Op-Ed: Third Frontier Project Can Help Grow Ohio's Economy

By Mickey McCabe, vice president of research and executive director of the University of Dayton Research Institute

(Op-Ed pieces are the opinion of the author and do not reflect an official University of Dayton position.)

People frequently ask me what I think about Ohio’s Third Frontier Initiative. My answer is very loud and very clear: It is one of the best initiatives I have ever seen in Ohio.

Why?  It is the first program that focuses our investment in research and development in a way that will result in not only new businesses being created in the state but also in the expansion of Ohio’s existing businesses through new product development and manufacturing process innovations.

When Ohio lawmakers created this initiative, they thought long and hard about how to ensure that the investment stays in Ohio. They analyzed the business environment and concluded five technology areas were important to the “anchor” companies in the state. They reasoned that if we would invest in these five areas, we could expand those companies and reap economic benefits for Ohio. They were right.

The five technology areas are biotechnology; advanced materials  and manufacturing; power and propulsion; information technology; and instruments, controls and electronics. Research and commercialization of technologies in these areas will benefit Ohio’s agriculture, food, medicine, health care, automotive, aerospace, chemical, polymer, banking, information technology, tooling, energy and many other industries.

In the past, R&D investment in Ohio showed some good results, but more often than not, the companies that were created ended up leaving Ohio because their customer base was somewhere else. By focusing on R&D that is important to existing Ohio companies, the results will stay in Ohio and new businesses that develop from the R&D investment will find that their primary customer base is already here. Ohio companies will use the new technologies to expand product lines and increase their businesses.

Under the Third Frontier Initiative, grant winners are required to outline a plan for how the investment will translate into economic benefits for the state. The Third Frontier Initiative is not an R&D sandbox. Universities that can produce great technologies without showing a plan for commercializing the research and creating new jobs are not invited to play.

The University of Dayton has received several million dollars in support from the Third Frontier program over the last two years, and one outcome has been the creation of a new high-tech nanotechnology called NanoSperse in Akron. NanoSperse chose to stay in Ohio because it sees a significant customer base in Ohio.

Let me underscore that result. The R&D that UD performed resulted in the creation of new technology that, in turn, resulted in the creation of a new company. Because the products of the new company are important to existing Ohio businesses, that company has chosen to stay and grow in Ohio. This is exactly the way we want our state's R&D investment to work.

Thanks to a Third Frontier Wright Center of Innovation Grant, the University of Dayton is currently partnering with The Ohio State University and the University of Akron to create the Center for Multifunctional Polymer Nanomaterials and Devices. The research conducted in this center will lead to lighter, stronger materials for cars and airplanes, devices that can make colors change by applying different levels of electrical energy and ways to speed the repair of human tissue. More than 50 large and small companies - including GE Aircraft Engines, Goodrich, Owens Corning and Honda – as well as other Ohio universities and research organizations have signed on to provide more than $80 million in cash and in-kind support for the program. This partnership never would have happened without seed funding from the Third Frontier program. 

The Third Frontier Project, part of the job creation bond initiative, is scheduled for a House floor vote on Tuesday. Approval of the jobs bond initiative will increase the ability of research universities in this state to work closely together in the development and commercialization of new technologies.

This should not be a partisan issue. This is an issue that extends well beyond politics. This is about Ohio's ability to compete in the marketplace, sustain and grow our economy and expand job opportunities within our state. This is about discovering how to use agricultural products as alternative fuel sources, how to use new information technology to control warehousing and inventory, how to create energy that is not dependent on petroleum and how to operate more efficient manufacturing plants.

I strongly believe this is our future, and we can shape it. Do not let Georgia or Michigan or Pennsylvania take this opportunity away from us. The Third Frontier program is all about growing Ohio's economy.

July 28, 2005

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