April 3, 2003 — The U.S. government has awarded two research grants worth more than $500,000 to nanotechnology scientists at The University of Texas at Dallas (UTD), according to a news release.

The larger award, a three-year, $460,000 grant from the U.S. Air Force Office of Scientific Research, will help produce prototypes of photocells from polymer nanofibers and carbon nanotubes. The goal is to create low-cost and lightweight solar cell arrays to generate electric power for spacecraft and other applications.

The second grant, worth $70,000, is an extension of an existing contract with NASA. The work, begun by UTD Professor Anvar Zakhidov while he worked for Honeywell International, involves growing single-wall carbon nanotubes in a microgravity climate. He seeks to build longer and stronger nanotubes, and the research could be transferred to the International Space Station.