The UK Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (MRSEC) will build on existing research into carbon nanotubes, carbon fullerenes and activated carbons already under way at the university, Wethington noted. The University of Kentucky was one of only 12 institutions to receive 48-month grants under the National Science Foundation's Materials Research Science and Engineering Center program. Among the 12 winning the grants were Harvard, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Stanford University and Princeton University. More than 133 universities nationwide sought the grants.

Robert Haddon, professor of chemistry and physics and director of the UK MRSEC, said, "Our work can serve as a seedbed for new industries. Research conducted through MRSEC can drive this technology and lead to new jobs. We've all heard of Silicon Valley. Perhaps Kentucky can become known as "Carbon Valley." I believe such a scenario is within our grasp."

Carbon nanotubes, discovered seven years ago, have been shown to be extraordinarily strong, lightweight and able to conduct electricity, Haddon said. He described nanotubes as "straw-like and only a few atoms in circumference."

"They are tiny but are also mighty," he said.

"Nanotubes have potential applications in many areas," Haddon said.

• Aerospace applications, including nose cones and other parts of space shuttles and aircraft;
• Motor vehicles, including brake pads and automobile bodies that are increasingly utilizing plastics;
• Computer chips, semiconductors and appliances requiring electricity conducive parts;
• Pharmaceuticals and medical equipment such as magnetic imaging systems.

Haddon said UK researchers already have broken new ground in the relatively new field of carbon nanotube research. His research team has discovered ways to dissolve nanotubes in a variety of organic solvents.

"This discovery refuted the commonly held belief among scientists in the field that carbon nanotubes can only be dispersed, not dissolved in solution...We now have a way to blend nanotubes with other materials" to strengthen the composite materials, he said. The discovery is described in more detail in the Oct. 2, 1998, issue of Science magazine.

The solubility of nanotubes facilitates their use in such things as coatings and paint for aircraft, Haddon said.

"Our research breakthrough was given an enthusiastic thumbs-up from the scientist who won the Nobel Prize in 1997...Professor Richard Smalley of Rice University said this work at the University of Kentucky is a major advance in developing the molecular science of fullerene nanotubes," Haddon said.

Nanotube researchers already have established two spin-off businesses in UK's business incubator, the Advanced Science and Technology Research Center (ASTeCC). Also, several multinational companies -- Air Products Inc., Ashland Chemical Inc., Conoco, DuPont, Englehard, Lockheed Martin, 3M and Mitsubishi Chemical -- have "expressed their interest in working with UK to explore the possibilities for commercial applications" for nanotubes.