Ohio Third Frontier Program
Ohio’s Third Frontier Program invests in targeted innovation and technology to position Ohio for success in the emerging global economy. The state’s $1.6 billion program to develop industry clusters in targeted high-tech sectors has already changed Ohio’s economic landscape in such areas as biomedical imaging and advanced materials. As of June 2011, the $764 million expended thus far in Third Frontier funds have leveraged over $6.6 billion of additional funding and created an estimated 79,464 direct and indirect jobs. Over 700 companies have been created, capitalized, or attracted to Ohio by Third Frontier funds. In May 2010, Ohio voters approved a bond issue that will provide an additional $700 million of funding over four years, extending the Ohio Third Frontier Program through 2015.
The Ohio State University is proud to be a partner in this unprecedented economic initiative. Our Third Frontier activities have created new partnerships and enhanced existing ties with other Ohio universities and industries. Ohio State’s 60 Third Frontier projects have fostered new technologies critical to economic growth across the state, created state-of-the-art facilities and laboratories, strengthened university-industry collaborations, and facilitated commercial product development. Our collaborations with more than 200 businesses across the state have resulted in the launch or attraction of 26 companies and the filing of 125 patents. These Third Frontier partnerships will continue to attract pre-eminent researchers to Ohio; educate, attract, and retain a highly-skilled workforce; and shape the infrastructure that will produce high-paying, high-tech jobs for Ohioans for many years to come.
The full impact of Ohio’s Third Frontier Program has yet to be realized. The discoveries made possible by these investments will serve as the cornerstone for future growth of a technology-oriented economy in Ohio and the nation. Ohio State looks forward to expanding partnerships with Ohio industries, universities, and laboratories to fuel Ohio’s emergence as a major contender on the global stage of the 21st century.
Here we highlight just a few of the ways in which Ohio State’s Third Frontier partnerships are helping to transform Ohio’s economy.
Advanced Materials
Pre-eminence in polymers
The Wright Center for Multifunctional Polymers, Nanomaterials, and Devices (CMPND) has placed Ohio at the forefront of nanotechnology research and commercialization opportunities. The center links nanotechnology to the economically important polymer and associated manufacturing industries in Ohio. CMPND has brought together six universities and more than 60 industry partners, including Battelle, Boeing, DuPont, ExxonMobil, General Electric, Goodyear, and Honda to develop manufacturing protocols for industrial polymeric nanocomposites, photonic systems, and medical devices.
CMPND has played a major role in the creation of three new companies, the relocation of two companies to Ohio, the development of 87 direct new jobs, and the issuance of 13 patents (with an additional 24 patents pending). CMPND’s interdisciplinary research and training program helps students and industrial researchers develop the unique skills required in the rapidly developing field of nanotechnology.
Bioproducts: A marriage of agriculture and technology
With Third Frontier funding, two of Ohio’s most important economic sectors – agriculture and chemicals/plastics/rubber – joined forces to form the Ohio BioProducts Innovation Center (OBIC), an alliance of industries and academic institutions focused on commercializing bio-based technologies and products. OBIC’s partners are working to develop chemical conversion technologies to produce lubricants and adhesives from Ohio corn and soybeans. OBIC’s collaborators include the Archer Daniels Midland Company, Cargill, the Scotts Company, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
OBIC has played a role in the creation of 57 jobs and the relocation of four companies to Ohio. A total of 41 patents have been issued through the activities of this center.
New applications for granule technology
The Andersons Inc., with the support of a Third Frontier Research Commercialization Program (RCP) grant, is collaborating with OBIC to create a global center of excellence for advanced granule technology. This technology delivers nutrients or other active ingredients to plants and soil in granule forms that speed ingredient activation and thus enhances product value. This project creates highly functional soil dispersing granules, granules that stick to leaf surfaces, and foaming granules that can blanket targeted areas, to facilitate application of fertilizers, weed control, pest control, and other needs. Using laboratory facilities at Ohio State’s Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center (OARDC), The Andersons and collaborators Syngenta Crop Protection Inc., PSB Company, and National Lime and Stone Company, are expanding their technology beyond golf courses to include applications in nurseries, food crops, and commodity crops such as soybeans.
