When Intel Corp. brings an entirely new industry to the state, Ohio State University intends to play a central role building the ecosystem of research, business and public policy that grows around it.
Already in the top five nationally for the portion of research funded by business, OSU stands ready to compete for the $100 million Intel pledged for workforce development and research as part of the largest-ever private investment in the state, President Kristina Johnson said.
"What drove the growth of R&D in Silicon Valley, it had a lot to do with the (nearby) universities doing cutting-edge research," said Johnson, who was a Stanford University undergraduate and graduate student as the microprocessor industry blossomed there.
The Santa Clara, California-based company plans to build two chip fabrication facilities on nearly 1,000 acres to be annexed to New Albany, in a campus that could grow to eight fabs.
"There will be a stack-on effect," Johnson said in a teleconference interview to announce OSU's record-breaking $1.2 billion in research expenditures for the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2021. That 28% increase over the prior year could vault the institution into the top 10 nationally from its usual rank in the low 20s.
In the 1960s, Ohio State built an off-road proving ground for automotive research in Liberty Township. Honda Motor Co. came to Marysville in 1979, setting off a profound impact on the Central Ohio economy and kicking off one of OSU's most significant research partnerships.
Honda has funded some $28 million in research, according to the school's website, plus scholarships and other programs. In 1988, the automaker bought the Transportation Research Center in Liberty Township, with OSU still managing it. Then Honda R&D opened a safety center next door in Raymond that's now its largest research facility outside Japan.
As an affiliate, TRC makes up a big chunk of the overall university's research enterprise.
Likewise, Intel will attract suppliers, suppliers to those suppliers, and ancillary industry – all needing R&D as Ohio builds the capacity for advanced manufacturing.
Besides winning two federal grants last year to anchor multi-year research initiatives for artificial intelligence and the internet of things, OSU has the 12th-ranked program in materials engineering.
But all the colleges and schools can participate, Johnson said: business, health sciences, environmental sciences, and so on.
For example, the Glenn College of Public Affairs can examine the history of policy decisions in the San Francisco Bay Area that affected land use, public health, housing, transportation – and whether those decisions helped the community or not.
"That’s where we have an opportunity to really engage higher education throughout the whole state," Johnson said.
