Ohio State wins funding for three Third Frontier initiatives

(l-r) Mike Kelty, VP Scotts & OSU alum; Amy Davis, Chair, Ohio Soybean Council; Bobby Moser, VP University Outreach; President Luis Proenza, University of Akron; President Karen A. Holbrook, Ohio State; Ohio Lt. Governor Bruce Johnson

Columbus – Ohio State researchers will share in more than $38 million in grants to develop innovations in agriculture, engineering and medicine from the state of Ohio’s Third Frontier Project, Ohio Lieutenant Governor Bruce Johnson announced today (5/10) in a ceremony at the Scotts Miracle-Gro Company in Marysville.

The university received funding for two of the three Wright Centers for Innovation (WCI) projects announced today, along with one of four Biomedical Research and Technology Transfer Partnerships (BRTT). Wright Centers support large-scale, world-class research and technology development and are characterized by collaboration among Ohio’s higher education institutions, non-profit research organizations and Ohio companies in the areas of advanced materials, bioscience, power and propulsion.

“Through the Third Frontier Project, we are reclaiming Ohio’s culture of innovation,”said Johnson, who also serves as Director of the Department of Development and chair of the Third Frontier Commission. The announcement was made in Marysville to highlight the Third Frontier’s impact on Ohio agriculture.
Ohio State was represented at the ceremony by President Karen A. Holbrook and Bobby Moser, vice president for agricultural administration and dean of the College of Food, Agriculture and Environmental Sciences (FAES), which received one of the grants.

Holbrook expressed appreciation to state leaders for their strong support. “This is exactly the sort of investment our state needs to help it create more jobs and prosper. Central Ohio has been ranked as one of the nation’s high-tech hot spots because of the presence of Ohio State and Battelle and their close working partnership.

“At Ohio State, our land-grant mission is to provide exceptional academic programs combined with world-class research and community service. These projects are a tremendous example of our mission and its impact around the state,”she said.

The largest WCI award Ohio State received provides $22.5 million to the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering to create the Ohio Center for Multifunctional Polymer Nanomaterials and Devices (CMPND). The grant will provide for the acquisition of highly advanced equipment to develop new materials to improve the strength and durability of components for automobiles and other manufactured products, in an effort to link nanotechnology to economically important polymer and associated manufacturing industries in Ohio.

CMPND will include a broad-based research, business and outreach program centered at Ohio State with regional sites at the University of Akron and the University of Dayton and more than 50 company collaborators across Ohio. The project will also have support from the Ohio Polymer Strategy Council.

A second WCI grant, of $11.6 million, to the university’s College of FAES, will fund the creation of the Ohio BioProducts Innovation Center (OBIC), a partnership between Ohio State, Battelle and other business collaborators. The Center will develop chemical conversion technologies to produce products such as lubricants and adhesives from Ohio-grown raw materials, including corn and soybeans, giving Ohio farmers a new market for their goods. The proposal seeks to unite and leverage Ohio’s big agricultural and chemical industries, while advancing biotech and chemical research to fundamentally improve their profitability and competitiveness.

In a grant through the BRTT, a team of collaborators led by The Ohio State University Research Foundation will work to develop new therapies aimed at stopping the devastating effects of multiple sclerosis and cancer. Led by Yang Liu, professor of pathology, Ohio State will use its grant of $4.25 million for a Commercialization Platform of Immunotherapeutics for Multiple Sclerosis, which will develop and commercialize new immune-system therapies to delay and control the onset of multiple sclerosis. Other Ohio collaborators include the Cleveland Clinic and Cincinnati Children’s Hospital.
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