A surge for energy research at MIT

[jpak]

http://www.boston.com/news/education/higher/articles/2008/01/16/a_surge_for_energy_research_at_mit/

A 17-month-old Massachusetts Institute of Technology project to fundamentally change how the world gets and uses energy secured its biggest financial boost yesterday, a $50 million, five-year research program sponsored by Italian oil conglomerate Eni.

Half the funds will go toward sponsoring as many as two-dozen new MIT researchers specializing in solar energy, particularly solar electric-generating panels that are more efficient and less expensive. "It will certainly double, probably more than double the work in solar energy at MIT," said Ernest J. Moniz, director of the MIT Energy Initiative.

The energy initiative is one of the biggest priorities pushed by MIT president Susan Hockfield since she took over as the institute's leader in 2004. The initiative supports and centralizes research in nuclear and geothermal energy, fuels such as ethanol produced from crops, and more energy-efficient designs for buildings, machines, automobiles, and cities.

The $50 million Eni commitment follows a $25 million pledge by British Petroleum to a project developing ways of improving coal-fueled electric generation to reduce air pollution and capture and store carbon dioxide emissions. Ford Motor Co. has committed $5 million to the MIT Energy Initiative for research into designing cars that cause less pollution and other environmental damage. Chevron Corp. is providing $5 million for research into undersea robots that can explore for and produce oil and gas in ultradeep ocean waters.

<more>