Vol. 38, No. 18

1-3-2007
By:

News briefs 1/4/07

Scitech board names Foegler president

Terry Foegler has been named president and CEO of the Science and Technology Campus Corporation (Scitech), a non-profit affiliate of Ohio State established in 1996 to develop the university’s research park along Kinnear Road. President Karen Holbrook, chair of the Scitech Board of Trustees, said Foegler’s extensive experience in planning, economic development and public-private partnerships will be critical as plans are implemented for Scitech’s continued growth and development on the university’s West Campus. Foegler will continue to serve as president of Campus Partners, a position he has held since 1996.

French Cultural Ministry honors Geldin

Sherri Geldin, director of the Wexner Center for the Arts, has been named Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French Cultural Ministry in Paris. L’Ordre was created by the French government in 1957 to recognize individuals who have demonstrated a commitment to furthering the arts in France and throughout the world, and the highest level of recognition in the Order is the Chevalier.

Under Geldin’s leadership, the Wexner Center has supported many French artists and overseen the presentation of a wide array of contemporary art from France in the galleries, on stage and on screen.

Geldin was recently named chair of the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts in New York and was recognized in the December Vanity Fair “Arts Issue” as one of 20 leading international art museum directors under the “Space Explorers” category.

$8M state grant funds nano research

Ohio State, in partnership with the University of Dayton, will receive $8 million in state funding to help develop durable and fire-resistant nanocomposite materials and processes. The state announced the grants Dec. 15 as part of Ohio’s Third Frontier Engineering and Physical Science Research and Commercialization Program for the development of next-generation nanomaterials and nanocomposites.

The project is an extension of the Center for Multifunctional Polymer Nanomaterials and Devices, a 2005 Wright Center of Innovation located at Ohio State. L. James Lee, director of CMPND and professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering, is the primary investigator for the research project. The newly developed processes will result in materials that can be applied to jet engines, truck panels and other uses.

The project is expected to further advance innovations and apply them to new and expanded commercial ventures for Ohio companies. Collaborators include GE Aviation, NanoSperse, National Composite Center, Owens-Corning, WebCore Technologies and others.

Championship game to air at Schott

People who can’t make it to Arizona to watch Ohio State play in the BCS National Championship football game against Florida can watch it on the big screen Jan. 8 at Value City Arena at the Jerome Schottenstein Center.

The arena will be open to students, staff and faculty and one guest per BuckID holder starting at 6:30 p.m.

Tickets are free for the event with a BuckID and will be available on Jan. 2 at the Ohio Union information center, the RPAC information desk, the ARC front desk, the Morrill Tower front desk, University Housing offices at 1618 Highland St. and Neilwood Gables and the Schottenstein Center ticket office.

Prizes and free food will be available. The first 3,500 will receive a coupon for a free hotdog or brat and a Coke. Games and contests will also be held on the concourse. The event is sponsored by Block O, Ohio Union Activities Board, Sportsmanship Council and Undergraduate Student Government.

OSU’s Sea Grant Extension hires new director

Melinda Huntley, former president of the Ohio Travel Association and an Ohio State graduate, is the new tourism extension program director for the Ohio Sea Grant College Program. Ohio Sea Grant, funded by Ohio State and NOAA’s National Sea Grant Program, is one of 30 such programs across the United States that are dedicated to the protection and sustainable use of marine and Great Lakes resources. Huntley has more than 20 years of experience and will work to increase the economic impact of tourism within the Lake Erie region while also promoting and preserving those places, such as its natural areas, historical sites, and cultural offerings. For more information, visit ohioseagrant.osu.edu/mhuntley.

Ohio State Marion hopes to increase college population

Ohio State Marion’s I CAN Center of Excellence was awarded a $250,000 grant by the Ohio College Access Network to increase the number of eligible students from Crawford, Delaware, Hardin, Marion, Morrow, Union and Wyandot counties who choose to attend college. The grant is good for one year with a commitment for similar second-year funds.

The I CAN Go to College program raised $80,000 in local matching funds and nearly all the matching funds for next year. Those funds will go toward developing new programs that will address missing components and populations in the region, a central walk-in office and a mobile center of access that will travel throughout the seven-county region to provide the access services within the local communities on a rotating basis.

OARDC joins group seeking first bio-renewable car

The vision of an “agri-car” with components derived from bio-renewable resources that would run on environmentally friendly non-fossil fuels has begun to take shape in northeast Ohio. Ohio State’s Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center and the University of Akron’s Goodyear Polymer Center have joined in conversations to explore a potential research partnership. Ohio State’s Center for Automotive Research, Tsinghua University in Beijing, and China’s Geely Automotive Group also have expressed interest in the concept.

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