This Third Frontier collaboration helped an Ohio-based company expand its marketing opportunities for granule technology to provide solutions for the economic, health, and environmental concerns of the agricultural industry in Ohio and across the nation.
Advanced Energy
Accelerating electric vehicles
A recent Third Frontier investment in Ohio State’s Center for Automotive Research (CAR) Center of Excellence for Electric and Plug-in Hybrid Vehicle Technology will propel the electric vehicle industry in Ohio by designing hybrid and electric trucks and buses that are 40% more fuel efficient. The project, in collaboration with Vanner, American Electric Power, STMicroelectronics, and Fil-Mor Express, aims to build a user facility for testing and refining commercial vehicles that can hasten the conversion from gas to electric power, thereby reducing carbon emissions and decreasing our dependency on foreign oil.
This center is projected to create more than 900 new clean energy jobs in Ohio over the next five years.
Transforming food and waste into useable energy
According to the Ohio Public Utilities Commission, the Ohio Department of Development, and the U.S. Department of Energy, Ohio’s biomass, rich in agricultural and food processing wastes, is capable of producing at least 65% of Ohio’s residential electricity needs. In an effort to harness the power of the state’s abundant biomass and provide alternatives to record-high energy prices, the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center (OARDC) has established a bio-engineering research facility on its Wooster campus using a combination of Third Frontier and federal funds. This facility offers an industrial testing platform to verify the energy potential of various wastes from different industries. Industry collaborators include Technology Management Inc. and New Bio LLC.
An additional $830,000 in federal and industry funding was leveraged by this project. Potential energy savings of as much as $3.5 billion annually could be realized if the Ohio food processors that generate agricultural waste products begin to use those wastes in an electrical generation system.
Chemical looping for clean coal energy
The Third Frontier investment in Carbon Negative Chemical Looping Process for Hydrogen or Liquid Fuel Synthesis using Refuse Derived Fuel, Biomass, and/or Ohio Coal has already attracted major investments from the federal government and private sectors. Performance data from the research process, in which coal and biomass are converted to electricity while capturing carbon dioxide emissions, could lead to commercialization of the chemical looping process for coal-based power plants, thereby contributing to the nation’s push towards energy independence while reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) recently awarded the investigator a $5 million grant under their Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) program, which supports high risk, high reward energy research that can provide transformative new solutions for energy security and climate change.
A shining star in solar technologies
The Wright Center for Photovoltaics Innovation and Commercialization (PVIC), led by the University of Toledo, is a world-class technology platform employing second- and third-generation photovoltaic materials tailored for clean electricity generation. PVIC is accelerating the photovoltaic industry in Ohio through research, development, and commercialization activities in advanced photovoltaic materials, devices, and systems. PVIC activities involve the efforts of over 35 Ohio industrial and not-for-profit partners including Battelle, DuPont, First Solar Inc., Green Energy Ohio, Owens Corning, Replex Plastics, and Xunlight.
PVIC is responsible for the creation of more than 130 jobs in Ohio with an average salary of $71,473. In addition, PVIC has been involved in the creation of two companies as well as the relocation of three companies to Ohio. Six patents are currently pending.
Biomedical
Next-generation biomedical imaging
The Wright Center of Innovation in Biomedical Imaging, established in 2003, aspires to make Ohio a leader in biological, biomedical, and healthcare-related imaging technology and services for both human and veterinary applications. The center deploys an array of imaging technologies, including an ultra high field MRI system and new, powerful PET systems to help physicians better understand disease processes and treatment. A recent follow-on Third Frontier award will expand capabilities in molecular imaging, particularly in the development of novel radiopharmaceutical agents. Key partners include Cardinal Health, Philips Medical Systems, Rexon Components, Nationwide Children’s Hospital, and Case Western Reserve University.
This center is responsible for the creation of more than 375 direct jobs with an average salary of $136,000. One patent has been issued and 26 patents are pending. Five companies have been created, and two additional companies (ViewRay Inc. and Rapid MR International) have relocated to Ohio.
