TROY, N.Y. -- RPI has some bright ideas, and they're putting them to use in the form of new lighting technology.

The project in Troy is expected to receive up to $50 million in grant money over the next 10 years, and it's all to make lighting greener and more energy-efficient.

The college was awarded what they call "the crown jewel of funding" to study and then create the next generation of lights.
The grant from the National Science Foundation is worth $18.5 million to kick-start the program which will be spread out over the next five years. Additional funding is set to come from New York State, as well as industry partners who already believe in the technology.

Ed Reinfurt of the NYS Science and Technology Foundation said, "We have a chance to do away with the wasteful type of lighting that we have today and to create a whole new industry of breakthroughs that can really relate back to the consumer."

Some of the things he mentioned included brighter car lighting, or cell phone lights, as well as surgical lighting. And they say it's realistic that we'll start seeing these products within three years.