June 30, 2005 — Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, and NEI Corp., a provider of nanoengineered materials, announced they have established a cooperative research program in nanotechnology with an Indian government research and development center.

Under the two-year program, the organizations will explore ways to use nanosized particles to make metals harder, ceramics lighter and stronger, and protective coatings more wear-resistant. Engineers and scientists from Rutgers’ Center for Nanomaterials Research and NEI will collaborate with their counterparts at the International Advanced Research Centre for Powder Metallurgy and New Materials in Hyderabad, India.

The three organizations plan to exchange research personnel and provide shared access to instruments and facilities for synthesizing, characterizing and processing materials.

Initial funding is a $115,000 grant from the Indo-U.S. Science and Technology Forum (IUSTF), a New Delhi-based foundation established by the Indian and U.S. governments in 2000 to promote research, development, and technology transfer among industry and academia in both countries.

“Nanotechnology is a field that will have major impact on the world’s economic and industrial growth,” said Bernard Kear, Rutgers professor and director of the Center for Nanomaterials Research, in a prepared statement. “By combining our decade of nanomaterials research expertise with the efforts of a leading Indian materials institute, we will stimulate innovation in electronics, biomedical technology and other engineering endeavors.”