Biomedical informatics: Integrating information to enhance health outcomes
Medical breakthroughs now depend on translating the findings of the bioscience laboratory to the patient’s bedside. The challenge of integrating the huge volume of data-intensive information necessary to achieve truly translational medicine and solve real health problems requires innovative solutions. The Biomedical Informatics System Platform was created with funding from the Third Frontier to develop a computational platform to unify bioinformatics, experimental, and clinical data to accelerate advances in medicine and produce a stream of commercial products. Combining the research capabilities of Ohio State and the Ohio Supercomputer Center with the development capabilities of Rescentris, an Ohio-based commercial partner, resulted in the Collaborative Electronic Research Framework, an advanced scientific laboratory notebook software program for conducting research and generating clinical lab protocols for human use. A number of biomedical research organizations have purchased the Rescentris software system, including customers in the U.S., Europe, and Australia.
Rescentris has been successful in attracting private equity investment from the west coast to fund its operations and growth in Ohio. One license has been issued and one company has relocated to Ohio as a result of this collaboration.
Expanding stem cell technology
Arteriocyte, a commercial biotechnology company with facilities in Cleveland, Ohio, has teamed up with many of Ohio’s top research institutions, including Ohio State, Cleveland Clinic, the University of Toledo, Case Western Reserve University, and University Hospitals Case Medical Center, in deploying its stemcell based technologies to improve outcomes in cardiovascular disease and other conditions. With funding from the Third Frontier Research Commercialization Program (RCP), Arteriocyte’s plans include broadening its medical device platform – a rapid bedside stem cell and platelet concentration technology. Additional research expertise for this project comes from Johns Hopkins University, Harvard Medical School, Tufts University, and the University of Utah.
In less than four years, the company grew from one employee to 24 employees. The company estimates that it will generate a 20-to-1 return on this investment.
Advanced Propulsion
Enhanced propulsion systems for Ohio’s aerospace industry
Responding to the needs of the state and the nation for efficient, environmentally-friendly, low cost propulsion and power systems, the Ohio Center for Advanced Power and Propulsion (OCAPP) serves as a nexus for statewide expertise in aerospace engineering – fostering research and development of state-of-the-art propulsion and power technology for business and commercial uses, and harnessing Ohio’s considerable assets in the aerospace sector. Industry collaborators on the project include General Electric Aircraft Engines, NASA Glenn Research Center, and the Air Force Research Laboratory. Academic partners include the University of Dayton, Case Western Reserve University, the University of Cincinnati, and the University of Akron.
Ohio State has leveraged nearly $92 million in additional funding from federal and industrial sources in support of this project.
Instruments-Controls-Electronics
Commercializing sensor technology
Led by the University of Dayton, the Institute for the Development and Commercialization of Advanced Sensor Technology (IDCAST) exploits the state’s expertise in sensors – an area of strategic excellence for Ohio. IDCAST is dedicated to developing and bringing to market chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and explosive (CBRNE) sensor technology. Building on an existing sensor technology infrastructure and facilitating further collaborations among industry, academia, and the government to boost sensor technology research, development, and commercialization, IDCAST is projected to have a $238.3 million impact on Ohio’s economy and create more than 360 high-paying jobs within an eight year timeframe. Key government and industry collaborators include the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory Sensors Directorate at Wright Patterson Air Force Base, Woolpert Inc., General Dynamics, YSI Inc., and L-3 Communications. In addition to Ohio State, other university collaborators include the University of Cincinnati, the University of Toledo, and Wright State University.
IDCAST has leveraged over $70 million in research, helped create more than 250 jobs, and launched three start-up companies. Over 100 students have participated in a summer internship program sponsored by the Air Force Research Laboratory.
Ohio Research Scholars Program
Attracting world-class talent and preparing a high-tech workforce
The Ohio Research Scholars Program, a program funded jointly by the Ohio Department of Development and the Ohio Board of Regents, provides funds to attract eminent researchers in targeted high-tech research sectors to Ohio’s universities. Ohio State is working to recruit seven endowed scholars in emergent materials, biomedical imaging, advanced energy systems, power and propulsion, and layered sensing. These researchers will create clusters of university and industry partners to enhance discovery and create new technologies for Ohio’s economy.
The Ohio Research Scholars Program will play a pivotal role in educating Ohio’s next generation to fill technology-intensive jobs demanded by Ohio’s future economy.
Ohio State Third Frontier Metrics Report and Awards
Ohio State Third Frontier Industry Partners Map
The map indicates the location and name of all Ohio State Third Frontier Industry Partners. Download the Third Frontier map.
