Written testimony provided on May 12, 2026.
Contact: Laura Lanese, President and CEO, Inter-University Council of Ohio
Phone: 614-537-3816
Email: [email protected]
Chairman Young, Vice Chairman Ritter, Ranking Member Abdullahi, and members of the House Workforce and Higher Education Committee, thank you for the opportunity to provide proponent testimony on House Bill 666.
My name is Laura Lanese. I serve as President and CEO of the Inter-University Council of Ohio (IUC). IUC represents Ohio’s 14 public universities, which collectively educate the majority of students pursuing higher education in Ohio¹. Our institutions serve every region of Ohio and are deeply connected to the employers, industries, and communities that drive Ohio’s economic growth.
I am here today in support of HB 666 and its intent to strengthen Ohio’s economy by promoting innovation and establishing the Ohio Tech Institute within the Ohio Department of Higher Education (ODHE). The IUC appreciates Representative Mathews’ recognition that Ohio’s universities serve as a research and economic powerhouse for the state. Our organization wholeheartedly supports this legislation.
HB 666 requires the Chancellor of Higher Education to partner with the Ohio Federal Research Network (OFRN) to establish and administer the Ohio Tech Institute, which will have a specific focus on tech transfers.
According to the National Institute of Standards and Technology tech transfers are defined as “a way to describe the overall cycle of bringing knowledge and technologies to society through actions such as commercialization and publication… These novel technologies with commercial potential… need to be brought to the attention of those who can develop it for the market.”²
Federal agencies are producing technologies at an unprecedented pace in areas such as advanced manufacturing, aerospace, defense, energy systems, artificial intelligence, and life sciences. At the same time, states are aggressively positioning themselves to capture commercialization opportunities tied to federal research. If Ohio does not organize itself to compete at scale, those opportunities will migrate elsewhere. HB 666 strengthens the bridge between academic research and real-world impact. It will better organize what already exists, enhance collaboration, and improve Ohio’s ability to compete for and deploy federal innovation assets.
The Ohio Tech Institute does not replace the work of OFRN; it complements it. As presently structured, OFRN supports competitive research awards designed to increase the amount of federal funding flowing into Ohio and expand collaboration among institutions and industry. Demand for OFRN funding often exceeds available resources, demonstrating the depth of research capacity and interest across our campuses and among Ohio businesses.
Put another way, while OFRN focuses on helping project teams compete for federal awards, the Ohio Tech Institute will expand access to federal opportunities and coordinate a statewide system to better identify and leverage commercialization opportunities. Under the bill, the Ohio Tech Institute will:
• Create and operate a statewide database and service platform available to participating Ohio colleges and universities, private and nonprofit companies, and government entities;
• Centralize and provide access to consolidated federal tech-transfer opportunities;
• Regularly distribute refined lists of available technologies;
• Facilitate introductions and partnerships between interested students, colleges, or universities and companies or organizations interested in commercialization or collaboration; and
• Provide coaching and support through OFRN for participants seeking federal matching funding.
In short, the Ohio Tech Institute will work with OFRN and serve as a facilitator for those seeking to access, develop, or deploy new technologies.
Ohio’s public universities already engage in research partnerships, applied research, and commercialization efforts. In fact, an economic impact study conducted by a third-party labor analytics firm showed that research spending of our universities generated $1.9 billion in added income for the Ohio economy in a recent fiscal year, which is equivalent to supporting 24,460 jobs. HB 666 will continue to scale this work while providing a mechanism to reduce fragmentation and ensure that opportunities are not missed by Ohio companies and students.
Ohio’s public universities collectively have the capacity, connections, and reach to serve as a leader in innovation – not just regionally, but nationally.
TechLink, administered by Montana State University, serves as a leading national tech transfer consortium focused on helping businesses access and commercialize federally developed technologies, particularly from Department of Defense laboratories. It operates as a centralized hub, helping connect federal labs, universities, and private-sector partners. It has become a national model for coordinated tech-transfer infrastructure, demonstrating that when access points are streamlined and partnerships are facilitated, innovation moves faster and commercialization outcomes improve.³
If Montana State can serve as a national hub for federal tech-transfer coordination, Ohio’s universities and diverse industrial economy can set the national standard.
With 11 of Ohio’s 14 public universities holding a R1 or R2 research designation⁴, our campuses are already embedded with industries ranging from advanced manufacturing hubs to aerospace corridors to quantum computing. Ohio is uniquely positioned to demonstrate how a coordinated, statewide higher education network can serve as the backbone of an innovation ecosystem.
By facilitating introductions between students, institutions, and companies, the Ohio Tech Institute will increase experiential learning opportunities tied directly to commercialization and applied research. Students will gain exposure to commercialization, management, and applied research. Companies will gain access to talent that understands real-world challenges. Universities will benefit from deepened partnerships that further align academic programs with emerging industry needs.
In an era of increasing competition for federal research dollars and advanced industries, Ohio must be proactive. The Ohio Tech Institute will create a more coherent, coordinated framework that builds upon OFRN, leverages existing ODHE infrastructure, and positions Ohio as a national model for state-level tech-transfer coordination.
We believe Ohio’s universities can and should collectively assume a leadership role in this space. HB 666 positions Ohio to lead in translating academic innovation and research into private-sector growth, student opportunity, and long-term economic strength.
Thank you for the opportunity to testify in support of House Bill 666. I would be happy to answer any questions the committee may have.
¹nscresearchcenter.org/final-fall-enrollment-trends/
²nist.gov/news-events/news/2022/01/what-tech-transfer
³techlinkcenter.org/
⁴carnegieclassifications.acenet.edu/