Recordpub.com - $14.5 million given to KSU for research Will work with eight area entities

Kent State University will lead a partnership of eight Northeastern Ohio entities in a $14.5 million Ohio Research Scholars Program project to establish a Research Cluster on Surfaces in Advanced Materials.
Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher, chairman of the Ohio Third Frontier Commission, and Ohio Board of Regents Chancellor Eric Fingerhut, announced the award Tuesday afternoon as a reaffirmation of Ohio's commitment to attracting world-class talent and better aligning Ohio's research investments with economic development.
The funding for the KSU partnership was selected through a competitive proposal process on the basis of how effectively it related to Ohio's targeted technology/research focus areas of advanced materials; biosciences; instruments, controls, and electronics; information technology; and power and propulsion.
The research venture will combine the scientific excellence in fundamental and applied research at KSU and Case Western Reserve University with innovative approaches to environmental technologies at the Cleveland Botanical Garden and highly successful commercialization of new technologies at AlphaMicron Inc., CoAdna Photonics Inc., Kent Displays Inc., Kent Optronics Inc., and LXD Inc. The significant state investment is being made to ensure that Ohio retains its top international ranking for liquid crystal technology, research, technology transfer and commercialization.
The effort will be organized by the Liquid Crystal Institute at KSU and the materials research community at Case.
KSU will receive two endowed research scholar positions and Case will get one.
The public-private partnership will focus on soft materials. During the past 60 years, researchers have learned much about hard matters, such as metals. During the very same time, new materials, often called "soft matter," such as liquid crystals, surfactants and polymers, emerged and revolutionized numerous aspects of daily life from information and computer displays to manufacturing practices. Despite the abundance of soft materials in nature and human-controlled technologies, more research is needed to understand their properties and potentials.
Since the project's participants are the world's leaders in liquid crystal research, technology and development, with some of the most recognized scientists in the field, the venture will be built upon a solid and established foundation. The new research focus will be of importance to the local economy as it will accelerate the development of new products at Ohio-based companies.
The Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine and Pharmacy in Rootstown, in partnership with The University of Akron, will receive $8.6 million to establish the Orthopaedic Research Cluster of Northeast Ohio, which will combine the work of musculoskeletal biology, polymer/material science and clinical orthopaedics.
Three areas of research are identified as the primary focus: Soft function materials for structured biosurfaces, drug delivery devices for orthopaedic applications and diagnostic markers for bone and cartilage tumors. U of A and NEOUCOM each will receive one endowed research scholars position.
The Ohio Research Scholars Program provides grants to strengthen and increase the number of clusters of research excellence that are led by Ohio's academic institutions that support regional economic priorities.
The Ohio Research Scholars Program aims to achieve this through aggressive investment in the attraction of senior research talent and related facilities and equipment, and promotion of unique collaborations needed to build and sustain scientifically and commercially promising lines of research.