On April 18, 2023, the Ohio Federal Research Network (OFRN) hosted an exciting in-person event, Celebrate Ohio, at the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus, OH. The event was organized in collaboration with Parallax Advanced Research, The Ohio State University, and the Ohio Department of Higher Education. Celebrate Ohio celebrated the Ohio technologies and innovators who participated in the OFRN program by featuring project awardee exhibits and presentations from government, industry, and academic thought leaders. The event also brought together Ohio government, academic, and industry innovators and researchers, along with anyone interested in collaborating on innovation to solve government challenges.
The event showcased the amazing companies and technologies that the OFRN has helped fund in the State of Ohio. Attendees were able to connect with various OFRN project rounds and celebrate and learn about each other’s advancements in tech in Ohio. The event was an excellent opportunity for networking, featuring drinks and hors d’oeuvres, OFRN project awardee exhibits, and presentations from government, industry, and academic thought leaders.
The event emcee was Mark Bartman, Major General (Ret.) advisor to Parallax Advanced Research and supporting OFRN. He welcomed everyone and kept the program moving smoothly. Attendees heard from some distinguished speakers, including Mike Duffy, Senior Vice Chancellor, Ohio Department of Higher Education, Glenn Richardson, Managing Director of Advanced Manufacturing and Aerospace for JobsOhio, Todd Diacon, President of Kent State University, and Bahman Taheri, CEO/CTO of AlphaMicron, Inc.
“It was an absolute pleasure to host an evening where some of our OFRN project awardees could come together and showcase their amazing technologies. All of the funding that goes to these projects through the OFRN is funded from the State of Ohio, so we want to make sure that we’re being good stewards of the taxpayer’s money by allowing members of the public and their elected officials to see all the hard work these teams have put in to develop some amazing technologies to support high tech Ohio innovation.” - Major General (Ret.), Mark Bartman
Featured OFRN awarded projects were:
303 Brushless Doubly-Fed Machine - Project Team: The Ohio State University (Lead), University of Dayton Research Institute, Safran USA
309 UAS Detect and Avoid Sensor Fusion of Stealthy Radars and Vision - Project Team: GhostWave Technologies (Lead), The Ohio State University Center for Design and Manufacturing Excellence (CDME), Converge Technologies, Lockheed Martin Advance Technologies Lab
314 Regional Unmanned Traffic Management System (RUTMS) - Project Team: University of Cincinnati (Lead), Sinclair Community College, Demeter UAVs, SIMLAT
424 Interoperability, Resiliency, and Contingency Management for Ohio UAS Operations - Project Team: CAL Analytics (Lead), The Ohio State University, Kent State University, Kongsberg Geospatial, TruWeather Solutions, ResilienX
428 A Hybrid Fuel Cell Battery Capacitor Power Source for UAS - Project Team: Kent State University (Lead), University of Dayton, Wright State University, Case Western Reserve University, Event 38 Unmanned Systems.
528 Autonomous Capabilities for CASEVAC and Resupply in Urban Environments (ACCRUE) - Project Team: Asymmetric Technologies (Lead), The Ohio State University, Ohio University, Lockheed Martin Procerus
502 Low Altitude Weather Network (LAWN) - Project Team: Flightprofiler (Lead), Ohio University, The Ohio State University Center for Design and Manufacturing Excellence (CDME)
507 Affordable LIDAR Technologies for IntegraTion and Unmanned Deployment (ALTITUDE) - Project Team: The Ohio State University (Lead), University of Dayton, Sinclair Community College, SK Infrared, L3Harris
529 Electronically Dimmable Protective Eyewear - Project Team: AlphaMicron (Lead), Bowling Green State University, Kent State University, Miami University, Case Western Reserve University
542 Thin-film Crystals for High-speed Optical Modulation - Project Team: The Ohio State University (Lead), Gooch & Housego (G&H), University of Dayton
550 Advanced High Voltage DC Generator System for Aerospace with Rapid Dynamic Response - Project Team: Safran USA (Lead), The Ohio State University, Youngstown State University, Youngstown Business Incubator
552 High Reliability, Low EMI, Wide Bandgap (WBG) Power Conversion for Air & Space - Project Team: Miami University (Lead), Air Force Research Labs, GE Aerospace Power, PC Krause and Associates, The Ohio State University
Mike Duffy, who was appointed as Senior Vice Chancellor of the Ohio Department of Higher Education in January 2019, spoke about Ohio’s efforts to encourage innovation in higher education. Glenn Richardson shared his experience of leading the state’s economic development network to help existing Ohio manufacturing and aerospace companies grow, and to attract new companies to the state. Todd Diacon talked about the significant progress that Kent State University has made in educating first-generation students and its freshman year transition programming. Finally, Bahman Taheri, an expert in chemical physics and CEO/CTO of AlphaMicron, Inc., talked about his company's scientific advancements and the patents they have developed.
Dean Zody, CEO of Ghostwave Inc. and OFRN SOARING Round 3 and 4 participant, attended the event and shared his thoughts. He said, “The OFRN Celebrate Ohio event was a great venue for seeing old connections and making new acquaintances. The pacing of the event allowed for a great networking time while hearing about what’s new with OFRN.”
We would like to thank all the project teams, speakers, Ohio legislators, and attendees for joining us at Celebrate Ohio and highlighting the fantastic technology that has been created and funded right here in Ohio. We encourage everyone to join us at upcoming OFRN events and stay tuned for more information by subscribing to our newsletter here.
The Ohio Federal Research Network (OFRN) is a program aimed at advancing research initiatives to meet national security requirements, while enhancing collaborations between universities and Ohio-based industries. It has competitively allocated over $51.4 million across 5 rounds, resulting in 35 research projects led by industry-academic teams throughout Ohio, and has created and retained jobs while having a significant impact on Ohio's economy. OFRN's R&D projects resulted in 13 Ohio companies and collectively have been awarded $355.7 million in funding. The program has created 349 jobs through R&D investments, and indirectly created over 1,000 more jobs.
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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 breakthroughs. Together with the government, Parallax tackles critical global challenges and delivers new solutions. Together with the industry, Parallax develops groundbreaking ideas and speeds them to market.
About the 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. OFRN is managed by Parallax Advanced Research in collaboration with The Ohio State University and is funded by the Ohio Department of Higher Education.
