BP to Fund Solar Project at Caltech

According to the LA Times, BP has made a $5 million pledge to Caltech (free registration required) to test using tiny silicon rods (nanorods) as a way to make solar cells absorb sunlight more efficiently. Caltech scientist Nathan Lewis, who, along with Harry Atwater, will lead the experiments said nanotechnology could provide, "new and unique ways to make solar cell materials that are cheaper, yet could perform nearly as well as conventional materials."