January 29, 2009

Recession on Top of Energy Crisis May Mean Power Boost for Universities

By Paul Basken

For many Americans, the confluence of a recession and a growing realization that the nation needs to end its reliance on fossil fuels seems like a double whammy of bad news. But for the nation's research universities, it may be a golden opportunity.

At its peak in the late 1970s, federal spending on energy research and development came to about $8-billion a year. Energy research now gets about $3-billion a year in government support, well below federal research budgets for

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