UNM has been selected, with 12 other universities, to further the research and development of nanotechnology through a five-year program funded by the National Science Foundation.
Top University administrators and researchers lauded the selection as a step toward UNM becoming a major player in nanotechnology.
"This clearly will bring about a new level of national and international visibility for UNM," Vice Provost for Research Terry Yates said.
Nanotechnology is research conducted on objects measured in nanometers - one billionth of a meter.
The foundation will dole out $70 million to fund the National Nanotechnology Infrastructure Network. The University's share will be $600,000 per year.
Collaborations with universities such as Stanford, Cornell and Harvard, as well as Los Alamos National Laboratory, will result in the development of new drugs, materials and other products, UNM President Louis Caldera said.
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"The reason we're able to attract these kinds of grants is the quality of our faculty," Caldera said.
Steve Brueck, director of the UNM Center for High Technology Materials, led a group of faculty members in drafting the grant proposal. Brueck will oversee a large portion of the research done through the program.
Nanotechnology has become increasingly important, Brueck said, particularly since President Bush signed a $3.7 billion bill last week to fund research in the field.
Albuquerque is the only city in the United States with two major nanotechnology research centers - UNM and Sandia National Laboratories, Yates said.
Researchers from around the globe are expected to come to UNM, which has some of the most technologically advanced laboratories in the state, to participate in the program, he said.
That participation will bring additional funds to the University, Brueck said.
"The grant will be multiplied many, many times over," Caldera said.
There also is a large outreach component to the program, Brueck said.
"This will allow us to provide a network of schools with the right kinds of facilities to get others involved," he said.
