not require addition of the potentially hazardous chemicals. Environmental research UMass Amherst researchers have positioned the campus as a national leader in sustainability. Economics professor Robert Pollin has influenced the national discussion about how best to stimulate the US economy and promote sustainability. He and colleagues at the Political Economy Research Institute have developed a plan for national recovery that shows, for example, that investing in clean energy (wind power, solar, and biofuels) will create about three times as many good-paying jobs than conventional projects will, while reducing greenhouse gas emissions and dependence on foreign oil. Since September 2009, the campus has won more than $36 million in competitive stimulus grants. These include: $7.1 million in grants from the National Science Foundation to approximately 20 separate researchers. $16 million from the Department of Energy to establish an Energy Frontier Research Center on campus to develop highly efficient non-silicon polymer materials for harvesting solar energy. $1.9 million to chemical engineer George Huber to further develop bio-fuels from inedible corn stalks, bark, wood waste, and similar biomass. Other significant research in environmentally safe technology among UMass Amherst faculty includes: Microbiologist Susan Leschine has raised $25 million to commercialize technology that converts plant waste into ethanol using the Q microbe, discovered in the Quabbin Reservoir just east of the campus. James Manwell, director of the Renewable Energy Research Laboratory, leads testing on large wind-turbine blades at a new federal facility in Boston after helping construct two municipal wind turbines in Hull, Massachusetts. Microbiologist Derek Lovley discovered Geobacter, a tiny biological structure that can clean up groundwater and produce electricity through conductive microbial nanowires. The Northeast Climate Science Center, one of four national offices designated by the Department of the Interior is located at the University of Massachusetts.| The Molecular Playground project's goal is to expose the molecular aspect of nature to the public. Admissions and enrollment In 2012, the university reported that applications to the school had more than doubled since the Fall of 2003 and increased more than 80% since 2005. In 2015, a record high of 40,010 applications were received, with 58% of applicants being accepted, and 1.6% being accepted to the Commonwealth Honors College. The incoming Class of 2022 had an average high school GPA of 3.90 out of a 4.0 weighted scale, up from an average GPA of 3.83 the year before. The average SAT score of the Class