The OFRN's research projects create jobs and commercialize technology in and for Ohio 

The Ohio Federal Research Network (OFRN) projects are aligned with federal requirements; have a clear path to job creation; capitalize on Ohio’s investment involving multiple Ohio research universities and firms that provide cost-share to leverage the Ohio investment further; and attract other Department of Defense and industry funding in Ohio.

Each OFRN research project goes through a competitive request for proposal (RFP) process where it is thoroughly vetted by the OFRN Technical Advisory Counsel and Federal partners from NASA Glenn Research Center (NASA GRC), Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), National Air and Space Intelligence Center (NASIC), the Naval Aerospace Medical Unit – Dayton (NAMRU-D), and the Ohio National Guard; and are approved by the OFRN Executive Advisory Board before submitted for final approval by the Ohio Department of Higher Education.   

OFRN is not an investment fund. The bulk of OFRN financial resources are entrusted by The Ohio Legislature and are earmarked for various projects identified by OFRN partners and collaborators.

The OFRN Research Projects Infographic

This infographic illustrates each of the OFRN-funded research projects to date and where they align in application. You can download this interactive PDF by submitting your email below:

Download the OFRN infographic here.

OFRN infographic

Projects

Mined XAI – REACT-X: Resilient Explainable AI for Casualty Triage with Logistics Awareness Using Deep Topological Modeling

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Area of Interest (AOI): 2. Health and Human Performance 

Innovation: REACT-X introduces a predictive eXplainable Artificial Intelligence (XAI) platform that can change the future of battlefield medical triage, en route care, and medical logistics. By integrating multimodal datasets (physiologic signals, injury data, supply utilization records and other metadata), REACT-X provides a framework for identifying critical features to enable medics in resource-constrained, contested environments to triage casualty patients. The innovation...

The Ohio State University – Gas-insulated Cable with Integrated Partial Discharge Detection for Aerospace Systems

The Ohio State University logo
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Area of Interest (AOI): 3. Aerospace Power Management, Materials, and Distribution 

Innovation: This project introduces a compressed-gas-insulated high-voltage cable system with integrated partial discharge (PD) smart detection capabilities. It leverages hybrid passive-active sensing circuits and a physics-informed neural network (PINN) for real-time PD detection and localization. The use of CO₂ as the primary insulation medium, combined with sensor-embedded smart connectors, represents a novel approach to improving reliability, safety, and altitude...

AsterTech LLC – HERCULES: Hypersonic Engineered Reusable Ceramic Ultra-Lightweight Enduring System

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Area of Interest (AOI): 1. Hypersonics 

Innovation: The HERCULES Project (Hypersonic Engineered Reusable Ceramic Ultra-Lightweight Enduring System) is redefining the future of reusable hypersonic flight. By combining breakthrough materials science with cutting-edge engineering, HERCULES enables next-generation ultra-hightemperature coatings capable of withstanding extreme aerothermal environments exceeding 3,000°C. This innovation unlocks new frontiers for defense, aerospace, and energy systems, powering the development of faster, lighter, and more enduring vehicles capable of...

Kairos Research LLC – Validated Indicators for Selective Trust in Autonomy

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Area of Interest (AOI): 6. Autonomy 

Innovation: VISTA’s operator-defined trust metrics leverage research on expert decision models to optimally fuse inputs from human experts to create dynamic, interpretable measures of machine trustworthiness. Bi-directional trust is achieved by integrating real-time assessments of the human operator’s cognitive state, utilizing and expanding on algorithms developed under Kairos’s OFRN Round 6 OPTICS project. Additionally, we will leverage our access to Sinclair’s specially configured Beta...

Laser Fusion Solutions LLC – Joining of ODS Additive Materials

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Area of Interest (AOI): 7. Advanced Materials Technology – Critical Materials Supply for Aerospace

Innovation: This proposal combines the leading experts on one specific ODS material of interest (GRX-810) and the leading experts in advanced welding technologies. The team will advance the technology readiness level of the material by utilizing advanced sensing capabilities combined with the LPBF and advanced welding equipment. This will allow the team to track the cooling...

The Ohio State University – Photonic Interfaces for Atom-based Quantum Processors

The Ohio State University logo
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Area of Interest (AOI): 5. Quantum Technologies 

Innovation: A primary challenge in realizing quantum networks is the manufacturing and commercialization of efficient light-matter interfaces for atomic qubits. This proposal addresses this challenge by developing efficient fiber gap Fabry-Perot cavities (FFPCs) that robustly couple single photons from atomic qubits directly into optical fibers. This direct fiber interface enables immediate compatibility with standard telecommunication technology for the development of scalable quantum...

The Ohio State University – Space GUIDE: Spaceborne Gain-enabled Ultra-sensitive Infrared Detector with Event-based sensing​

The Ohio State University logo
Project period
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Area of Interest (AOI): 4. Commercial Space in Low Earth Orbit

Innovation: The specific challenge that our team will address in the proposed project is to develop and integrate a state-of-the-art event-based sensor (EBS) that combines readout integrated circuit (ROIC) technology developed by SenseICs with high performance infrared (IR) detectors developed by Ohio State and SK Infrared. These will be tested for space domain awareness applications by AFIT, who will...