Construction is scheduled to begin this fall on two buildings dedicated to hydrogen research. One building will be for USC engineering faculty and students, and the other for companies that will hire the school to do research and development on fuel cells -- devices that use hydrogen for power wwhile emitting no pollution.

"We don't know of any other building project in the United States that is focused specifically on that," said Harris Pastides, USC senior vice president for research.

The university in 2002 landed the designation of being the only center for fuel-cell research sponsored by the National Science Foundation. Several USC engineering professors have been working on fuel cells under contract for a variety of companies since 1996.

President Bush has promoted the technology. Two years ago, he announced a $1.7 billion research program to develop a vehicle that wouldn't pollute the air, and would lessen dependence on imported oil.

More money appears to be on the way. The energy bill that was before the U.S. Senate late last week includes $3.5 billion in funding over the next five years for hydrogen research. The bill has passed the House of Representatives.

U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., who voted for the bill, said, "What Detroit was to the automotive industry, South Carolina can be to hydrogen."

Besides hydrogen, USC also is focusing on research in the fields of health, the environment and nanotechnology -- the manipulation of materials on a moolecular level to build microscopic devices. It is in fuel-cell research, however, that the university is the furthest advanced, and in which it sees the greatest economic potential.

"We're a bit closer to the front of the wave" in hydrogen, said Pastides. "As you look at biomedical research, there are tons of cities and states in it; we're not even in the top 50."

But in hydrogen, he said, there are reasons "why we have a jump and why we may succeed."

Besides the National Science Foundation designation, Pastides cited USC's cooperative work with the Department of Energy's laboratory at the former Savannah River nuclear weapons plant near Aiken.

"Their major mission is applied research in hydrogen storage," he said.

Another asset, he said, is Clemson University's automotive research hub presently under construction in Greenville.

As South Carolina's traditional base in manufacturing continues to shrink, government and business leaders say it is vital to find new sources of economic wealth. Columbia Mayor Bob Coble said USC's venture into hydrogen research is "the only opportunity in our lifetime to transform our economy by creating jobs and raising the per capita income."

Columbia and Richland County are kicking in $34 million of the $141 million tab for the first phase of what USC calls its "research campus."