Office of Research News

Two Ohio State university professors have been elected to the National Academy of Sciences (NAS), one of the most prestigious honors an American scholar can receive.

Ohio State’s newest NAS members are Tina Henkin, professor and chair of microbiology and the Robert W. and Estelle S. Bingham Professor of Biological Sciences, and Yasuko Rikihisa, professor of veterinary biosciences.

Members are elected to the National Academy of Sciences in recognition of their distinguished and continuing achievements in original research. The NAS is a private, nonprofit society engaged in scientific and engineering research and dedicated to the use of science and technology for the public good.

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With state-of-the art resources, leveraged through successful academic, industrial, and economic collaboration, Ohio is leading the Midwest’s transformation from “Rust Belt” to “Innovation Belt.”  Ohio State, the State of Ohio, and others in the Midwest are creating powerful technology engines that are changing how universities, industry, and government collaborate and fuel economic development.

According to Dr. Caroline Whitacre, vice president for research at Ohio State, “Ohio is driving this robust technology economy because of the state’s success in four vital areas: supercomputers, industrial outreach, workforce development, and networks.”

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The Distinguished Scholar Award (DSA), established in 1978, recognizes exceptional scholarly accomplishments by senior professors who have compiled a substantial body of research, as well as the work of younger faculty members who have demonstrated great scholarly potential.

The 2012 honorees are:

• Janet M. Box-Steffensmeier, The Vernal G. Riffe Professor in Government and Politics, Department of Political Science, College of Arts and Sciences
• Louis Franklin DiMauro, Dr. Edward E. and Sylvia Hagenlocker Chair in Physics, Department of Physics, College of Arts and Sciences
• Michael R. Grever, MD, The Charles Austin Doan Chair of Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, College of Medicine
• Anita K. Hopper, professor and chair, Department of Molecular Genetics, College of Arts and Sciences
• Jin-Fa Lee, professor, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, College of Engineering
• Vincent J. Roscigno, professor, Department of Sociology, College of Arts and Sciences

Recipients are nominated by their departments and chosen by a committee of senior faculty, including past recipients of the award. Distinguished Scholars receive an honorarium and a research grant to be used over the next three years. The award is supported by the Office of Research.

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Dr. Tappas Mal has assumed the position of associate director, Campus Chemical Instrument Center (CCIC)/Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR). Prior to joining the university, Dr. Mal served as the manager for the NMR facility at Pfizer Pharmaceutical Corporation.

Dr. Mal brings to this position extensive technical and managerial expertise in NMR spectroscopy. His work spans a broad range of applications including biomolecular structure molecule analysis, drug-protein interactions, and metabolomics.

The CCIC provides state-of-the-art research facilities for the campus in three areas: Nuclear Magnetic Resonance, Mass Spectrometry, and Proteomics.

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Bobbi Alkire Noe has joined The Ohio State University Industry Liaison Office (ILO) as associate director. In this role, she will foster the expansion of the ILO mission by linking business and industry needs to the university’s immense assets and create sustainable innovations, new partnerships, and expand the research enterprise. Well versed in the need for industry-academic partnerships and the power of leveraging business opportunities, Noe brings to the university expertise in the business-technical environment. She has a proven track record of taking ideas or concepts through prototype, pilot, startup, and success in the field to commercialization, thereby delivering the products needed by industry and consumers. She holds five patents and is the inventor of numerous trade secrets.

Noe, who holds a master’s degree in mechanical engineering from Ohio State, will split her time between the College of Engineering and the ILO. As part of her ILO role, she will work with the College of Arts and Sciences and the College of Public Health, as well as other colleges across campus and various technology-based departments.

Noe has spent the majority of her career working for Owens Corning (OC). Since joining OC in 1983, she has held positions in R&D, manufacturing, and sales, and most recently as the director of innovation. At OC, she was instrumental in transforming the residential roofing market and business segment via national commercialization of a revolutionary new residential shingle product – delivering the largest first-year sales and profitably numbers for any product in OC’s history. She was also responsible for the start up of a green field manufacturing facility to launch a next generation fiberglass material.

The Industry Liaison Office was launched in December 2008 by the Office of Research to initiate and foster mutually beneficial relationships with industry and organizations worldwide. The ILO brokers the alignment of Ohio State’s core capabilities in learning, discovery and innovation, and services with industry needs. The ILO links the university’s immense assets to the needs of industry to drive ideas for research, new products, improved processes, and an expansion of services offered. The ILO also creates dynamic and sustainable assets for its partners, the state of Ohio, and the global community. Sharell Mikesell, PhD, associate vice president, leads the ILO. He is assisted by Daniel Kramer, PhD, ILO director, College of Engineering, and Bryan Kinnamon, ILO director, College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences.

The state of Ohio, led by the Ohio Board of Regents and the Ohio Academic Resources Network (OARnet), will be investing $8.1 million in equipment that will “open the faucet” of its current broadband network – increasing the speed of its current bandwidth of 10 Gigabits per second (Gbps) to an impressive 100 Gbps. It will connect to Internet2′s international 100 Gbps network backbone.

Ohio public and private partners also will invest $2.3 million in a state-of-the-art innovation center that will enable and test 100 Gbps technologies and promote the development of compelling broadband, software and advanced technology applications. Located at The Ohio State University, the center will operate in research collaboration with Internet2, NSF-Future Internet Infrastructure (GENI), UC-Berkeley and other national laboratories.

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The TechColumbus Innovation Awards recognize forward-thinking individuals, companies, and technology teams in the 15-county region of Central Ohio for their achievements and contributions in technology leadership and innovation.

Thirteen Innovation Awards were presented to individuals and organizations across Central Ohio. Ohio State University received four awards. Two high school students were also honored.

Award winners were selected by a panel of independent judges from the community. Receiving top honor in an award category exemplifies the impact of the winner’s achievement on Central Ohio and beyond.

Ohio State received awards in the following categories:

• Inventor of the Year: Thomas D. Schmittgen, associate professor and chair of the Division of Pharmaceutics
• Outstanding Woman in Technology: M. Monica Giusti, assistant professor of food science and technology
• Outstanding Technology Team: Center for Automotive Research (Giorgio Rizzoni, Director)
• Innovation in Non-Profit Service Delivery: The Wright Center of Innovation in Biomedical Imaging and The Ohio Imaging Research and Innovation Network (Michael Knopp, Director)

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