With the prices of gasoline on the rise and the knowledge that fossil fuel sources cannot be replenished, companies such as Daimler Chrysler are taking note and designing and manufacturing "hybrid vehicles" that combine the traditional use of fossil fuel as a source of energy with more environmentally friendly methods.

The engineering school's involvement in such innovations can be traced back to 1972, when a hydrogen-powered car won the Urban Vehicle Design Competition.

"The entrance of the vehicle into the contest had no outside sponsors. It was only a year later, in 1973, that the Department of Transportation showed a lot of support for research into alternative fuels," said William Van Vorst, professor emeritus of chemical engineering, who was in charge of the project.

Before the energy crisis of 1973, which was caused by an oil embargo, the research into alternative fuels was done primarily to explore ways to make transportation more environmentally friendly.

"When interest curtailed as the energy crisis came to an end, research was unfortunately stunted," Van Vorst said.

The current nature of rising gas prices in the past year has once again sparked major interest in alternative energy sources.

According to the Lundberg Survey -- a study of 7,000 gas stations nationwide -- the average retail price for gasoline jumped about $0.19 per gallon overall from March 18 to April 8. Though gas prices dropped recently by $0.045 per gallon, they still typically remain at more than $2 per gallon, according to the study.

Supporters of alternative fuels say hydrogen fuel is beneficial not just for economic reasons, but health reasons as well.

"Aside from gas price issues, the major driving force for the use of hydrogen as an energy carrier is the beneficial health effect on urban populations," said chemical engineering Professor Vasilios Manousiouthakis, chair of a hydrogen fuel cell project.

A hydrogen fuel cell is being designed and built by a team of engineers lead by Van Vorst and Manousiouthakis. The scientists say they hope the cell will solve some of the problems associated with hydrogen fuel, such as storage.

Professors at the engineering school contend that hydrogen fuel compatibility with automobiles is up to two times more efficient than that of gasoline.

"Of course, the fuel cell has to go a long way before economic productivity can be visualized. Still, there is a seriousness about hydrogen fuel cell cars that wasn't even there five years ago," Van Vorst said.

But there remains skepticism about the feasibility of hydrogen fuel cell cars as a solution to the limited supply of oil reserves and an expanding population.

Some experts say hydrogen fuel, though it appears to be more eco-friendly than conventional fuels, is not as efficient as it is made out to be.

Automakers, for example, say the "well to wheel" efficiency -- or how much energy it takes to obtain hydrogen fuel from oil -- for cell hybrid vehicles is around 30 percent, whereas gasoline vehicles have a "well to wheel" efficiency of about 15 percent.

"Hydrogen gas is an energy carrier, so it has to come from somewhere," said Manousiouthakis.

"There's this hype out there that exists because people think that hydrogen is an energy source," said Michael Bazdarich, a senior forecaster for the UCLA Anderson School of Management. "The reality is that the energy needed for the hydrogen fuel process comes from fossil fuels."