Chandigarh, June 1 (IANS): Virginia Tech and Thapar Institute of Engineering and Technology (TIET), Patiala, have joined hands for $2 million investment to build a collaborative research centre -- the Thapar-Virginia Tech Centre of Excellence in Frontier Materials.

Virginia Tech President Tim Sands and TIET President Gautam Thapar have signed a five-year memorandum of understanding (MoU). Earlier this week, Thapar and senior officials visited Blacksburg to formalise the agreement.

The Thapar institute will commit $1 million for a Thapar Institute professorship at Virginia Tech. The institute will dedicate an additional $1 million to build and equip the centre on its campus in India, cover the travel and housing expenses of the Thapar professorship, and fund doctoral students and post-doctoral fellows.

"This is a big attraction for both undergraduate and postgraduate students in India because there are few engineering and science institutions that are doing this kind of work," said Thapar.