JVIC partners line up for federal research funds

Southwest Missouri Congressman Roy Blunt announced July 25 that he’s secured $39.9 million for projects in Springfield and Joplin under the Defense Appropriations Bill for 2008. In Springfield, partners at JVIC are in line to divvy up $19 million.

“We’re very grateful for Congressman Blunt’s support of the projects,” said Robin van der Wel, director of government and strategic relations for Rolla-based Brewer Science, a JVIC partner.

However, the appropriations still face hurdles before being distributed.

While approved by a U.S. House of Representatives committee, the bill must receive approvals by the full House and Senate, before going to the president for approval, according to Blunt spokesman Dan Wadlington.

“It’s never clear exactly when it goes through the whole cycle what the final amount will be,” said van der Wel, who expects Brewer Science to receive some money, even if it’s a reduced amount.

Inner workings

The federal appropriations would fund three projects at JVIC:

• Missouri State University, Brewer Science and Roswell, Ga.-based Applied Systems Intelligence would develop carbon nanotube-based computer devices for satellites and other military electronic devices to protect against solar radiation or electromagnetic pulses from nuclear attacks, which disable electronics.

• MSU and Woburn, Mass.-based Nantero Inc. would continue development of radiation-hardened carbon nanotube technology that is also meant to guard against electromagnetic pulses.

• MSU and St. Louis-based Crosslink Inc. would research a fabric-based defense against chemical and biological warfare. That technology could be used on tents or uniforms and could even have a civilian application in hospitals, according to Don Landy, vice president of government relations and operations at Crosslink.

The Crosslink project, which began in 2006, is trying to use oxygen from air or water to produce hydrogen peroxide as a defense mechanism when introduced to a chemical or biological weapon.

“It’s a very unique technology,” he said. “We can’t find where anybody’s ever been able to generate hydrogen peroxide on the surface of a material and do surface detoxification.”

Brewer received $2 million from the Defense Department in fiscal 2007, which it will have to keep operating on, if the fiscal 2008 funding isn’t approved before the end of the government’s fiscal year on Sept. 30. If that happens, Congress would pass a resolution temporarily continuing fiscal 2007 funding for DOD, Wadlington said.

Any delay in fiscal 2008 funding could hurt Crosslink, which didn’t receive fiscal 2007 funding. It’s still working off $2.8 million from fiscal 2006 and a $600,000 supplement from the Defense Threat Reduction Agency.

Landy said he’s “hopeful and somewhat confident” that new Defense funding would come through soon, though he, like van der Wel, expects a reduced amount from the $7 million Blunt announced for Crosslink’s project. He said $4 million was appropriated by the House in fiscal 2006 before ultimately being reduced to $2.8 million.

JVIC Phase II

Meanwhile, MSU is slated to receive a boost from the state government for JVIC, accelerating the completion of Phase II development.

Prep work on Phase II began with $2.6 million in June, shortly after the Phase I grand opening, according to Jim Baker, vice president of research and economic development at MSU. However, the university expects to receive $5 million in October from the Missouri Higher Education Loan Authority that can be used to fully fund Phase II renovations.

With the MOHELA money, Baker said Phase II should be finished in 18 months. Without it, the project will likely take four years.

“We’re starting to do some design kind of work,” he said.

The first part of Phase II to become operational will be a lab for prototype manufacturing on the first floor of the building east of JVIC’s Phase I building.

‘Labs to jobs’

The eventual manufacturing of JVIC research is key to the center’s viability, Crosslink’s Landy said.

The initial economic impact of JVIC is a small number of high-paying, high-tech jobs. For example, Crosslink has fewer than 10 employees in Springfield – including technical lead Von Ebron – and they each make about $80,000 a year.

Landy said the hope is that the research turns into high-tech manufacturing jobs for southwest Missouri.

“The research is great, but all of us are for-profit companies, and we have to get products out of this,” he said. “It’s a pretty amazing thing when the university, the chamber of commerce, the business community and other companies from outside the area seemingly can work together in a pretty friendly environment. (It) does foster that ability to reach those goals of ‘labs-to-jobs’ and commercialization and all the things you look for with economic development.”

Project list

Three projects at Jordan Valley Innovation Center:

• Missouri State University, Brewer Science and Applied Systems Intelligence – development of carbon nanotube-based computer devices. Appropriation: $6 million.

• MSU and Nantero Inc. – continued development of radiation-hardened carbon nanotube technology. Appropriation: $6 million.

• MSU and Crosslink Inc. – research fabric-based defense against chemical and biological warfare. Appropriation: $7 million.

Three projects in Joplin:

• Gestalt LLC – computer management for the military. Appropriation: $10 million.

• LaBarge Inc. – produce wiring harnesses for GPS missiles. Appropriation: $6 million.

• Eagle Picher Technologies – increase performance and energy of Army batteries. Appropriation: $4.9 million.[[In-content Ad]]