Ohio State received more than $11 million in research grant funding this morning.
Governor Bob Taft presented two checks to leaders from the College of Medicine and Public Health and the College of Engineering. The funding is designed to support state-of-the-art research projects and create a new center for biomedical research.
Taft said the research will help make Ohio a long-term competitor in the “battleground” of the global economy.
“These projects have the potential to touch the lives of every Ohioan,” he said.
The funding is part of the Ohio Third Frontier Project, an initiative designed to create high-paying jobs in fields of technology and biomedical research, according to the project’s Web site.
One check totalling about $9.1 million marks Ohio State as the first Wright Center for Innovation. The grant will allow for the development of a new MRI scanner, which will allow doctors to observe patient response to medications and adjust treatments on an individual level.
The project entails collaboration by Ohio State, Case Western Reserve University and Philips Medical Systems.
The remaining $2 million will go toward development of a polymer foam that will reduce ozone-depleting chemical in manufacturing industries. Collaborators for that project include Ohio State, the University of Akron, Owens Corning and Procter and Gamble.
OSU President Karen A. Holbrook said the funding will further the work of Ohio State researchers and generate interest from other leading facilities.
“Anytime you have a state-of-the-art facility, everybody wants to learn how to use the technology” Holbrook said.
