Research and Scholarly Activities Highlights

CenTiRe -- a true collaboration of university research and industry The Center for Tire Research (CenTiRe), housed at UA and Virginia Tech University, is a consortium whose members include 14 tire manufacturers, Ford Motor Company and General Motors. Established in 2012 as a National Science Foundation university/industry cooperative research center, CenTiRe thrives on the complementary strengths of both schools—UA in polymer science and engineering, VT in mechanical and engineering sciences. UA’s site director is Dr. Celal Batur, professor of mechanical engineering.

"It's a really good opportunity to have an outside organization and two really good universities to help advance the technology," said Ron Kennedy, the center’s management director. He describes CenTiRe as a place to produce good, fundamental research. It's not "pie in the sky" research done mainly for academic purposes, nor does it delve into company specific R&D that would be proprietary in nature. It is labeled pre-competitive because it's not research that is expected to be dropped right into a company's processes, but instead can be used as a building block for each industry member to use as it sees fit.

At any given time 10-12 projects are running, each involving at least one faculty member, one to three graduate students, and any number of industry mentors. The paid research positions funded by member company projects go to master's, doctoral, and post-doctoral students, but the NSF also funds undergraduates through its Research Experiences for Undergraduates. "We try to get as much interaction between the student/faculty and the industry people," Kennedy said.

Batur said the NSF supports centers like CenTiRe to ensure students are receiving either practical or theoretical education all the way from the undergraduate years to post-doctoral work. The faculty and students are monitored closely by the industry mentors, and this provides strong experience for the students in both the industrial and academic environment. About 30 VT graduates now work in the tire and automotive industry, with UA seeing similar results. Goodyear has hired a number of students from CenTiRe. "It is very important for companies because eventually they will hire [these] students because they are the ones who already know the problems of the industry," Batur said, "and they have some basic grounding, either theoretical or experimental, on those particular problems." "Nowadays finding a good tire engineer researcher is really hard, because there are not too many universities in the U.S. that do tire and automotive research," said Dr. Saied Taheri, site director at VT. "I don't think there is anybody in the U.S. that does what we do."

Cover photos illustrate the breadth and depth of UA’s research and scholarly activities as highlighted within this report. On the cover, clockwise from top left: (1) pure polymer matrix; (2) Akron’s rubber and tire legacy lives on through CenTiRe; (3) UA researcher filling the needs of first responders in the opioid crisis; (4) real-time information directly from ODOT’s snow plows; and (5) using zebrafish to study deafness.

“These students, when they graduate, they’re ready to hit the job running. It’s very good for the tire industry.” Joel Lazeration, Goodyear

“What we’re looking for as a company is some of the more fundamental research in the areas of science and engineering. That’s what the universities are set up to do and can provide. We’re looking for that basic research that we can then take and apply to our tire programs here.” Joel Lazeration, Goodyear

RESEARCH 2

“Women at War in the Borderlands of the Early American Northeast”

Dr. Gina Martino, assistant professor of history, has published her first book, “Women at War in the Borderlands of the Early American Northeast.” Borne out of Dr. Martino’s interest in violent women in Early America who were praised for their acts instead of being reprimanded, the book demonstrates how women participating in warfare was integral to gender ideologies in colonial America. Although the thought of Early American women’s martial activities may seem surprising to some, Martino said that it makes sense because they were defending their country and upholding the patriarchy. It was a conservative act, rather than a protofeminist one, she said.

A universal time-temperature superposition principle Recent work by Dr. Mesgin Tsige, professor of polymer science, along with a research team based in China, was published in the July 2018 issue of The Journal of Chemical Physics. Their study of the mechanical properties of a pure polymer matrix focused on examining the stress relaxation, the dynamic mechanical properties such as the storage moduli as a function of frequency, and the uniaxial tension such as the stress-strain behavior. They tested the applicability of the time-temperature superposition on three mechanical measurements of the simulated polymer systems with the outcome being a general framework and understanding of the superposition principle underlying these three mechanical properties. Protecting first responders from opiate exposure is researcher’s goal Every time a first responder is called upon to save the life of a person overdosing on deadly opiates, the paramedic or police officer is in danger of exposure to potentially lethal opiate residue.

Dr. Abraham Joy, associate professor of polymer science, is working on a solution to help safeguard first responders. “As scientists, we are responsible for developing solutions to problems society is facing at-large,” said Joy. “The heightened awareness of the opiate epidemic in the U.S. right now, especially in Ohio, has allowed various approaches to be brought to the table to combat the problem. However, there hasn’t been much emphasis on protecting first responders who are called upon to rescue an overdose victim.”

With a $200,000 prize from the state of Ohio’s Opioid Technology Challenge, Dr. Joy is creating a polymer-based fiber mat that can detect traces of opiate residue, giving first responders at the scene of an overdose a quick indication of the presence of an opioid in the vicinity and allowing them to take appropriate precautions. While prototypes are simple strips the size of a Post-it note, Dr. Joy is planning to embed the fast-acting material directly onto first responders’ gloves.

