With the help of a $40 million state grant, a new materials science research building will allow ideas from fuel cells to artificial organs to become a reality.

Gov. Ed Rendell's spokesman Abe Amoros said money for the project came from a Public Improvement Projects fund, and it will be distributed to Penn State over the next four years.

Eric Barron, dean of the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences, said a date and location for construction of the building has not yet been set but will be confirmed as the state funds are disbursed.

The estimated cost of the building is $80 million, he added.

Carlo Pantano, director of the Materials Research Institute, said plans are already being made for research within the building.

"The building will be our new home," he said, "but it will also be a common denominator for anything that involves the creation of new materials."

Materials science research currently takes place in 36 buildings on campus. Pantano said the new building will allow the department to consolidate and improve on its current facilities.

The new building will give the department advantages that the current materials science facilities cannot provide, he added.

"It will definitely expand on our current facilities," he said. "We will be able to do things we can't do right now, including interact with industry."

Pantano said projects in the new building will include faculty and graduate student research into fuel cell technology and the creation of artificial organs.

The research projects are designed with the local community in mind, he added.

"We try to create things that will facilitate economic development, especially in central Pennsylvania," he said.

The building will also be used for educational purposes, Pantano said.

"We hope to have state of the art facilities for both undergraduate and graduate studies," he said.

Although the project was announced to the Penn State Board of Trustees Jan. 21, Barron said an official announcement would be made next week.

Office of Physical Plant spokesman Paul Ruskin said he has not received any information about plans for the building.

"It is just too soon for us to know anything about that," he said. "Once the money starts coming in, we will know more specifics about the project."

With construction of a new law school, baseball stadium and materials science building planned, Ruskin said the university is doing everything possible to preserve green space for plants and trees on campus.

"We are trying to expand without compromising space," he said. "We're doing this by working with local residents, following zoning codes and planting more trees in between buildings on campus."

The funds for the materials science building are part of the same $50 million state grant that is allowing construction of a cancer center at Hershey Medical Center.

Amoros said Penn State submitted the request for the Public Improvement Fund.

Because the cancer center had already received $13 million in federal funding through U.S. Rep. Tim Holden, D-Pa., the decision was made to give the majority of the money to the materials science project, he added.

"The university definitely met the requirements needed to receive the money," he said. "We look at any public projects that could potentially benefit the community, and this was definitely one of them."