Centers and Institutes
The Office of Research, as part of its mission to foster multidisciplinary research activity across the university, provides support and oversight for a number of multidisciplinary research centers. In general, these centers fall into one of three categories: academic centers, supported primarily by the Office of Research or supported jointly in collaboration with participating colleges; core facilities; and centers funded directly by the Ohio Board of Regents that serve all University System of Ohio institutions but are housed at Ohio State.
Academic Centers
Byrd Polar Research Center
The Byrd Polar Research Center (BPRC) is recognized internationally as a leader in polar and alpine research. The center is named in honor of Admiral Richard E. Byrd, America’s most famous polar explorer. BPRC conducts multidisciplinary research, offers enhanced educational opportunities, and provides outreach activities that strengthen Ohio State’s programs in polar processes, earth systems science, and environmental science. Over the years, the scope of research at the center has broadened significantly to encompass geological sciences, glaciology, paleoclimatology, meteorology, remote sensing, oceanography, and environmental geochemistry.
Center for Emergent Materials
The Center for Emergent Materials (CEM), a National Science Foundation (NSF) supported Materials Science and Engineering Center (MRSEC), performs integrated research on emergent materials and phenomena in magnetoelectronics, creating the foundation for future oxide-based electronic materials that can be used in energy-efficient, fast computers with integrated memory and logic. With a $10.8 million award from NSF in 2008, the CEM joined a network of 27 MRSECs that support outstanding multisdisiplinary and interdisciplinary materials research and education addressing fundamental problems in science and engineering. MRSECs foster active collaboration among universities, other MRSECs, industry, and national laboratories.
Center for Lake Erie Area Research
When the Cuyahoga River caught on fire in 1969, Ohio State responded to the problem by creating the Center for Lake Erie Area Research (CLEAR). In 1988, Ohio State was designated as the 24th Sea Grant College. CLEAR addresses issues related to water quality, fisheries, and sustainable development along the Lake Erie coastline. Most of the center’s research is conducted at Stone Laboratory on Gibraltar Island on Lake Erie. The Ohio Sea Grant identifies and prioritizes research issues through its partnerships with state and federal agencies, top scientists in the state, extension specialists, and private sector advisory committees. This private sector input assures that the program remains focused on the real-world impact of projects to improve the Lake Erie ecosystem.
Institute for Energy and the Environment
The Institute for Energy and the Environment (IEE) is committed to finding environmentally sustainable solutions to today’s global energy problems. The IEE was established in 2007 to “unify” interdisciplinary and collaborative energy and environmental research, initiatives, and partnerships at the university. To date, more than 300 distinguished faculty members from multiple disciplines are performing research in every area related to energy, sustainability, and the environment. Key research initiatives include agricultural strategies to create new energy sources, the effect of climate change on water resources, increased solar energy production, sustainable transportation systems, and improved energy technologies and efficiencies. The IEE, which is part of the Office of Energy and Environment, works to advance the university’s state, local, and national role in addressing global energy issues.
Institute for Materials Research
The Institute for Materials Research (IMR) serves as the gateway to Ohio State’s materials-allied research enterprise, coordinating the dynamic, world-class multidisciplinary materials community. The Ohio State materials community encompasses over 120 faculty members and research staff representing seven colleges and 20 departments on campus. IMR signature research areas include materials in alternative and sustainable energy and power; materials and the environment; biological materials, tissue engineering, and medicine; nanoelectronics and nanophotonics; multiscale modeling and computational materials science; multifunctional electronic, magnetic, and molecular materials; sensor materials; and polymer nanomaterials and nanobiotechnology.
Core Facilities
Campus Chemical Instrument Center
The Campus Chemical Instrument Center (CCIC) provides state-of-the-art research facilities to the Ohio State research community in the areas of nuclear magnetic resonance, mass spectrometry, and proteomics. The CCIC serves as a statewide hub for reaserchers at all Ohio universities, offering outstanding data collection and processing capabilities.
Campus Microscopy and Imaging Facility
The Campus Microscopy and Imaging Facility (CMIF) offers a full range of microscopy, including confocal, light, scanning electron, and transmission electron microscopy. The CMIF has recently added instrumentation for live-cell confocal imaging. The CMIF serves university faculty, staff, and students as well as researchers outside the university.
State of Ohio Programs
Operating under a shared services model, the Ohio Board of Regents has integrated technology initiatives across the University System of Ohio into a single consortium called OH-TECH. The consortium is a merger of the Ohio Academic Resources Network, the Ohio Supercomputer Center, the Ohio Learning Network, OhioLink, and eTech Ohio. Divisions within the consortium will work together collaboratively to advance higher education and build a single technology platform to serve the entire P-16 educational system. Two divisions within the newly-created consortium are housed at Ohio State. The university serves as the fiscal agent for OH-TECH.Ohio Academic Resources Network
Serving primarily as the technology infrastructure arm of OH-TECH, the Ohio Academic Resources Network (OARnet) provides colleges and universities and their research partners with an integrated technology infrastructure that includes unrivaled intrastate network connectivity and shared services. OARnet also participates in programs to deploy network infrastructure to enhance community development, promote cross-cultural education, and improve healthcare.
Ohio Supercomputer Center
The Ohio Supercomputer Center (OSC) provides supercomputing, networking, research, and educational resources to the state and national community. OSC empowers innovation and economic development activities in the fields of bioscience, advanced materials, data exploitation, and other areas of state focus by providing a powerful high performance computing, research, and education cyberinfrastructure for a diverse statewide/regional constituency. OSC partners with Ohio researchers in the development of competitive, collaborative proposals to regional, national, and international funding organizations to solve some of the world’s most challenging scientific and engineering problems.
