Cornell was ranked No. 8 out of 10 best "cleantech" universities in the country by the Cleantech Group, a company focused on catalyzing the growth of clean technology markets worldwide.

The Cleantech Group cited Cornell's "world-class research in the physical sciences, engineering and nanotechnology fields" as a "natural spawning ground for cleantech."

The award citation mentioned that Cornell is leading New York state's task force to promote high-tech development through industry-higher education partnerships and singled out Cornell's Center for a Sustainable Future as "unique in fostering innovative multidisciplinary research into new energy sources, environmental and biodiversity initiatives, and economic development projects for global implementation of these projects."

The company also noted Novomer and iFyber, two clean technology businesses incubated and developed at Cornell.

Clean technology provides "superior performance at lower costs while greatly reducing or eliminating negative ecological impacts," and improves the productive and responsible use of natural resources, according to the company's Web site.

The top 10 "cleantech" university's (from one to 10) were: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of California-Berkeley, University of Texas-Austin, Stanford University, University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, University of Colorado-Boulder, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Cornell, Georgia Institute of Technology and Washington State University.