USC has been awarded $6 million in state funding for research on fuel cells and more versatile plastics and will participate in a $5 million research initiative on cancer therapies with the Medical University of South Carolina.

USC must match the $6 million, which was approved by the state’s Research Centers of Economic Excellence, and also will match a portion of the funding for the joint MUSC/USC endeavor.

"We are gratified that these initiatives were singled out for funding," said Harris Pastides, vice president for research and health sciences. "These particular research initiatives have enormous potential to improve
the lives of South Carolinians and people everywhere through better cancer drugs, more efficient vehicles, and more
versatile plastics."

The projects include $3.5 million for research by chemistry professor Michael Myrick on polymer nanocomposites; $2.5 million for chemical engineering professors John Van Zee and James Ritter to develop sensors and storage for hydrogen fuel cells, and $5 million for USC biology professor Frank Berger and Kenneth Tew of the Medical University of South Carolina to develop translational cancer therapeutics.

Myrick is working to develop stronger plastics with greater fire retardancy, impermeability to gases, strength, temperature tolerance, and durability.

Van Zee's research deals with developing new sensors for fuel cells, medical devices and automobiles. Van Zee is director of USC's Industry/University Cooperative Research Center for fuel cells, the only such center designated by the National Science Foundation. The grant will enable USC to expand collaborations with companies
developing products for fuel cells.

Another aspect of the fuel-cell grant focuses on hydrogen storage and the development of an infrastructure for transportation systems.

Berger and Tew will study the development and testing of anti-cancer drugs for the prevention and treatment of cancer, with an emphasis on colon cancer. The grant draws on the faculty and research expertise at USC and MUSC in the field of cancer drug therapeutics. USC has an $11 million grant from the National Institutes of Health for its Center for Colon Cancer Research.

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