The U.S. Department of Energy has awarded a $1 million...

The U.S. Department of Energy has awarded a $1 million grant to a team of researchers at Stony Brook University, seen in an undated photo, to develop ultraefficient low-emission vehicles. Credit: Brittany Wait

The U.S. Department of Energy has awarded a $1 million grant to a team of researchers at Stony Brook University to develop ultra-efficient low-emission vehicles.

The scientists will focus on a technology called reactivity controlled compression ignition, which increases the efficiency inside combustion engines. The system requires using two different fuels at once, often gasoline and diesel, which has dissuaded automakers from adopting it.

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The U.S. Department of Energy has awarded a $1 million grant to a team of researchers at Stony Brook University to develop ultra-efficient low-emission vehicles.

The scientists will focus on a technology called reactivity controlled compression ignition, which increases the efficiency inside combustion engines. The system requires using two different fuels at once, often gasoline and diesel, which has dissuaded automakers from adopting it.

"We hope to discover an efficient and cost-effective way to employ [the technology] using one fuel," Benjamin Lawler, an assistant professor in Stony Brook's mechanical engineering department, said Thursday.

The funding is one of eight grants, totaling $10 million, awarded by the Energy Department to promote the development of efficient and environmentally friendly vehicles.

A trip to the emergency room in a Long Island hospital now averages nearly 4 hours, data shows. NewsdayTV's Virginia Huie reports. Credit: Newsday Staff

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