Photo by Brooklyn Dennison, The Buchtelite

The distribution of nanoparticles and chain conformation during the deformation and relaxation process.

“There’s nothing like this on the market for first responders to use. With the product Dr. Joy is developing, we’ll be able to immediately know if there’s residue of opiates around us as we help an overdosed victim. This could prevent police officers and paramedics from exposure and possibly overdosing at the scene.” Angela Paonessa, UAPD Detective

RESEARCH 3

Research and Scholarly Activities Highlights

UARF’s Spark Fund announces the completion of its first project Dr. Abraham Joy, associate professor of polymer science, and his lab successfully completed prototyping and testing of a light releasable adhesive they invented thanks to funding provided by the University of Akron Research Foundation’s Spark Fund. Dr. Joy’s light releasable adhesive is intended for use in large medical bandages, like those applied to treat severe wounds like diabetic foot ulcers and large surgical incisions. Using Spark Fund support, the adhesive was made in large batches and tested against competitive bandage products. The UA adhesive performed comparably to competitors until a specific wavelength of light, already used in other medical applications, was shone on the bandage causing it to lose 50% of its adhesive strength. With the successful results of these tests, UARF is now in the process of licensing the technology to an Akron-based startup company called PolyLux, which recently raised $225,000 in funding to further develop the technology. This is the first of five projects funded by UARF’s Spark Fund in 2017. UA entrepreneurs share experiences with Akron mayor Entrepreneurs from two University of Akron affiliated startup companies met with Akron Mayor Dan Horrigan to share their experiences launching startups in Northeast Ohio. UA graduates Stephanie Ham and Emily Mulvany, who lead cancer drug testing lab OncoSolutions, and UA emeritus professor Dale Mugler, who co-founded diverse R&D company Ocius Technologies with business development leader Steve Nichols, spoke about the challenges and rewards of transitioning research developed at UA into commercial applications. The companies were selected to meet with Mayor Horrigan because they had each achieved significant milestones in 2018. OncoSolutions completed the raise of a $500,000 funding round to set up their lab in Bounce Innovation Hub and support operations for the year, and Ocius Technologies received a $1.5 million contract from the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. UA startup companies share collective success

Since its founding in 2002, the UA Research Foundation (UARF) has assisted in the formation of 63 startup companies based on UA technology. Of these, 23 startup companies (or 36%) are currently active. These 23 startups have raised $33 million in capital from strategic investors, federal agencies, and venture capital firms; sponsored at least $3 million of research at UA through research contracts; and currently employ 45 full-time equivalents, including 28 UA graduates serving as employees and 11 current UA students employed as interns. UARF offers UA-affiliated and Akron area startup companies a wide variety of support services, ranging from training on how to use customer feedback to assess the potential of a business idea through connections to mentors and industry experts.

Mayor Dan Horrigan tours the OncoSolutions lab with

CEO Stephanie Ham

UA startup Fontus Blue outside their offices at Bounce Innovation Hub,

photo from Cleveland.com

RESEARCH 5

U.S. Patents Issued from July 1, 2018 to August 31, 2018 (Sorted by Funding Source & Technology)

U.S. Patent Issue Date Patent Title Inventors College Technology Funding

10,038,156 07/31/2018Photodetector Utilizing Quantum Dots and Perovskite Hybrids As Light Harvesters

Xiong Gong and Chang Liu

CPSPEAdvanced Materials

Govt

10,058,620 08/28/2018Dextran-Peptide Hybrid for Efficient Gene Delivery

Gang Cheng, Qiong Tang and Bin Cao

COE Medical Govt

10,023,689 7/17/2018 Functional Biodegradable Polymers

Coleen Pugh, Abhishek Banerjee, William K. Storms and Colin Wright

CPSPE Polymer Science Govt

10,035,903 07/31/2018Modified Soybean Oil-Extended SBR Compounds and Vulcanizates Filled with Carbon Black

Avraam I. Isayev and Mark D. Soucek

CPSPE Polymer Science Govt

10,059,790 08/28/2018Synthesis of Cross-Linked Plant Oil-Based Polymers Using Bismalemides as Crosslinkers

Coleen Pugh, Paula Watt and Brinda Mehta

CPSPE Polymer Science Govt

10,042,014 08/07/2018Apparatus and Method for AnalyzingSamples with NMR

Michael C. Davis, Toshikazu Miyoshi and Jiahuan Hu

CPSPEComputers, Data,Sensors & Devices

Industry

10,013,015 7/3/2018 Fast Auto-Balancing AC BridgeNatan Ida and Amir Mhedi Pasdar

COEComputers, Data,Sensors & Devices

Other

10,062,928 08/28/2018 A Method for Charging BatteriesHomero Castaneda-Lopez and Roberto Hernandez Maya

COE Energy UA

10,029,029 07/24/2018

Apparatus and Method for Electrospinning a Nanofiber Coating on Surfaces of Poorly Conductive Three-Dimensional Objects

William Landis and Phillip E. McClellan

CPSPE Medical UA

RESEARCH 12