*Stephen M. Millett, Ph.D.

Battelle

Also in Dayton, at about the same time that Kettering was creating a breakthrough innovation in the automobile industry, the Wright Brothers, whose bicycle shop was practically in the morning shadow of NCR factories, created the first airplane capable of controlled, powered flight. After they successfully tested it in the high winds of North Carolina’s Outer Banks, the Wrights continued their experimental flying at Huffman Prairie north of Dayton. They attracted the attention of the Army, which eventually established its own aviation R&D facility at the site that became Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.

Gordon Battelle, the son of a steel company president, provided in his Will for the creation of a private, non-profit R&D organization in Columbus. The Battelle Memorial Institute opened its doors in October 1929, and despite the Great Depression provided research services to both industrial and government clients. In 1944, Battelle began its collaboration in the development of a dry, electrical copying machine. The process of xerography, or "dry copying" resulted in a device that was given the name of Xerox®, as was the name of the company set up to manufacture machines in Rochester, NY. Through Battelle, Ohio participated in the development and commercialization of one of the great technical innovations of the 20^th century.

In addition to these famous historical examples, there are thousands of innovations associated with Ohio that have contributed to economic growth and the quality of life worldwide. These examples reflect a strong foundation of innovation in the history of Ohio due to individual creativity, an entrepreneurial spirit, investment, business leadership and hard work.

By 2004, Ohio’s gross state product amounted to $429 billion, ranking it seventh in the nation for all sectors and third in manufacturing. In R&D, Ohio’s core strengths in manufacturing, instruments and controls, power and propulsion systems, biomedical sciences, and information technologies help it rank 11^th nationally with $8.1 billion annually in R&D. Ohio ranks 9^th in the country with over 3,500 patents granted annually. These facts illustrate that Ohio is still a major economic and R&D player in the U.S. and global economies.

With a strong foundation of innovation, Ohio enters the 21^st century with exciting possibilities in science, technology, and business. Among many potential scientific and technological opportunities, the leading candidates for successful applications and commercialization include innovative materials; biomedical technologies, especially genetic engineering; energy products and services; automated and flexible manufacturing systems; and information technologies. Ohio’s governmental, educational, and corporate infrastructures provide the foundation for the development of the following technologies.

Historically Ohio has been a state with rich natural resources, especially in materials. They have been one of the foundations of Ohio’s economy from the earliest days. Wood from great forests provided the fuels for kilns and furnaces. Coal was burned in the great steel mills of northeastern Ohio. Clay provided the basis of a vigorous ceramics and pottery industry that extended from Pittsburgh to Cincinnati. Sand (silicon dioxide) supplied the material base for the extensive glass industries of central, eastern, and northern Ohio, especially Toledo. Fats from farm-raised pigs generated numerous soap and candle companies, the most famous of which became P&G in Cincinnati. Both the American Ceramic Society, the world's leading organization dedicated to the advancement of ceramics, and ASM International, a worldwide network of materials scientists and engineers, are headquartered in Ohio.

In addition, vulcanized rubber made Akron the rubber products capital of the world. In this instance, the raw material was imported into Ohio, which had the knowledge, labor skills, and factories to turn raw rubber into value-added commercial products including tires for bicycles, trucks, tractors and automobiles, and other products like gaskets, oil seals and rubber hoses.

In the future, Ohio will shift from the exploitation of natural resources to laboratory-engineered materials. The shift has been occurring for at least 50 years, and the rate of change will likely accelerate within the next 10-20 years. By 2050, the creation and use of materials will likely look very different than they do today.

Polymers, for example, have been made and used in Ohio to substitute for traditional rubber and metal materials....