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Portion of USD Grant Money Earmarked for Oil Dependence Research

University of San Diego researchers plan to use a portion of new grant money to find ways to clean the air and reduce petroleum use. KPBS reporter Ed Joyce has more.

University of San Diego researchers plan to use a portion of $2 million in grant money to find ways to clean the air and reduce petroleum use. KPBS reporter Ed Joyce has more.

The University of San Diego Chemistry and Biochemistry Department picked up $2 million in grant funds. The combination of National Science Foundation and private foundation money will be used to find ways to reduce haze in San Diego's air.

Professor Peter Iovine will use a portion of the money to explore ways to cut our dependence on oil. He wants to create a synthetic hybrid material that would replace petroleum in plastic products.

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Iovine : We want those materials to be eco-friendly as we put it. And I think we have, you know, a reasonable chance of achieving that.

He says most of the plastic products we use contain petro-chemicals. Iovine says if the oil can be replaced with a biodegradable substitute it saves petroleum and the environment.

Ed Joyce, KPBS News.