The Pentagon spending bill approved Thursday (July 22) included $8 million in nanotechnology research funding earmarked for the University of Oregon (Eugene). Of that total, $5 million will go towards continuing research at the Oregon Nanoscience and Microtechnologies Institute.

The funding includes $2.5 million for research on developing environmentally-friendly nanotechnology materials and manufacturing processes and $2.5 million for development of miniaturized energy systems with broad applications, the university said.

Funding for specific technology projects is often tucked away in large federal spending legislation. The military spending bill for fiscal 2005 totaled $417.5 billion.