Greater than $1 million Sophien Kamoun $500,000 to $1 million Saskia Hogenhout Andrew Ward Thomas Bean F. William Ravlin David Hansen Timothy Granata $400,000 to $499,000 Richard Moore Esther K. M. Vanderknaap Mathew Kleinhenz $300,000 to $399,000 Srinand Sreevatsan Anne Dorrance Konrad Dabrowski Daral Jackwood Don McFeeters Deborah Stinner $200,000 to $299,000 Brian McSpadden Gardener Barry Goodwin Jeffrey Firkins Robert Birkenholz Charles Worley David Ferree

INVESTMENTS IN PEOPLE

The scientists listed on the right are bringing additional external dollars to OARDC research programs. These researchers are either the primary investigators or they represent programs that are successfully competing for additional funding through grants, gifts and contracts. These individuals are excellent examples of how OARDC’s high-caliber scientists successfully leverage state funding to enhance research in their areas of interest.

OARDC scientists receive funding from several federal, state and private agencies—and they all make significant contributions to our programs. Some agencies, however, provide awards that have national significance. These agencies include the National Science Foundation, the National Health Institute and the United States Department of Agriculture National Research Initiative. In 2003, OARDC scientists were awarded nearly $3 million from these agencies. This represents a 2.5 fold increase over the last three years. In addition to these agencies, our scientists have competed for large grants from other sponsors as well. Here is a listing of the 10 largest external grants our scientists successfully competed for this year.

• Functional genomics of Phytophthora-plant interactions. $1,077,369. Sponsored by the National Science Foundation; Principal Investigator: Sophien Kamoun.

• Fluvial geomorphology and nutrient processing in low-order streams in midwestern tile-drained agricultural landscapes. $690,000. Sponsored by the Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service; Principal Investigators: Andrew D. Ward, Brent Sohngen, Virginie Bouchard.

• Improving water quality and fostering a community vision and action through participatory farmer groups in the Sugar Creek headwaters. $474,978. Sponsored by the Environmental Protection Agency; Principal Investigators: Richard H. Moore, Benjamin Stinner, Larry Brown, Patrick Goebel.

• Ohio regional center for agricultural disease and injury. $462,790. Sponsored by the National Institute on Occupational Safety and Health; Principal Investigators: Thomas L. Bean, John Wilkins III.

• YIA-PGR: Genetic molecular and developmental analysis of variation in tomato fruit morphology. $436,103. Sponsored by the National Science Foundation, Biological Sciences; Principal Investigator: Esther K. M. Vanderknaap.

• Development of M.S. degree programs in soil sciences, agroecology and biotechnology. $418,205. Sponsored by Centro Para El Desarrollo Agropecuario Y Forestal, Inc. (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic); Principal Investigators: David O. Hansen, Rattan Lal.

• Paths of transition: Strategies for peri-urban organic farmers. $398,447. Sponsored by the Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service; Principal Investigators: Matthew D. Kleinhenz, Brian McSpadden Gardener, Deborah Stinner, John Cardina, Marvin Batte, Parwinder Grewal,
Sally Miller.

• Development of high affinity ligands and methods to detect prions. $377,598. Sponsored by Department of Army, U.S. Army Medical Research and Materials Command, Office of the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs; Principal Investigator: Srinand Sreevatsan.

• Genome sequencing of phytoplasmas pathogens of insects and plants: A Consortium. $356,000. Sponsored by the Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service; Principal Investigators: Saskia A. Hogenhout, Sally Miller.

• Carbon sequestration in organic agricultural ecosystems. $319,000. Sponsored by the Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service; Principal Investigators: Deborah H. Stinner, Benjamin Stinner, Patrick Hatcher.

INVESTMENTS IN PROGRAMS

OARDC researchers are dedicated to improving the lives of people across Ohio, the nation and the world through their research. One of the best ways to make that happen is for industry partners to license the technologies created and/or patented by our researchers. Not only do these licenses allow our industry partners to get these new developments into use and make them available to the public, but these licenses generate revenue that can be reinvested in research and researchers. 

To help this process along, we have implemented a program to protect the transfer of intellectual property and to commercialize agricultural technology. Bringing these new products and technology to the market can have a big impact on Ohio’s economic development. 

Our scientists in the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences have a strong history of excellence in licensing technology. For example:

• In 2002 and again in 2003, royalties from inventions in the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences accounted for 36 percent of the royalty income in the entire Ohio State University system.
• One-third of the technology licenses or options executed University-wide in 2003 were from within the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences.
• 25 percent of the start-up companies based on Ohio State University research came from within the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences.
• In 2003, 22 of the 130 invention disclosures generated University-wide came from the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences; that’s 17 percent.
• In 2003, our researchers generated 12 patent applications and eight technology licenses.

INVESTMENTS IN EQUIPMENT

Over the last several years, OARDC has directed funds for the purchase and upgrade of equipment in our Molecular and Cellular Imaging Center. In collaboration with the United States Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service, this shared-resource facility houses both scanning and transmission electron microscopes as well as equipment for confocal laser scanning microscopy, digital imaging and DNA sequencing. Equipment in this facility is available to use by any Ohio State University faculty with an OARDC appointment. By housing both highly skilled personnel and equipment that would not be feasible for individual researchers to purchase for their own laboratories, this facility has enabled OARDC scientists to successfully compete for grants, gifts and contracts that they would not otherwise have the resources to obtain. In the past year alone, OARDC scientists have successfully obtained over $2.3 million in funding for research projects for which the use of equipment in the Molecular and Cellular Imaging Center is essential.