According to NSF, the atmosphere for industrial research is beginning to recover after declining every year since 2001. Between 2001 and 2004, industry-supported university R&D decreased by about $100 million, to $2.1 billion, only to rebound 7.7 percent in 2005, the NSF reports.

There are several reasons for this uncertainty. An alarming number of highly prominent and visible industrial leaders are citing that negotiations over sponsored project agreements and disagreements over the treatment of intellectual property (IP) are negatively affecting the entire industry-university research partnership in the United States. Some companies claim that these issues are forcing them to sponsor research projects at foreign institutions. In addition, the type of research that companies support has been changing. During the last 10 years, companies have been directing more university research dollars toward university research in biotechnology, nanotechnology, information technologies and, recently, alternative energy. Less support is being spent on research in the physical sciences (except biological sciences), manufacturing, design and infrastructure.

While the overall uncertainty may be problematic to some, the data does show that industrial support has become more concentrated in fewer institutions. Between 1993 and 2004, the total number of institutions receiving more than 10 percent of their funds from industry has declined from 179 to 101.
During this same period of uncertainty, Ohio State’s College of Engineering has held its own, increasing its industrial R&D funding by 3 percent from 2001 to 2004 and by more than 20 percent from 2001 to 2006. There are three main reasons for this increase:

1. The College of Engineering has developed a number of strong relationships with national and multinational corporations.
2. The college has aggressively established active industrial consortia.
3. The college has been able to capitalize on the rich industrial and manufacturing heritage of Ohio and the surrounding states. In fact, Ohio State is ranked third among all universities and colleges in industry-financed research expenditures for fiscal year 2005. A large portion of that research is conducted in the College of Engineering.

In order to maintain our national dominance in industrial research, the College of Engineering will work with the university and our industrial partners to develop innovative IP strategies, graduate student and faculty corporate internships, and long-term collaborative corporate research partnerships.

Earlier this year, the National Academy of Engineering identified “Grand Challenges for Engineering in the 21st Century,” which if solved would be critical to sustaining our way of life.

Of the 14 challenges, 10 depend on significant breakthroughs in materials research:

• make solar energy economical
• provide energy from fusion
• develop carbon sequestration methods
• provide access to clean water
• restore and improve urban infrastructures
• manage the nitrogen cycle
• prevent nuclear terror
• enhance virtual reality
• engineer better medicines
• advance health informatics

Given Ohio State’s expertise in materials science and engineering, we play a major role in solving many of these challenges. Our success in materials research funding is highlighted by federal research centers including the NSF Center for Affordable Nanoengineering of Polymeric Biomedical Devices, as well as three Industry/University Cooperative Research Centers: the Smart Vehicle Concepts Center, Center for Advanced Polymer and Composite Engineering, and Center for Precision Forming.

These entities are strengthened by major industry- and state-supported centers, such as the Wright Center for Multifunctional Polymer Nanomaterials and Devices, the Fontana Corrosion Center, and the Center for the Accelerated Maturation of Materials. Ohio State is a founding member of the Wright Center for Photovoltaics Innovation and Commercialization, which alone represents $18.6 million in direct funding and more than $23 million in cost-share from its member universities and 16 initial participating companies.

Ohio State’s Institute for Materials Research supports, leverages and coordinates these centers. These organizations and the efforts of individual faculty members contribute significantly to the university‘s current ranking of third in materials research funding, which enables us to make significant progress in a number of the Grand Challenges.