For Immediate Release

Feb. 9, 2006

For more information contact:

Tracy Finneman, Marketing Services Manager

701-328-5300

The Centers of Excellence Commission met yesterday and voted to increase the funding recommendation for the North Dakota State University Surface Protection project from $1 million to $2 million. The Commission took action after reviewing due diligence reports from the Department of Commerce on the six projects that were approved in the second round of Centers of Excellence funding on Jan 31.

"In receiving the due diligence information, it became apparent that $1 million in funding didn�t allow many of the private sector partners that were interested in the project to participate," Mark Nisbet, chair of the Center of Excellence Commission, said. "This is a good project and we voted to increase funding in order to give NDSU the capacity to bring more partners together. By doubling the funding we will more than double the scope of this project."

The NDSU Center for Surface Protection will perform market-driven research and development of surface protecting coatings that will enhance the durability of manufactured products and address industrial problems for companies located in North Dakota and elsewhere. The increased funding will allow NDSU to collaborate with at least five private sector partners on the project compared to two under the previous $1 million funding level. The partners are Gremada Industries, Tecton, Marvin Windows, Gamry, and Akzo Nobel.

The Commission did not change their funding recommendations for the other five projects approved on Jan. 31.