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21 Feb 2007  -  United States

Funds to help university centre develop materials and create Ohio jobs

Imagine rolling up and carrying a laptop computer in a scroll or cutting-edge lightweight panels for tractor trailers that dramatically reduce fuel consumption. Those are the type of innovations being researched in Ohio thanks in part to funding from the state's Third Frontier program.

Last month the Center for Multifunctional Polymer Nanomaterials and Devices, a 2005 Wright Center of Innovation located at Ohio State University, received $8 million in Third Frontier funding to help develop durable and fire-resistant nanocomposite materials and processes.

An $8 million grant also was awarded to a project led by the University of Akron in partnership with CMPND that would fund research of the development of functional polymide films that could be used for flexible displays such as the one needed for the roll-up laptop.

"What's important here is that it's not just the projects, but the jobs that can be created out of these new projects. As new materials are discovered there will be a need for jobs to make these materials," said Sharell Mikesell, co-director of the CMPND and executive director of the Ohio Polymer Strategy Council.

He also said the collaboration between the researchers and universities and the companies that will eventually take the products to market will mostly take place in Ohio State, meaning most of those jobs created will stay in the state.

The project is expected to create more than 1,000 new jobs plus "upgrade" and retain more than 24,000 positions. New capital investments are expected to be between $15 million and $20 million.

The project at OSU will help develop stronger windmill blades used in energy-creating windmills; ballistic armor for Humvees; and those tractor trailer panels, among other transportation uses.

Currently most of the windmill blades used are 40 meters long, but longer blades would create a faster rotation which in turn would generate more energy.

"We need to make the blade longer so that we can get the cost per kilowatt down," said Mikesell.

The protective armor, which could eventually be manufactured in Springfield, also would have other uses than those needed for the battlefield.

"With these (projects), it's all about 'lighter and stronger,'" said Mikesell. "This project is going to help fund research to demonstrate the impact on the value of nanotechnology - lighter, tougher, stronger materials that can replace steel and metal. This is about low-cost energy and survivability."

He said a key factor in making these materials stronger is to make them "less flawed."

"When plastics break or self-destruct, there's a flaw in the material, air or something. If you can make materials with less flaws, you make them stronger," Mikesell said.

The three-year program is titled "Commercialization of High-Performance Nano-Tailored Structural Composites for Energy and Survivability Applications."

The project is another indication of the importance of the polymer industry in Ohio, Mikesell said. Ohio ranks first in the nation for advanced materials and polymers with over 2,800 companies, 140,000 employees and more than $49 billion in annual shipments. There are polymer companies in 86 of the state's 88 counties.

The of Akron project is titled "Functional Polyimide Films and Nanocomposites" and includes collaborative work with Lockheed Martin Kent Displays, General Electric Aviation, Maverick, Ethicon Endo, DuPont, GrafTech and NanoSperse.

The economic impact for Ohio from this project is expected to be the creation of more than 1,000 jobs with new capital investments in the range of $100 million over five years.

A total of 45 applications for the Third Frontier funding were submitted and 11 were selected for the final review with the National Academy of Science. Of the 11 applications reviewed by NAS, five were approved by the Third Frontier Engineering and Physical Science Research and Commercialization Program for funding.

"This is resounding applause for our research and our collaborators and the good thing is we can do almost all of it in Ohio. That we won two of the five (grants) speaks to the strength of the research at Ohio State, the University of Akron and the University of Dayton," Mikesell said. "In terms of impact (the two projects) are similar and in terms of the quality of the science."

It took more than nine months to compile the proposal and about six to 10 students and faculty members are expected to work on the effort.

"Some of our independent collaborators have had work going on this for one to four years. We had our kick-off meeting (Thursday). We expect to bring plans and milestone goals together in the next 90 days," he said.

In fact, the CMPND was formed nearly two years ago with $22.5 million in Third Frontier funding.

Among the major contributors of the new technologies are Ashland Chemical, General Electric, Owens-Corning, WebCore and the National Composites Center.

"This grant would not have been possible without the collaborators. These people might not have been in the same room together," Mikesell said. "This is a major collaboration between business and academics."

Source : Rick Adamczak, The Daily Reporter