Rep. Gene Green (D-Houston) is putting Houston universities at the forefront of one of the fastest-growing and potentially most valuable research fields in science.
The Consortium for Nanomaterials for Aerospace Commerce and Technology (CONTACT) is a federally-funded program that brings together the University of Houston, Rice University, the Air Force Research Laboratory and five other Texas universities focused on developing and commercializing new nanomaterials for the defense aerospace industry.
“I’m happy to see Houston at the cutting edge of this field,” Green said. “All of society benefits when technology advances. I expect there will be defense applications initially, and later it will be commercialized and become art of our everyday lives. I think we’re just beginning to understand the potential of this kind of research.”
Jesse Carter and Michael Martin of Texas A&M University are the recipients of the CONTACT Program Student Travel Award which allows students to use award money for nanotechnology research and travel-related expenses. They have elected to travel to the University of Houston to use the renowned nanotechnology laboratories for their research studies.
The CONTACT Student Travel Grant was established to bolster nanotechnology research by students currently enrolled in a nanotechnology-related program at any university in Texas. The award provides an opportunity to use state-of-the-art equipment and facilities available at the participating CONTACT Program universities including Houston, Austin, Dallas and Arlington.
The CONTACT Program was launched in November 2006, and in 2007 the program received federal funding with Green’s support. The CONTACT program has now expanded into twelve research projects among seven Texas universities.
To learn more about the CONTACT Program and the Student Travel Grant, please contact program director Jack Agee’s office at (713) 348 6338 or visit the website at www.contact.rice.edu.
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