University Grows Contribution by 600 percent

Innovative Initiative Is Model For Others

Reno, NV - In an example of the power of public/private partnerships, the University of Nevada, Reno has used a $300,000 grant from Nevada Ventures, LLC to attract national funding from such prestigious sources as the National Science Foundation and NASA, as well as from industry sources such as Altair Nanotechnologies and others.

“The Nevada Ventures Nanoscience initiative has proven itself,” said Nevada President John Lilley. “This effort was initiated to demonstrate the public/private partnership as a successful educational and research model - to show that, when working together, Nevada and dedicated private sector partners can develop groundbreaking results on a national scale. It’s worked.”

The Nevada Ventures Nanoscience Program, through the cutting edge research of Jesse Adams, Kwang Kim and Jeff LaCombe, has attracted $2.1 million in funding from research awards and matching funds through the university’s Applied Research Initiative program. Seventy one percent of the funding was obtained from federal sources, 19 percent from corporate sponsors and an additional 10 percent from a non-profit foundation.

The funding has helped to establish two new cutting-edge nanoscience laboratories: the Nanotube Synthesis Laboratory, and the Nanofabrication Facility, both led by Adams.

In addition to attracting further funding to the new program, Nevada faculty have been invited to participate in dozens of lectures, professional conferences and symposia, have published dozens of papers - including the work of graduate and undergraduate students - and have received awards and recognition from organizations such as the National Science Foundation and the Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

“We are thrilled to see that prestigious research organizations like NASA, Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the National Science Foundation have validated our belief that the Nevada Ventures Nanoscience Program could be a model research program in one of the world’s most exciting research fields,” said Robb Smith, General Partner with Nevada Ventures, LLC. - more - Nevada Ventures Nanoscience Program, 2-2-2

“When community leaders take an active interest by investing time and money in the University of Nevada, Reno and its students, it is clear that the university can not only compete nationally as a respected research partner but also as a university that attracts the best professors and students in the nation to study and work here in Reno.”

“The nanoscience program was a key factor in my decision to attend Nevada,” said Chris Peri, 19, a sophomore materials science and engineering major who is participating in the nanoscience program. “I had opportunities to go elsewhere, but the best high school students follow excitement and opportunity. Right here in my own hometown, I’m helping to bridge the gap between science fiction and reality. We’re working on stuff people have only dreamed about for the longest time. It’s truly cutting edge technology, and we’re creating it right here at Nevada. Nanotechnology is already revolutionizing industry, materials, science and space exploration, this program allows Nevada to be at the forefront of those efforts.”

The Nevada Ventures Nanoscience Program was founded in 2001 through the $300,000 grant from Nevada Ventures, LLC. The nanoscience program has grown from one staff member at its inception to 40 involved today and has had nearly 35 graduate and undergraduate students participate. The NVNP program has sponsored leading scientists from around the world to present to hundreds of students and faculty on the revolutionary aspects of nanoscience.

Nevada Ventures, LLC is Nevada’s first venture capital fund, investing in world-class entrepreneurs and executives with the vision and skill necessary to build successful companies in rapidly-growing markets. The firm established the Nevada Ventures Nanoscience Program at the University of Nevada, Reno to foster nanoscience-related research and technology commercialization and to offer groundbreaking educational opportunities to Nevada’s best high school and college graduates.

The University of Nevada, Reno, Nevada’s land-grant institution, is ranked as a Doctoral/Research University-Extensive institution by the Carnegie Foundation. The 129-year-old university offers 77 undergraduate, 76 master’s and 39 doctoral programs. Current enrollment exceeds 15,000. In the 2001-2002 fiscal year, the university surpassed $110 million in supported research and development funding. By a conservative estimate, this translates to more than $230 million a year in economic activity in Nevada. The total economic impact of the university to the state and local economy is more than $625 million.