Amherst (WBEN) -- U.S. Senator Charles Schumer on Monday announcing a push for $120 million in federal research funding for UB’s new Center of Excellence in Materials Informatics. 

The grant, for which UB has submitted its preliminary application, would come from the Department of Energy’s “Innovation Hub” grant for Critical Materials research program. 

The grant would provide 5 years’ worth of funding, and would make UB’s newly created Materials Informatics Center of Excellence into the national center of critical materials research. 
This includes research into the development of synthetic substitutes for rare earth elements, new clean energy alternatives, biomedical and life sciences technology and advanced manufacturing. 

Schumer says these issues are at the heart of solving some of the nation’s greatest challenges, and stressed that federal support for cutting edge research in major industry clusters is the key to unlocking large scale business development in western New York, like it has at the College of Nanoscience and Engineering in Albany.

Schumer will also discuss how UB’s meeting with the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy could lead to additional federal funding opportunities. 

Schumer was joined by UB President Satish Tripathi and Dr. Mark Swihart, professor of chemical and biological engineering at the school.