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Miami University/University of Dayton receive state funding for technology development

ohio-frontier-logoMiami University and the University of Dayton will use a new $400,000 grant from the Ohio Third Frontier Commission to create a technology validation and startup fund. The grant includes $200,000 in matching funds from the two universities.

The award is part of a $2.1 million state program designed to help move new technologies from Ohio businesses and universities out of the lab and into the marketplace.

The Miami University/University of Dayton Technology Validation and Start-up Fund is unique in that it involves a partnership between a private and a public institution in two JobsOhio regional markets—REDI Cincinnati and the Dayton Development Coalition.

“Some of the best new ideas and inventions are coming out of Ohio’s colleges and universities,” said David Goodman, director of the Ohio Development Services Agency and chair of the Ohio Third Frontier Commission. “We are helping to advance these technologies and get them to market where they can make a difference.”

In February, Miami University streamlined its intellectual property management by entering into a shared services agreement with the University of Dayton that allows Miami to leverage the University of Dayton’s resources. This new funding from the Ohio Third Frontier commission enhances this partnership by expanding the universities’ reach into tech validation and startups.

In addition to each university’s respective intellectual property portfolios, Miami and Dayton will also mine the patent portfolio of the Air Force Research Laboratory. Miami University, through a separate agreement, has access to this portfolio through the Miami University–Air Force Research Laboratory Technology Commercialization Accelerator.

Successful technology validation and startup funding will result in increased commercialization, as well as licenses to existing Ohio companies. The target for expected new deals is two to four startups at Miami and the University of Dayton. The goal is to generate at least one to two new licenses to existing young Ohio companies.

Both schools launched new campuswide initiatives to increase entrepreneurship and to deepen their connections with their respective entrepreneurial ecosystems.

Each university is nationally-ranked in entrepreneurship programs and will include their entrepreneurship students interacting with tech validation and startup funding projects.