VIDEO: UC Research Innovations Take Center Stage at Columbus Statehouse

Legislators, aides and others got an up-close, hands-on experience with University of Cincinnati research projects during the university’s annual display of research at the Columbus Statehouse during “Statehouse Showcase.”

UC is the only university to hold such an event.

Using interactive, hands-on displays, UC researchers and students – along with industry partners – displayed their work and its impact. It’s research that has already led to start-up companies and jobs in Ohio, has already brought innovation and significant savings to Ohio and has the potential to continue to do so.

According to William Ball, interim vice president for research, the event and the projects on display are real-world examples of UC’s research leadership and why the university ranks among the nation’s elite of public research-intensive universities, No. 25, based on National Science Foundation data on federal research expenditures. The latest figures on UC’s annual research funding from both private and public sources is at $418 million.

The UC projects on display during the 2012 Statehouse Showcase were

UC TWIKE HOPES TO SPARK IMPROVEMENTS IN BATTERY PERFORMANCE

Statehouse workers and visitors were able to get into the cockpit of an experimental vehicle called the “TWIKE,” used by UC Ohio Eminent Scholar

Jay Lee

and his team

to advance performance and ensure battery safety in electric-powered vehicles

. Working as part of Lee’s team at Statehouse Showcase were Patrick Brown, program coordinator in UC’s Center for Intelligent Maintenance Systems; Michael Lyons, research student in the center;  Mohammad Rezvani, researcher in the center who also serves as an intern at AMP Electric Vehicles; and Wenyu Zhao, researcher in the center.  Also at Statehouse Showcase was David Willig of AMP Electric Vehicles in Loveland, Ohio, as well as AMP’s Joe Burwinkel, a UC engineering alumnus; and Brian Wissel, a UC engineering co-op currently working at AMP.

UC PARTNERSHIP IMPROVES PROSTHETIC LEGS USED BY VETERANS AND OTHERS

UC

cooperative education

students comprise the R&D department of Prosthetic Design, Inc., in Clayton, Ohio. Among the student-created innovations developed for the firm are an

improved knee cover for prosthetic legs

. That particular innovation was developed by

Catherine Rawers

, UC biomedical engineering student, who attended Statehouse Showcase with Paul Galloway, the firm’s director of engineering.

STATEHOUSE STAFF TRY OUT UC’S FLYING QUADRACOPTERS

UC’s flying quadracopters are used by the university to encourage Ohio youth to consider careers and study in science and math. These two quadracopters were purchased thanks to funding from the Ohio Board of Regents. Demonstrating the quadracopters in Columbus were Jason Gerst, equipment application specialist; Maya Israel, assistant professor of teacher education;  Helen Meyer, associate professor of teacher education; Brian Verkamp, information tech analyst,  Nelson Vincent, associate dean in UC’s College of Education, Criminal Justice, and Human Services (CECH); as well as Woodrow Wilson Foundation Ohio STEM Fellows Jordan Woods and Angela Yake; Northeastern High School sophomore Kayleigh Yake and South Vienna Elementary fourth grader Karie Yake. Also lending assistance to the effort was Greg Hollon, CECH associate director.

ULCERSCALE SEEKS TO STAMP OUT DIABETIC FOOT ULCERS

The UlcerScale, an easy-to-use, at-home device that helps prevent diabetic foot ulcers, is also the basis for a new start-up company, DiabetiTec, LLC, in Cincinnati, Ohio, and Covington, Ky. The device, begun in UC’s Medical Device Innovation & Entrepreneurship Program, with strong leadership by two UC biomedical engineering students (now young alums, entrepreneurs and founders of DiabetiTec) Phil Gettinger and Amro Kamel in order to help prevent diabetic-related foot ulcers, a risk for millions of Americans with diabetes.

UC RESEARCH TESTS THE PROMISE OF WASTE PRODUCTS TO POWER “GREEN” ELECTRONICS

UC research is among the most advanced in the nation in testing the possibilities to produce “green” electronics powered by DNA from a fish-industry waste product. The research, led by Ohio Eminent Scholar

Andrew Steckl

, is underway in partnership with the Air Force Research Laboratory in Dayton, Ohio. Members of Steckl’s team – students Hans Spaeth and Eliot Gomez – were on hand for Statehouse Showcase.

INNOVATIVE MEDICAL TOOL MAKES FOR HEALTHIER HEARTS AND HEALTHIER INDUSTRY IN OHIO

A new heart-surgery tool, created in partnership between UC’s Medical Device Innovation & Entrepreneurship Program and AtriCure, Inc., in West Chester, Ohio, makes for improved heart health for surgery patients and a new product for AtriCure, which currently employs about 250 people. UC’s

Mary Beth Privitera

, associate professor of biomedical engineering, her colleagues and students routinely partner with the company to develop surgical-tool innovations that are developed and manufactured right here in Ohio.

UC BRIDGE SAFETY RESEARCH SAVES MILLIONS OF DOLLARS FOR OHIO

Art Helmicki, professor of electrical and computer engineering, represented UC engineering research in partnership with companies throughout Ohio – from Cincinnati to Cleveland – to create and employ sensors that provide real-time, pinpoint guidance on bridge safety. These sensors assess the condition of Ohio’s bridges in order to guide decisions regarding the need for immediate repairs or even replacement. For instance, UC researchers are assessing a million-pound superload project in Oregon, Ohio, related to the construction of an oil-sands refinery, as well as major projects in Portsmouth, Ironton-Russell, Lebanon and Toledo. It’s work that

saves the state tens of millions of dollars

while improving bridge safety.  In this work, UC partners with both state agencies like the Ohio Department of Transportation as well as private firms throughout the state, including Burgess & Niple, Inc.; HNTB Corporation; Michael Baker Jr., Inc.; Parsons Brinckerhoff, TranSystems and URS Corporation.

RECENT UC ENTREPRENEURSHIP STUDENT OPENS START-UP BUSINESS  

While a UC student, Bryan Wolf learned lessons at UC’s Center for Entrepreneurship that he has since used to help start a new small business – Roads, Rivers and Trails in Milford, Ohio. As a contemporary urban outfitter, Roads, Rivers and Trails, LLC, now employs five and regularly partners with other organizations in the community. The company is poised for growth.

UC’s NATIONALLY RANKED CRIMINAL JUSTICE PROGRAM PARTNERS WITH OHIO POLICE

By means of applied research and teaching related to general criminology as well as specialty areas like policing and crime prevention, UC has built a national reputation for its efforts to improve effectiveness in the field of criminal justice. The university’s researchers work with The Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections, The Ohio Department of Youth Services, The Procter & Gamble Company and police departments and court systems nationally. Attending the Statehouse Showcase event was John Schwartz, senior research associate and associate director in UC’s School of Criminal Justice.