WOOSTER -- When Ohio State University President E. Gordon Gee last visited quasar energy group, he flipped the switch that began the process of converting biomass to energy and sending it to the grid.
Gee returned to quasar's offices in Pounden Hall on the campus of the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center on Thursday to see what the company has done since his April 2010 visit. He discovered the waste-to-energy company has built four plants and there are about another 15 in the pipeline.
"I pressed the first button, and now there are buttons all over," Gee said. "It's very impressive."
Gee said quasar's efforts, and what is being done with the BioHio Research Park and Pounden Hall, are great examples of private-public university partnerships that foster innovation and collaboration with researchers.
Gee got to hear the latest news from companies and networks interacting with BioHio, OARDC and OSU through Pounden Hall, which provides flexible, multipurpose space for conferencing, development and networking. In addition to quasar, those organizations include ABS Materials, Natural Fiber Composite Corp., Touchstone Research, WebPyro and Bosserman and Associates.
Clemens Halene, vice president of engineering for quasar, said when Gee first visited OARDC biodigester, he told the president the company had to not only build a plant, but an industry.
"And, that's what we have done," Halene said.
ABS Materials has developed a product that captures and removes organic pollutants; NFCC manufactures a plaster filler component using natural fibers; Touchstone is working on an algae project with Cedar Lane Farms to capture flue gas carbon dioxide from a coal plant on the site; Bosserman and Associates works with a network of organizations that share information and research; and WebPyro is a web development and online advertising company.
Paul Edmisten, a professor at The College of Wooster, led the research efforts that resulted in ABS Materials' products. He was among those who met with Gee.
Brian Boyer, a partner with WebPryo, had the opportunity to speak with Gee about a product the company is developing, Manuscript Tracker. It is able to track the progress of scholarly articles that are in the peer-review process.
Gee wanted to know if the company was up and running. Boyer told him there is some interest in Manuscript Tracker, and he believes financing will be coming in, allowing WebPyro to be up and running with the development within the next couple of weeks. Before Gee departed Pounden Hall, OARDC Director Steve Slack wanted Gee to meet Brian Gwin, who handles ag-based projects for the Wayne Economic Development Center. Having the space available in Pounden Hall, not only for companies to have a presence but to also interact with researchers, is a great asset, Gwin told Gee.
Steve Bosserman, president of Columbus-based Bosserman and Associates, has helped to make connections with his Greener Acres Network, OARDC and WEDC. One connection is with a retired John Deere engineer who is looking at conservation practices, nutrition management and strip cropping.
Pounden Hall provides a convenient way for entrepreneurs, business leaders and scientists to come together and discuss what is happening with research and what are some possible avenues toward the commercialization of those efforts, Gwin said.
Jim Currie, who oversees OSU's efforts to commercialize research, said Gee's visit allowed him to see the university's impact on Ohio in terms of jobs and the economy. "We're expanding," Currie said. "We are opening a door we already have open (even wider)." At Pounden Hall, "we're building spaces, but what it's doing is facilitating relationships," Currie said.
Slack appreciated Gee taking time out of his busy schedule to visit the campus and meet with faculty, staff and students in the morning. "(Gee) had a full day, a very productive day," Slack said.
