UC Davis will receive a $2.6 million, five-year federal grant to support graduate students in a fast-growing new research project called Nanophases in the Environment, Agriculture and Technology. Nanophases are particles so small that most of their atoms are near their surfaces, which gives them unusual properties. Nanophase research could have a variety of applications, including nuclear-waste cleanup, farm-soil improvements, ceramic and electronic parts for the high-tech industry, models of planetary evolution and climate change, and air- and water-pollution control. The grant is the first major funding for the nanophase project. It will provide support for about 14 doctoral students a year and enable the campus to buy an analytical scanning electron microscope, said project director Alexandra Navrotsky, an interdisciplinary professor of ceramic, earth and environmental materials chemistry. The funds come from a 2-year-old National Science Foundation program called Integrative Graduate Education and Research Training (IGERT), which is designed to help U.S. universities produce more skilled engineers and scientists. A total of $54.5 million in awards will be distributed to 21 doctorate-granting institutions. UC Davis is the only institution to receive a grant from this NSF program in 1998 and 1999. Last year's award, also for $2.6 million over five years, went to the Institute of Transportation Studies. For more information, see these online resources: a 1997 news story about Navrotsky and UC Davis nanophase research at ; a detailed description of the research to be conducted at ; and the grants-program home page at . Media contacts: Alexandra Navrotsky, interdisciplinary professor, (530) 752-3292, anavrotsky@ucdavis.edu; Sylvia Wright, News Service, (530) 752-7704, swright@ucdavis.edu.