By James Cummings, Dayton Daily News
Staff Writer
Tuesday, July 03, 2007
DAYTON — As ground was broken for the Creative Technology Accelerator on Monday afternoon, the first building scheduled to go up in Dayton's Tech Town business park, the first tenant committed to locate in the building announced its first new technology licensing agreement.
The Institute for Development and Commercialization of Advanced Sensor Technology, or IDCAST, will be the anchor tenant in the three-story Creative Technology Accelerator, and some of the work IDCAST will be doing involves developing technology to broaden the capabilities of mobile phones and similar devices.
This artist's rendering shows the completed Creative Technology Acclerator, the first building in the new Tech Town business park.Click to enlarge
Analog Bridge Inc. of Beavercreek hopes to parlay the technology to be refined at IDCAST into 25 jobs over the next four years.
Larrell Walters, director of IDCAST, also announced the institute will extend its research and development efforts in infrared photography by purchasing the world's most advanced infrared camera from a Cincinnati company for $4.2 million.
Walters said only three or four such cameras are assembled each year, and the camera contract will employ about 30 people at L-3 Communications, Cincinnati Electronics division. Funds for the purchase come from a $28 million grant IDCAST received from Ohio's Third Frontier Commission.
"IDCAST is about creating jobs," Walters said. "Tech Town and IDCAST are going to become household names just as Frigidaire was in the past."
Tech Town is an 8.25-acre parcel on Monument Avenue east of downtown that once was the site of the Harrison Radiator plant.
The city is cooperating with Montgomery County and state and federal officials to clean up the site and reuse it as a technology-centered business park.
Ground was broken Monday for the first building planned for the park, the Creative Technology Accelerator or CTA.
The CTA will be a three-story, 45,000-square foot building of which 20,000 square feet will be laboratory space. The building, due to be ready for occupants next year, is designed to host multiple tenants who are attempting to develop and commercialize new technology products.
IDCAST, the anchor tenant, is a combined effort of the University of Dayton Research Institute, U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory Sensors Directorate, Ohio State University, Wright State University, Miami University and other partners.
One of the institute's first efforts will be commercial development of "tunable varactor" technology, the brainchild of UD electrical engineering professor Guru Subramanyam. Subramanyam has developed a way to reduce the number of internal filters devices need to perform as personal digital assistants, music players, cameras, phones and televisions. The technology potentially could make multi-purpose devices smaller and use energy more efficiently.
A University of Dayton press release said mobile phone makers Motorola and Nokia are both interested in the technology. Analog Bridge will manage the process of licensing the technology to industry.
Walters said IDCAST's purchase of the advanced infrared camera will allow the institute to set up a world-class infrared photography lab.
He hopes to develop techniques that would allow companies such as the major local engineering firm Woolpert Inc. to do aerial infrared photography at night, for instance.
Monday's ground breaking was attended by IDCAST and Analog Bridge officials as well as U.S. Rep. Mike Turner, Dayton Mayor Rhine McLin, CityWide Development officials, city and county commissioners and a representative of Gov. Ted Strickland.
"I'm sure all of you share my excitement at the pace of positive change downtown," McLin said. "And I look forward to seeing all of you here for the dedication of this building next year."
Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2395 or jcummings@DaytonDailyNews.com.
A UD technology that has attracted the attention of two cell phone makers will be the first to be licensed as part of the Institute for Development and Commercialization of Advanced Sensor Technology. IDCAST is part of Ohio’s Third Frontier initiative to create more technology jobs in Ohio.
Beavercreek-based Analog Bridge Inc. will license a University of Dayton communication technology being noticed by cell phone makers Motorola and Nokia. The company is the first to license an invention through the Institute for Development and Commercialization of Advanced Sensor Technology.
Analog Bridge President and CEO Gregg Steinhauer hopes to parlay the commercialization of that technology into more than 25 jobs during the next four years.
Steinhauer is licensing UD electrical engineering professor Guru Subramanyam’s tunable varactor technology that allows cell phones to carry more features without increasing the cell phone’s size or decreasing the battery’s power.
Subramanyam’s technology and Analog Bridge also have attracted attention at two forums — World’s Best Technologies and TechConnect — that focus on the world’s most promising technologies.
Analog Bridge’s employees will work in the 36,000-square foot IDCAST facility on which the city of Dayton broke ground Monday in Dayton’s Tech Town. IDCAST is part of Ohio’s Third Frontier initiative to create more technology jobs in Ohio.
“IDCAST will work to create and grow Ohio companies as well as work with out-of state companies to move to Ohio to bring sensor technology to market through an alliance of university researchers, the U.S. Air Force and industry,” said IDCAST Director Larrell Walters, who anticipates that the UD-led IDCAST will generate more than 350 jobs in Ohio.
Blair Barbour, a 1986 UD electro-optics graduate and owner of Alabama-based Photon-X, has plans to open a branch in the IDCAST facility with three employees and eventually add three additional jobs. Barbour has created technology that reads facial characteristics that could be used to gauge people’s intent in terrorist situations.
“Several other companies have asked for IDCAST assistance,” Walters said. “We are working hard with the other universities for ways to make our collective technologies and expertise available to Ohio companies. We have the strength of six universities and can help these companies gain significant and sustainable advantages. Companies understand their weaknesses and reach out to us. All they have to do now take a short trip to IDCAST and leverage its equipment, expertise and test facilities.”
Ohio State University, Miami University, University of Toledo, University of Cincinnati and Wright State University are the other universities participating in IDCAST.
Walters also pointed out that IDCAST will provide Ohio’s college students opportunities to work on research similar to Subramanyam’s varactor technology. Walters hopes the chance to solve real-world problems will excite students about science and technology and help restock the dwindling numbers of students in those fields.
— Shawn Robinson
Photos: (Top) Artist's rendering of the 36,000-square foot IDCAST facility. (Bottom) When the city of Dayton broke ground Monday in Dayton’s Tech Town for the IDCAST building, Congressman Mike Turner, Mayor Rhine McLin and UD vice president Mickey McCabe were among the participants.