Writer(s):
Sept. 6, 2013
WOOSTER, Ohio -- John Carey, chancellor of the Ohio Board of Regents, learned about the many ways in which outdoor labs, innovative technologies, public-private partnerships and technical education are shaping Ohio's economic and environmental future during a Sept. 4 visit to Ohio State University's Wooster campuses.
Carey, who was appointed last April, toured the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center (OARDC) and the Agricultural Technical Institute (ATI). Both are part of the university's College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences. The Board of Regents oversees the state's public higher-education system.
Accompanying Carey were Ohio State Interim President Joseph Alutto and Ohio Rep. Ron Amstutz, whose 1st House District includes Wooster.
"This visit by Chancellor Carey and President Alutto gave us the opportunity to demonstrate some unique OARDC research programs and ATI student programs, and their relationship with constituencies across the state that make Wooster a value-added asset to Ohio's outstanding higher-education community," OARDC Director Steve Slack said.
The tour featured OARDC's BioHio Research Park, a business and technology center focused on commercializing agbioscience discoveries and establishing partnerships between Ohio State and private companies.
Mel Kurtz, president of quasar energy group, BioHio's first tenant, told Carey and Alutto that most of the progress his renewable energy company has made can be attributed to the support provided by Ohio State and the partnership the company has established with the university.
"We now have 13 working biodigesters, processing 400,000 tons of organic waste and producing biogas for electricity and for vehicle fuel," Kurtz said. "We have also had a number of interns from ATI and have hired several Ohio State graduates."
The visitors also heard from Katrina Cornish, Ohio State's endowed chair in bioemergent materials. Cornish displayed a variety of products that OARDC researchers and industry partners are developing from natural sources of rubber that can be grown in Ohio, and which the university is also breeding for commercial production in the state.
The tour continued at OARDC's no-till crop plots, where soil scientist Warren Dick talked about the importance of such "outdoor laboratories" to Ohio's farmers and efforts to improve water quality.
The tour concluded on ATI's campus, where faculty emphasized the high employability of students in the power equipment major and the economic benefits of precision agriculture.
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Writer(s):
For more information, contact:
Steve Slack
oardc@osu.edu
330-263-3701