Late last month, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger announced a plan to allocate $95 million of this year’s state budget to university-based research in the area of “”green”” technology, including alternative energy forms and supercomputer advances.
“”The Golden State has more scientists, engineers and researchers and invests more in research and development than any other state,”” Schwarzenegger stated in a press release. “”As a leader in d eveloping new technologies, California will reap tremendous rewards for our economy and environment from this investment.””
Much of the allotted money could benefit UCSD, should the Legislature approve the application.
Currently, UCSD and UC Berkeley are two of five international universities competing to win a $500 million grant from the British Petroleum Energy Biosciences Institute for long-term research into the production of alternative fuels. Should either university win the grant, $40 million in additional state money would supplement the grant.
The budget would also provide $5 million in state-matching funds to money already raised by three UC entities: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, UCSD and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. The labs recently submitted a bid for a federal grant of $200 million to build the world’s fastest computer, the Petascale supercomputer. The governor’s $5 million will be the first state installment, should the labs win the grant.
“”Green technology is a quickly expanding area of scientific research and public interest,”” UC Office of the President spokesman Brad Hayward said. “”The BP Energy Biosciences Institute and the Petascale supercomputer projects are both competitions that the University [of California] is already involved in, but winning those competitions [will] require a demonstration of state financial support.””
The rest of the money will go toward established research projects, including the Berkeley Helios project, which is dedicated to establishing efficient solar energy technology.
By allocating so much money to the University of California, Hayward said, the governor is “”emphasizing the importance of UC research and innovation to the state’s overall economic and environmental goals.””
The governor has proposed raising $70 million through bond sales to help pay for the project. State funds will cover the rest.
The proposal is strongly supported by UC officials, with President Robert C. Dynes praising the decision to include research funding in the state budget proposal.
“”When the governor included [green] funding in the budget, he sent the strong message that the best and the brightest should work, study and create here in California,”” Dynes stated in a press release.
