The new partnership, which was announced Wednesday, will also pursue the development of innovative technologies in electronics and energy, Lockheed Martin said in a statement.

Lockheed Martin and Rice said they were launching what they called "an innovative, strategic partnership to develop new technologies for a broad range of applications in electronics, energy and security."

Lockheed Martin said the work would be done at a new advanced Nanotechnology Center of Excellence at Rice University -- LANCER. The company said it would work in partnership with scientists and engineers from Lockheed Martin focusing on carbon nanotechnology, photonics and plasmonics. The LANCER center will be located at Rice's Richard E. Smalley Institute for Nanoscale Science and Technology.

"Nanotechnology promises to impact everything from the clothes people wear to the energy they consume, and it will also revolutionize the systems and services Lockheed Martin delivers to its government customers," said Sharon Smith, director of Advanced Technology, Lockheed Martin. "We are excited to partner with Rice, a recognized leader in nanotechnology research, to collaborate on those breakthroughs leading us to next generation products and services for our nation."

Lockheed Martin said the LANCER project evolved from a number of technology exchange meetings between the Smalley Institute and Lockheed Martin scientists over the past few years that were organized to brief Lockheed Martin scientists and engineers about new developments in nanotechnology research.

"LANCER formed from the bottom-up, and that sets it apart from other ambitious university-industry research partnerships," said Wade Adams, director of Rice's Richard E. Smalley Institute for Nanoscale Science and Technology. "The folks in the labs are the ones who came to us and said, 'Make it easier for us to work together.'"