Zethus to team up with YSU for joint project

YOUNGSTOWN — Zethus Software, a Youngstown Business Incubator portfolio company, and Youngstown State University are set to kick off a joint project to connect universities in a virtual-information network.

“We applied our technology to allow universities to share the use of expensive lab equipment and then secure, manage and store the data they have created,” said Brad Myers, Zethus chief executive officer.

Zethus recently announced the pre-commercialization phase of CyberLabNet 1.0, a collaboration between the company and YSU’s STaRBuRSTT Cyber- Instrumentation Lab.

“They [YSU] came to us to connect everybody together to allow shared usage by placing data in a virtualized cloud that can be accessed with our technology,” Myers said.

The software enables a virtual community of clients to remotely sign in and use equipment that they might not be able to afford themselves, said Eric Parker, Zethus chief technology officer and founder.

“This project is an excellent example of the Mahoning Valley’s ability to form beneficial academic/industry collaborations with support of government organizations,” said Myers in a prepared statement.

“Most importantly, CyberLabNet is bringing job growth and real-world high-tech educational opportunities to the area,” he said.

“By the end of the summer, we will have completed a successful testing, in collaboration with the chemistry and computer science and information systems departments of YSU’s STEM College,” Parker said. STEM stands for science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

“A team of chemistry and computer science undergraduate and graduate students participated in the testing of the system under the guidance of Zethus Software development staff and university professors, providing valuable real-world learning opportunities and training for students while training high-tech area employees,” Parker added.

“The project is on budget and on schedule and provides cutting-edge technology not only to YSU, but also as a product with national impact in the near future,” said chemistry professor Dr. Allen Hunter. Hunter leads the YSU team that includes Drs. Matt Zeller and Graciela Perera and STaRBuRSTT collaborators such as Dr. Pete Smith from Westminster College in New Wilmington, Pa.

Funding for the project was acquired through the Department of Defense by U.S. Rep. Timothy Ryan of Niles, D-17th, who recognized the YSU team’s experience and proven excellence in remote instrumentation and a proven track record of securing and producing results with National Science Foundation grants in the area of cyber instrumentation, Myers said.

“This cutting-edge software and platform was researched locally and will be produced and sold locally, creating new jobs and new opportunities,” Ryan said in a prepared statement.

“CyberLabNet is strongly poised for commercialization,” Myers said.

“It allows members of a virtual community, geographically and organizationally dispersed, to securely organize and share access to instruments and sensors with integrated, secure managed data storage. It’s easy to use, easy to administrate and install. It’s inexpensive and scalable. Plus, CyberLabNet’s Web-delivered tools can be used securely from anywhere.”

alcorn@vindy.com