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NEWS RELEASE

01-08-02

Contacts:
David Hoffman, Ames Laboratory, (515) 294-9649
Steve Karsjen, Ames Laboratory Public Affairs, (515) 294-5643
Skip Derra, News Service, (515) 294-4917

AMES LABORATORY INITIATIVES TO RECEIVE $5 MILLION

AMES, Iowa -- U.S. Rep. Tom Latham will be at Iowa State University at 3 p.m., Friday, Jan. 11, to announce $5 million in funding for two initiatives at the U.S. Department of Energy's Ames Laboratory. One initiative is in biorenewable energy and the other in forensics research.

During the announcement, officials from Ames Laboratory, ISU, the state of Iowa and Story County will comment on the importance of these initiatives to Iowa and the nation.

The Biorenewable Resources Consortium will receive $2 million in federal funding. The consortium is a partnership between the Ames Laboratory and the Iowa Agriculture and Home Economics Experiment Station, in cooperation with ISU and the agricultural and business communities. Central to the initiative are efforts to use biorenewable resources as a sustainable supply of energy.

"I am proud to have laid the groundwork for what will prove to be a very beneficial project for Iowa farmers, Ames Laboratory, ISU and our environment," said Latham. "The field of biorenewable energy has so many exciting possibilities. We are proud Iowa will lead the way in the research and development of the possibilities."

The funding is part of the Energy and Water Appropriations bill for fiscal year 2002 and will come through the Department of Energy's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. Ames Laboratory will use the funding to assemble cutting-edge research teams drawn from many different disciplines that can help find new uses for agricultural products.

"This will ultimately open new markets, which will have important economic and environmental impacts for the nation but, more importantly, benefits for the Iowa economy and the Iowa farmer," said Tom Barton, director of Ames Laboratory.

The Midwest Forensics Resource Center will receive $3 million in federal funds. The funding will come from the National Institute of Justice Office of Science and Technology. MFRC's mission includes research, training, casework and education in conjunction with ISU. Ames Laboratory will administer the center.

"This center will draw on the expertise of Ames Laboratory and ISU faculty and staff to provide the scientific expertise to develop more efficient and reliable methods of analyzing crime-scene evidence," said David Baldwin, director of Ames Laboratory's Environmental and Protection Sciences Program. The center will serve Iowa and several surrounding states, including Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas and Missouri.

As part of the event, Latham will view a fingerprint development chamber, which has been developed through the MFRC. The chamber provides greater control in detecting fingerprints from crime-scene evidence. He also will be given a demonstration of the bioterrorism quick-response database.

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Note to editors:
Media are invited to attend the announcement, which will be held at 3 p.m. in 305 Spedding Hall, on the north side of the ISU campus.