Third Frontier Looks Ahead

Just as important to Ohio's business climate are the so-called new economy industries that will play an increasingly prominent role in generating economic prosperity. Central to Ohio being a home to such industries in the $1.1-billion Third Frontier Project. The project's four-part mandate is to create jobs statewide, expand research, start high-tech companies and keep Ohio's students in the state with a strong supply of high-paying jobs.
        Third Frontier funds are allocated to investing in world-class research facilities known as Wright Centers of Innovation ($500 million), investing in early stage capital formation ($500 million) and distributing low-interest loans to help finance high-paying, high-growth job opportunities and support advanced manufacturing to help existing industries become more productive ($100 million).
        In September 2003, NexTech Materials opened a fuel-cell research and manufacturing facility in Lewis Center that created 20 jobs and retained 14; NexTech received $250,000 from the Third Frontier fund to support R&D efforts in solid oxide fuels. The company had collaborated with the Edison Materials Technology Center, which received more than $840,000 in grant money to improve the competitiveness of Ohio's fuel-cell industry companies.
        Third Frontier funds are behind numerous economic development initiatives throughout Ohio, many of which are benefiting the state's biomedical services industry. In the Cincinnati area, the Genome Research Institute (GRI) at the Univ. of Cincinnati is creating partnerships with such Ohio-based companies as Procter and Gamble Pharmaceuticals, Acero and Girindus America as well as the Air Force Research Laboratory at Wright Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton to research diseases and develop treatments. GRI will eventually employ nearly 400 researchers.
        The Cleveland Clinic Center for Neurological Restoration established the Neuromodulation Center with Third Frontier funds where therapies for Parkinson's and other diseases are being developed. And the Center for Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine in northeast Ohio is developing therapies for patients with cancer and other diseases as well as bone injuries. Elsewhere in northeast Ohio, Third Frontier funds are helping AlphaMicron of Kent commercialize its liquid crystal eyewear technology; Theken Disc of Akron is using funds to develop its polymer spinal implant technology.
        In Columbus, Ohio State University is creating a new generation of MRI scanner that may help patients avoid invasive biopsies and help doctors better understand how cancer responds to treatment. Similarly, the University of Dayton is enhancing its thermal imaging cameras by 20 to 30 percent, which will improve a wide range of medical and other applications.