YSU prof's initiative to secure R & amp;D grants is crucial, timely

We aren't sure about the $333 million figure that Dr. Allen D. Hunter, a Youngstown State University professor, mentioned recently as an annual target for research and development grants from the federal and state governments. But Hunter is absolutely right when he says such grants can transform the Mahoning Valley. One need only look at Akron, Cleveland or Columbus to understand what R & amp;D investment does to local economies.
As we have pointed out in this space before, the region lost out when former Gov. Richard Celeste created the Edison program and, with state dollars, located research and development facilities in various cities. Akron, for example, has become a global leader in polymer research because of the Edison program.
Thus, when Hunter, chemistry professor at YSU, talks about areas of the country that are growing with new products funded by tax write-offs or government grants, he is conveying a message that all business, political and community leaders in this region should heed: We're losing out.
Track record
Because of the absence of a concerted effort to secure federal and state grants, many Valley companies are paying for their own R & amp;D, which takes money away from other aspects of the business. The Canadian-born Hunter, who is about to become a U.S. citizen, has a track record of grant writing in the Chemistry Department, which is why his vision is deserving of attention.
Our uncertainty about the $333 million he says should be coming into the region -- the amount is based on the Valley's population -- stems from the fact that it is so large. It also seems like pie-in-the-sky. In addition, the professor notes that the region is attracting about $100,000 a year in grants for business research and development. With such a huge difference between the reality and the goal, our skepticism is heightened. But we certainly would not mind being proved wrong.
That said, we are optimistic that Hunter's initiative will bear fruit. That's because he is building a coalition of business leaders to go after the R & amp;D dollars from Washington and Columbus. There were 25 executives who attended a recent presentation by him, and initial reactions from some of them give encouragement.
Indeed, the coalition intends to meet a June 21 application deadline for two grants totaling $36 million from the Third Frontier Project that Gov. Bob Taft launched in February 2002. Last November, Ohio voters authorized state government to issue up to $2 billion in bonds to finance road and highway construction, provide seed money for high-tech businesses and assist local governments in developing sites for industry and business.
This newspaper strongly supported Taft's Third Frontier Program and has argued that the commission overseeing the distribution of funds must assist the region in making the economic transformation from manufacturing to high-tech by giving preference to Mahoning Valley projects .