Industry & Research

Where Innovation Materializes

Imagine the possibilities when our immensely talented faculty and students have access to a world-class facility—the discoveries they will make, the problems they will solve.

Research neighborhoods enhance collaboration

The Biomedical and Materials Engineering Complex will inspire research that translates to advances in medicine, materials, education and more. Commercialization of these innovations will impact generations to come.

Maximizing Research Impact through Purposeful Synergies and Collaborations

The College of Engineering’s research expenditures are already among the highest at the university, ranking third in the nation among all university engineering programs. BMEC will help to continue this upward trajectory, presenting more opportunities for researchers to partner with interdisciplinary co-investigators, leading to more federal research awards and industry research investments, which increasingly reward collaboration across disciplines to solve complicated problems.

Strengthening Undergraduate Research

BMEC undegrad labs

Undergraduate participation in research will also increase through the scaffolded learning model that moves students up from introductory courses on the first and second floors of the building to research experiences on the upper floors.

The catalytic force of industry partners working shoulder to-shoulder with students and faculty in this facility are immeasurable. Our students will learn invaluable real-world expertise and perspectives, and we will provide a direct talent pipeline to industry in a new way. The integration of “live” industry-sponsored work—even at the undergraduate level—will foster continuous innovation in how Ohio State educates tomorrow’s engineers. Moreover, immersive collaboration with industry will ignite our students’ creative problem-solving capacities, give them tangible experiences and set them apart as new graduates. By expanding our ability to educate work-ready engineers, we will grow Ohio’s innovation workforce and reclaim the state’s distinguished history in discovery. From innovations that enable lighter, stronger and more efficient vehicles to engineering tissue and other biomaterials to advance medicine, some of the world’s most critical problems will be solved here.

With collaboration in its very DNA, BMEC will strengthen partnerships within the university and with industry and government. Partners may use the facility for off-site meetings, to demonstrate new technologies to students and faculty, and to learn about intellectual property and commercialization opportunities at Ohio State. Companies will have opportunities to get to know and recruit our talented students who will have learned to take risks and make mistakes in our laboratories.

Perena Gouma, Edward Orton, Jr., Chair in Ceramic Engineering (headshot)

“It is exciting to have a new facility and to host companies here and bring people in to see. It helps attract students and recruit and retain faculty. The labs are more interactive and open, which enables dialogue with different groups and exposes us to others’ research.”

Perena Gouma, Edward Orton, Jr., Chair in Ceramic Engineering

BMEC News

Celebrating the future "Gateway to Engineering"
Biomedical engineers aim to improve treatment of military and civilian eye injuries
Fontana Laboratories: a milestone in discovery and innovation
Renovation for collaboration
Former Dean David B. Williams and Margie Williams honored with named space
BMEC Phase Two gets green light