Osborne invests £21.5m in graphene race The chancellor George Osborne has announced the award of £21.5m in investment funds to UK universities to develop commercial uses for the Nobel Prize-winning material graphene. Graphene was discovered at Manchester university in 2004 by two Russian-born scientists, Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov, whose achievement earned them the 2010 Nobel Prize in physics. IN Science The material they discovered, a layer of carbon a single atom thick, is one of the thinnest, strongest and most conductive materials known to man. Graphene is now the focus of a patent gold rush, as scientists seek to use it in everything from electronics and green energy to mobile phones and bioscience. Despite its roots in the UK, Britain is lagging behind in the race to profit from its many applications. The funds are being awarded through the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, which identified the most promising graphene-related research projects at British universities. The biggest recipient is Cambridge university, which won £12m for research into graphene flexible electronics and optoelectronics. That could include applications such as touch screens and other display devices. London's Imperial College will receive more than £4.5m to investigate how graphene can be applied in the aerospace industry; for example, using it to protect planes against lightning strikes. Other successful projects are based at the universities of Manchester, Exeter and Durham, and at Royal Holloway. Industrial partners include Nokia, BAE Systems, Rolls-Royce and Sharp, which will together bring an additional £12m to the table. Mr Osborne said the investment would help take graphene "from the British laboratory to the British factory floor." David Willetts, minister for universities and science, said it was "vital we harness the excellent research taking place in our world class institutions to exploit the commercial potential of this astonishing material."