| Center for Urban Environment and Economic Development
Urban and suburban populations are on the rise in Ohio and across the world, creating unique challenges and opportunities in terms of neighborhood planning and urban landscape management.
Ohio State University's Center for Urban Environment and Economic Development (CUEED) focuses on serving the growing urban landscape market by developing and commercializing new organic and biological products that meet the fertility and pest-, disease- and weed-control needs of urban landscapes - while also providing alternative air and water pollution mitigation and energy use reduction options for urbanized areas.
CUEED is building upon the emerging environmental economy to create new jobs and industries in Ohio that promote health and environmental quality for urban populations. The complete spectrum of new organic/biological products developed by the Center will form the basis for establishing and supporting new business ventures, leading to the expansion and "greening" of the landscape industry.
CUEED aims to develop and deliver solutions that address key regulatory, environmental and health concerns facing urban landscape design, construction and maintenance, including:
- Stormwater regulations (e.g., EPA Phase II)
- Chemical pesticide and fertilizer use restrictions
- Air- and water-pollution mitigation
- Noise-pollution mitigation
- Energy-use efficiency
- Water-use restrictions
- Urban waste management and recycling requirements
- Reclamation of degraded urban and industrial brownfields
- Provide leadership to foster economic, health and environmental stewardship through an ecological approach to urban landscape design and management.
- Develop new landscape designs, technologies, products and systems for urban environmental enhancement.
- Build partnerships to develop, evaluate and promote adoption of technologies, products and systems for urban environment enhancement.
CEED seeks to capitalize on the demand for new tools, products, technologies and services that can remedy the issues facing urbanized areas.
The nature of those issues is complex. To address such complexity, the Center draws its strength from a multidisciplinary approach to research, product development and commercialization. CUEED brings together a team of scientists from disciplines as diverse as entomology, plant pathology, horticulture, soil science, environmental health sciences, city and regional planning, landscape architecture, civil engineering, and many more.
To bridge the gap between research and successful commercialization, CUEED receives business and marketing development support from Ohio State's Food and Agricultural Technology Commercialization and Economic Development Program (ATECH) and the university's Office of Technology Licensing and Commercialization.
In addition, the Center works closely with industry partners in identifying product and technology needs as well as delivery solutions.
Some of the products CUEED experts are currently developing include a variety of "designer" soils derived from composted agricultural and urban wastes and amended with organisms that target particular landscape management issues.
Some of these soils can deliver biological control agents for combating insects, slugs or weeds, while contributing to the fertility of urban lawn and landscape plants. Also in the works are specialty top-dressing materials with microbial inoculants for nutrient enrichment and specific pollutant removal.
One example of the Center's leadership in biocontrols is its highly regarded work with insect- and slug-parasitic nematodes - natural pest-control agents that provide exceptional results. CUEED scientists have created a new way to deliver nematodes in commercial potting mix and garden soil, discovered new nematode species with landscape management applications, hold a patent on the direct application of anhydrobiotic (desiccated) nematodes, and have a patent pending on a new grub-active nematode strain.
Center scientists also lead the International Entomopathogenic Nematode Genome Sequencing Consortium, whose work aims to develop transgenic nematodes that are more effective and have enhanced shelf-stability.
CUEED is looking for partners to establish technology-licensing and entrepreneurial collaborations. We welcome you to join us in exploring the growing opportunities of today's exciting environmental economy.
Contact Information:
Dr. Parwinder Grewal, Director
Center for Urban Environment
and Economic Development
The Ohio State University
222 Thorne Hall
1680 Madison Avenue
Wooster, OH 44691
(330) 263-3963
grewal.4@osu.edu
oardc.osu.edu/cueed
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