Officials hope JVIC steers state economy toward technology

“At the time, most people thought we paid way too much,” joked Jim Baker, MSU’s vice president of research and economic development.

Baker’s remark drew a burst of laughter from a crowd of more than 200 attending the May 30 grand opening of the Roy Blunt Jordan Valley Innovation Center. The public was allowed to tour JVIC’s seven-story core following a ceremony honoring Blunt, the southwest Missouri congressman who secured millions of dollars in federal funding for the research hub that now bears his name.

“In many ways, I think this facility is the congressman’s legacy,” said Jim Anderson, president of the Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce.

Anderson said JVIC research will serve as a “gateway to advanced manufacturing” for Springfield, and Missouri Department of Economic Development Director Greg Steinhoff predicted scientific discovery at the center would pave the way for new jobs.

JVIC Executive Director Ryan Giedd said the goal has always been to help Springfield and Missouri chart its economic future by commercializing innovative products developed at JVIC through corporate partnerships.

“This is not some ivory tower-type research center,” said Giedd, who is also an MSU physics professor. “All the focus is on developing commercial products.”

JVIC research will primarily focus on material science, biotechnology and nanotechnology, said MSU President Michael Nietzel, who credited talented faculty members for leading the charge.

Corporate partners

JVIC’s senior corporate research partners are St. John’s, Brewer Science, Crosslink Polymer, Nantero, Applied Systems Intelligence and Carbon Nanotechnologies. Brewer, Crosslink and Nantero each occupy a floor at JVIC. Springfield-based U.S. Photonics is also a project affiliate.

Blunt said the metamorphosis of the former Missouri Farmers Association mill into JVIC “reflects a great transition” from “a place that stored grains to a place for brains.” Ongoing research at JVIC, which already employs nearly 50 full-time staff members, will bring more high-paying technological jobs to Springfield, Blunt said.

“These are jobs – in a great and diverse economy – we haven’t had before,” he said.

While investments and exports are up in Missouri, the state is losing manufacturing jobs, Steinhoff said. On the upside, he said, Missouri still ranks ninth in the country for federally funded research.

“Our economy – like everyone else’s – is changing,” Steinhoff said. “We need to be ready for the next economy.”

JVIC research scientists are involved in more than 20 ongoing projects, many of them defense-related, and Steinhoff told MSU officials that JVIC’s residual effect on Missouri will be significant. “You are on the cutting edge, and we are very much looking forward to the results,” he said.

Robotics study

St. Louis-based Crosslink and Rolla-based Brewer Science have already partnered to develop a robotics line capable of applying a polymer-based coating to U.S. Navy fighter jet canopies. The coating discharges the buildup of static electricity, which can disrupt electronic equipment or shock military personnel, explained Don Landy, vice president of government relations and operations for Crosslink. Commercialization should begin once the last hurdles are cleared with the canopy manufacturers, he said.

Landy said JVIC’s unique intellectual property policy and the availability of shared technical equipment were determining factors in Crosslink’s decision to become a corporate partner. Under the policy, MSU forgoes ownership of its intellectual property in exchange for royalties on products brought to market.

Phase II

Officials broke ground on JVIC’s $12.4 million first phase in November 2005. The second phase, which encompasses renovations to the three-story east wing, is expected to begin soon and will create at least 200 new jobs, officials said.

In fiscal years 2005 and 2006, MSU received more than $12 million from the U.S. Department of Defense for first-phase renovations. Another $2.6 million from DOD has been allocated in the 2007 budget for JVIC’s second phase.

Also in 2005 and 2006, Blunt helped earmark more than $14 million for defense-related research at the Center for Applied Science and Engineering housed at JVIC and helped allocate another $8 million in funding for CASE projects in fiscal 2007.

Baker also noted that $5 million has been allocated for second-phase renovations in the Missouri Higher Education Loan Authority plan recently signed into law by Gov. Matt Blunt.

St. Louis-based architecture firm Ross & Barruzzini designed JVIC, and general contractor DeWitt & Associates of Springfield built the center’s first phase.