Multidisciplinary Research Centers and Areas

The internationally recognized Byrd Polar and Climate Research Center (BPCRC) is named in honor of Admiral Richard E. Byrd, America’s most famous polar explorer. Research focuses on the role of cold regions in the Earth’s overall climate system.

The Center for Emergent Materials (CEM) is part of a network of Materials Research Science and Engineering Centers funded by the National Science Foundation. Multidisciplinary teams perform integrated research on emergent materials and phenomena in magneto electronics to create new paradigms in computing and information storage.

The Center for RNA Biology houses the single largest group of RNA experts in the country. The center is building on the university’s existing strengths in RNA biology to advance life sciences research and education.

The Center of Microbiome Science empowers microbiome science for the design and prediction of microbial communities in animal, plant, human, environmental, and engineered systems.

The Center for Quantum Information Science and Engineering (CQISE) is a university center focused on Ohio State’s quantum research enterprise. CQISE brings together a multidisciplinary community of researchers across the university and throughout the region to advance fundamental quantum science, investigate the quantum-classical boundary, and explore applications with quantum advantage. The center supports program development, seed grant funding, recruiting of faculty, creation of infrastructure, partnerships with industry, training of students and community outreach.

The Ohio State University Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI) is a collaboration between The Ohio State University, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center and Nationwide Children's Hospital to accelerate the translation of research discoveries into improved health care by reducing operational, administrative and scientific barriers; supporting scientists, investigators and clinical research professionals; and creating interdisciplinary collaborations across the translational science spectrum. The CTSI provides financial, organizational and educational support to researchers, as well as opportunities for community members to participate in valuable research.

The Gene Therapy Institute is an interdisciplinary community bringing together world-class faculty with diverse expertise in the area of gene therapy research. Through collaboration the institute enables the successful translation of basic science discoveries into new therapies that are accessible to affected populations around the globe.

The Global Water Institute (GWI) at Ohio State is a collaboration engine that delivers sustainable systems solutions for complex water issues. It serves to link the creative abilities of the university community and external partners to provide practical and innovative solutions to problems of water.

The Infectious Diseases Institute (IDI) harnesses Ohio State’s history of excellence in infectious disease and microbiology research, education and outreach to address the compelling challenge of infectious disease to human, animal, plant and environmental health.

The Institute for Materials Research (IMR) is the gateway to Ohio State’s materials-allied research enterprise. Signature research areas include photovoltaics, magnetoelectronics, biomaterials and biosensors, computation materials and polymers.

The Institute for Optical Science is a community of multidisciplinary researchers studying the fundamental properties of light and harnessing these properties in practical applications for significant benefit to society.

The Translational Data Analytics Institute (TDAI) is advancing Ohio toward becoming a global hub for the development, application and study of translational data analytics solution. TDAI is enabling collaboration and innovation in translational analytics and contributing nationally and internationally to the maturation of translational data analytics as a field.

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 Campus Microscopy and Imaging Facility (CMIF) offers a full range of microscopy for university faculty, staff and students as well as researchers outside the university.

At the heart of the National Science Foundation National Extreme Ultrafast Science Facility (NeXUS) at Ohio State is an ultrafast laser that delivers a kilowatt of power. It is the first to translate this recently-developed technology in high-average power, ultrafast lasers developed under the European Extreme Light Infrastructure (ELI) to the United States. This laser is used to produce Extreme Ultraviolet (XUV) and soft X-ray pulses by high harmonic generation. These ultrafast pulses of XUV light enable researchers to study how electrons move in molecules and materials at time scales as fast as attoseconds and length scales as small as angstroms.

Building on Ohio State’s strengths in research on spinal cord injury, aging, and neuroinflammation, the Chronic Brain Injury program is a multidisciplinary team of researchers and clinicians working to improve the lives of traumatic brain injury survivors. By focusing on the chronic effects of injury including neurobehavioral complications and neurodegenerative pathologies, researchers are creating opportunities for innovation at the intersections of neuroscience, engineering, fine arts, and patient care. 

Many costly and preventable chronic conditions – heart disease, stroke, cancer, and diabetes – are affected by diet. Inadequate nutrition is also a major cause of developmental delays and death worldwide. By building on collaborations among faculty that span a breadth of expertise and by joining key partners in the public and private sectors, Foods for Health is working to create a healthier future for individuals and communities around the world.