Technology / Research >> Technology

Third Frontier Project and Related Programs

• Wright Centers of Innovation - grants to support large-scale world-class research and technology development platforms designed to accelerate the pace of Ohio commercialization. Wright Centers are to be collaborations among Ohio higher education institutions, non-profit research organizations, and Ohio companies in the areas of advanced materials, bioscience, power and propulsion, information technology and instruments, controls and electronics.

• Wright Projects - grants to support specifically defined near term commercialization projects requiring major capital acquisitions and improvements at Ohio higher education institutions and non-profit research organizations. Projects must involve one or more Ohio companies and be in the areas of advanced materials, power and propulsion, information technology and instruments, controls and electronics. In this round, projects will also be considered that increase the capacity to use the Third Frontier Network and the Ohio Supercomputer Center to support commercialization activities with Ohio companies.

• Biomedical Research and Technology Transfer Partnership Program - grants to support biomedical and biotechnology research leading to Ohio commercialization and long-term improvements to the health of Ohioans. Projects are to be collaborations among Ohio higher education institutions, non-profit research organizations, and Ohio companies in the areas of human genetics and genomics, structural biology, biomedical engineering, computational biology, plant biology and environmental biology.

• Third Frontier Fuel Cell Program - grants to support the growth of Ohio’s fuel cell industry through collaborations that involve Ohio higher education institutions, non-profit research organizations, and Ohio companies. Projects must focus on research and development that addresses technical and cost barriers to commercialization and adapting fuel cell components produced in Ohio for use in fuel cell systems.

• Validation Fund and Seed Fund Initiative - grants to Validation Funds and Seed Funds to increase the availability of professionally managed capital and associated services to accelerate the growth of early stage Ohio technology companies.

• Product Development Pilot Program - grants to support delivery of product development assistance, including design, engineering, financing, marketing and management, to small and medium-sized Ohio manufactures. Projects must be led by Ohio higher education institutions or non-profits but may involve for-profit collaborators, and are to focus on product development in the areas of advanced materials and instruments, controls, and electronics. This is a pilot program to support a limited number of projects that can demonstrate the feasibility of providing the services described above in an effective and cost-efficient manner.

• The Innovation Ohio Loan Fund (IOF) - was created to assist existing Ohio companies develop next generation products and services within certain Targeted Industry Sectors by financing the acquisition, construction, and related costs of technology, facilities, and equipment. Ohio’s manufacturing sector will be a key target of this program. The IOF provides competitive financing terms on loans to finance projects that will positively impact Ohio by creating high-value jobs, increased tax revenues, and improve the economic welfare of the State. The IOF will address an identified need in the capital-funding continuum. The IOF is intended to supply capital to Ohio enterprises having difficulty securing funds from conventional sources due to technical and commercial risk factors associated with the development of the new product or service. The IOF can finance up to 75 percent of a project’s allowable costs to a maximum of $5 million and a minimum of $250,000.

• Third Frontier Internship Program - grants to partner organizations such as economic development agencies, chambers of commerce, and One-Stop Centers to develop college internships and educator awareness externships with companies operating in the knowledge economy. Businesses, students and educators working or studying in the areas of advanced manufacturing, advanced materials, power and propulsion, instruments controls and electronics, bioscience and information technology may benefit from this program. The state will provide up to $3,000 per year, for no more than two years, for student internship opportunities and $2,000 total for educator awareness opportunities.

• The Ohio Research Commercialization Grant Program (ORCGP) - grants to improve the commercial viability of Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR), Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) and Advanced Technology Program (ATP) research and development projects. The intent is to improve the ability of small technology companies to assess and realize the commercial potential of research projects and to promote the competitiveness of these companies through the augmentation of federal research and development funding.

• The Third Frontier Network - an initiative of the Ohio Board of Regents operated by OARnet, the networking division of the Ohio Supercomputer Center (OSC). The Ohio SchoolNet Commission and Ohio Department of Education are also TFN founding members. The Third Frontier Network has over 1,600 miles of dedicated high-speed fiber-optic network for linking Ohio's colleges and universities, elementary, middle and high schools, and state and local governments. Medical research centers and hospitals such as The Ohio State University Medical Center, children's hospitals in Columbus and Cincinnati, and the Medical College of Ohio in Toledo will also use the new network, as will federal research centers such as NASA-Glenn in Cleveland, and Wright Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton. Additional information about TFN can be found at   www.tfn.oar.net.

- Source from www.thirdfrontier.com