Dayton, Ohio – On August 15, 2021, the Ohio Federal Research Network (OFRN) program awarded a total of $9.9 million to seven Ohio organizations and their collaborators to advance science and technology innovation to support U.S. national security initiatives. The Ohio Department of Higher Education (ODHE) funds the OFRN, which is focused on expanding Ohio’s research and development capabilities across the state’s academic institutions and businesses in support of Ohio-based federal partner needs, which promotes Ohio’s economic growth.
The recent OFRN Opportunity Announcement was formally released on January 6, 2021, and solicited for science and technology innovations in Ohio that align with the following areas of interest: unmanned aerial systems (UAS), artificial intelligence, human factors, data analytics, space commercialization, quantum communications, and advanced power systems.
Our government partners led a collaborative and iterative process to develop the areas of interest for this OFRN funding round. The areas of interest will enable and accelerate Ohio’s national leadership in both the defense and commercial sectors relating to aerospace, aviation, bioscience, human factors, artificial intelligence, advanced power systems, and communications. The OFRN also acquired input from industry, federal, and state stakeholders to develop the areas of interest that reflect defense mission priorities and commercial opportunities that will create jobs in Ohio.
The OFRN Round 5 awardees and their research and development projects are
- Flightprofiler, The Ohio State University, and Ohio University’s “Low Altitude Weather Network (LAWN)”
- The Ohio State University, Sinclair Community College, University of Dayton, SK Infrared LLC, and L3Harris Space & Sensors’ “Affordable LIDAR Technologies for Integration and Unmanned Deployment (ALTITUDE)”
- Asymmetric, Lockheed Martin Procerus, The Ohio State University, and Ohio University’s “Autonomous Capabilities for CASEVAC and Resupply in Urban Environments (ACCRUE)”
- AlphaMicron, Bowling Green State University, Kent State University, and Miami University’s “Electronically Dimmable Protective Eyewear”
- The Ohio State University, University of Dayton, and Gooch & Housego Ohio’s “Thin-film Crystals for High-speed Optical Modulation”
- Safran, Youngstown Business Incubator, The Ohio State University, and Youngstown State University’s “Advanced High Voltage Direct Current Generator System for Aerospace with Rapid Dynamic Response”
- Miami University, The Ohio State University, GE Aviation Systems, PC Krause & Associates’ “High Reliability, Low EMI, Wide Bandgap Power Conversion for Air & Space Applications”
“We pride ourselves on advancing Ohio’s impactful and cutting-edge research and development capabilities, and its innovators like those selected in this OFRN round who help us articulate that Ohio is an innovation hub where high paying, high-tech jobs and economic opportunities are available,” said Matt Bush, Parallax Advanced Research program manager for the Ohio Federal Research Network.
The OFRN Technical Review Council, chaired by Dr. John Sankovic, president and chief executive officer of the Ohio Aerospace Institute, played a critical role in narrowing down extremely competitive proposals and identifying projects for approval by the OFRN Executive Review Board.
Project awardee(s) are working with subject matter experts from NASA Glenn Research Center, Air Force Research Laboratory, National Air and Space Intelligence Center, Naval Medical Research Unit-Dayton, and The Ohio National Guard to support project development and will continue to do so throughout project development.
Awardees are encouraged to test and demonstrate their projects to verify performance and completion of the project and to showcase their technologies to stakeholders and potential customers.
The period of performance for OFRN’s Round 5 initiative is 18 months.
Also, the Round 5 funding created a Student Experience and Engagement (SEE) initiative to provide experiential learning for students enrolled in STEM related two-year or four-year programs at any Ohio college or university.
“Brain drain is a serious issue happening across the U.S., and it’s especially concerning in our great State of Ohio. Ohio’s higher education institutions offer some of the best STEM programs in the Nation and produce highly educated STEM professionals, which is why we want to try our best to keep them home in Ohio, to help advance Ohio’s workforce, economy, and grow our legacy as the Nation’s leader in aerospace innovation. We’re looking forward to seeing the growth the SEE students make during their time working on the Round 5 research projects,” said Dennis Andersh, president and chief executive officer of Parallax Advanced Research.
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About the Ohio Federal Research Network (OFRN)
The OFRN has the mission to stimulate Ohio’s innovation economy by building statewide university/industry research collaborations that meet the requirements of Ohio’s federal laboratories, resulting in the creation of technologies that drive job growth for the State of Ohio. The OFRN is managed by Parallax Advanced Research in collaboration with The Ohio State University and funded by the Ohio Department of Higher Education.
About Parallax Advanced Research
Parallax is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that tackles global challenges by accelerating innovation and developing technology and solutions through strategic partnerships with government, industry and academia across Ohio and the Nation. Together with academia, Parallax accelerates innovation that leads to new breakthroughs. Together with government, Parallax tackles critical global challenges and delivers new solutions. Together with industry, Parallax develops groundbreaking ideas and speeds them to market.