Ryan adds research funds to YSU, vows more

By Harold Gwin

The new research center will develop technology to help manufacturing move into the 21st century.

YOUNGS-TOWN — U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan of Niles, D-17th, has helped bring in more than $10 million in federal funds to Youngstown State University for research and development programs, and he was back Friday with the latest installment.

Ryan presented the university with a $1.6 million federal direct appropriation to establish a National Defense Center of Excellence in Industrial Metrology and 3D Imaging.

“We are not done,” he said, vowing to go after more federal research and development money in the future.

Those federal funds have already helped create the YSU Center for Transportation and Materials Engineering and the YSU CyberEnabled Industrial Innovation Center, and Ryan said a “sustainable energy institute” is next on his list for the university.

The metrology and 3D Imaging center is being funded by the US. Department of Defense Army Research Lab and will focus on developing and improving advanced manufacturing technologies for military and commercial uses.

Metrology is the science of measurement, and the center will be involved in more advanced instruments than the traditional tape measure and caliper, thereby allowing faster, more complete measuring of complex shapes for industrial applications.

“The work and research that will be done here at Youngstown State University as a result of this funding will be among the most advanced in the country,” Ryan predicted.

The new center is “another great example of a partnership,” said David C. Sweet, YSU president.

The centers are joint efforts of the university and area business and industry, and the Metrology and 3D Imaging facility is the result of an ongoing partnership that includes M*7 Technologies of Youngstown, the Youngstown Business Incubator, Zethus Software LLC in Youngstown, the Ohio Supercomputer Center’s Blue Collar Computer Program in Columbus and the National Institute of Standards and Technology in Gaithersburg, Md., Sweet said.

“This project represents the synthesis of academics and industry, joining forces to help transform the Mahoning Valley,” Sweet said, adding that it falls right in line with the state’s plan to see YSU develop into an urban research university.

The technology will help companies move into 21st century manufacturing, said Martin Abraham, dean of YSU’s College of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics.

The center will create new technologies for the world right here in Youngstown, he said.

There is already talk about creating PhD programs in materials science and engineering at YSU, Abraham said.

The new center will be led by Allen Hunter, YSU chemistry professor, and a team from the STEM College.

The goal is to create new commercial products and services that can create new high-paying jobs in the Mahoning Valley and across Ohio, Hunter said.

gwin@vindy.com