CLEMSON -- These synthetic opals will never sparkle on a finger, but they could help transform telecommunications or even save lives thanks to novel qualities possessed by the real thing.

The plastic "opals," so named because they mimic the interaction with light exhibited by natural opals, are the research work of Steve Foulger, an associate professor of materials science and founding member of Clemson University's Center for Optical Materials and Science and Engineering Technologies (COMSET). Foulger's work helped earn him a National Science Foundation CAREER Award, the most prestigious award given by NSF to new faculty.

His work could pave the way for fast, reliable and cheap sensors that sense chemical agents in order to combat their potential use as instruments of terror. Foulger's opals -- lab prototypes look like flexible, half-inch squares of plastic -- dramatically change colors in the presence of a chemical agent. The opals could also be used in telecommunications and related photonics applications.

The plastic opals are a class of photonic materials that use light, or photons, to carry or process information instead of electrons; the science is also the basis for today's optical fiber, high-speed networks and the driving force behind the Internet.

Like real opals, Foulger's synthetic opals are composed on ordered assemblies of nanoparticles and possess no intrinsic color, but react with the light around them. Like the colors associated with an oil slick on water, opals possess an internal structure that capture the light and preferentially filters out some colors, leading to their well-known iridescence.

"This field is very explosive," said Foulger. "Everyone's just going down so many paths in nanotechnology."

"The continued development of these types of things are critical to homeland security as we look for safe, cost-effective ways of keeping the public safe from terror threats," said John Ballato, COMSET director.

Researchers affiliated with COMSET attracted more than $13 million in sponsored research during the center's first four years. Faculty expertise ranges from materials science and chemistry to physics and entrepreneurial development. Researchers include Ballato, Foulger, Caron St. John, Joe Kolis, Dennis Smith, George Chumanov, Phil Brown, Jian Luo, Jason McNeill and Apparao Rao.

COMSET was designated a state center this month by the S.C. Commission on Higher Education. Commission spokesman Charlie FitzSimons said the group's expertise and national leadership will provide a tremendous opportunity for the state of South Carolina.

COMSET put economic legs on its research by pairing with Clemson University's Arthur M. Spiro Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership, turning the photonics research initiative into an economic development effort. Clemson's photonics initiative has already spun off companies in Clemson and Fort Mill, which have generated more than $1 million in investment through grants and start-up investments.

COMSET is also the cornerstone of Clemson's plans to create a hub for the advanced materials industry -- especially the emerging photonics sector -- at the Clemson Research Park. The initiative is expected to create new ranks of higher-paying jobs by making South Carolina industry more competitive and attracting additional industries.

Clemson plans to invest $70 million over the next five years to fully develop the advanced materials industry cluster. The linchpin will be a $21 million advanced materials research facility, at the Clemson Research Park, that will be anchored by one of the nation's top optical materials laboratories, coupled with a state-of-the-art electron microscopy facility. Clemson's nanotech-related research will also be housed there. The research facility will open this summer.

Clemson has already joined with local technical colleges and North Carolina universities to create a coordinated system. Research innovations are created in the lab and then, through university courses and tech training, are transitioned in the marketplace, where they will help attract high-wage jobs that are the hallmark of high-tech, knowledge-based companies.