Affiliation of nonprofits ties aerospace research across Ohio
Talk about creating a synergistic relationship where the results could be much greater than the sum of the two.
Earlier this year, Parallax Advanced Research (formerly the Wright State Applied Research Corporation), headquartered in Beavercreek, and the Ohio Aerospace Institute (OAI) of Cleveland announced a joint affiliation agreement between the two organizations, effectively tying together aerospace industries and scientific research across our state. While both organizations are 501(c)(3) nonprofits and will retain respective nonprofit status with integrated operations, the results so far have exceeded expectations.
“Combined, Parallax and OAI are almost 180 employees,” says John Sankovic, who is president of the OAI but executive vice president of the new Parallax partnership. “We now have an organization that stretches from Northeast Ohio all the way down to Southwest Ohio.”
With the Dayton area as a focal point.
“Too often, in states with major metro areas, the metros tend to compete with each other,” says Jeff Hoagland, Dayton Development Coalition president and CEO. “This affiliation is a great step in drawing together Ohio’s metro areas working with each other and helping the state establish itself nationally in research and development and science and technology innovation.”
“This affiliation demonstrates the strength of Ohio’s defense and aerospace ecosystem and highlights the importance of collaborating across the state to meet the synergistic needs of industry, academia and national security,” adds Joe Zeis, senior advisor for Aerospace and Defense, Office of Ohio Governor Mike DeWine.
Dennis Andersh, CEO of Parallax, heads the new affiliation between north and south.
“This integration has directly resulted in bringing together the Southwest Ohio defense ecosystem and the Northeast Ohio aerospace supply chain while creating and expanding applied research linkages across Ohio for aerospace, space, energy, advanced manufacturing, materials sciences, physical sciences, microelectronics, and medical research and development,” says Andersh.
The integration also results in cost savings and new opportunities for both organizations, while creating new and larger federal and commercial research and development opportunities for academia, industry and government.
“Our organizations have much in common, starting with our largest customers, the U.S. Department of Defense and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration,” says Sankovic. “Both organizations are also very complementary across all research and development and entrepreneur network programs.”
Sankovic is especially keen on Parallax’s expertise in human teaming.
“They really know how to make people work with machines and to do so very efficiently,” he says. “That ties in very well with what we are trying to do with Blue Abyss in Northeast Ohio.”
Last month, OAI played a key role in inking a deal with Blue Abyss Diving Ltd. out of the U.K to build a deep-sea diving and astronaut training facility in Brook Park outside of Cleveland.
“Humans now have to work in very extreme environments, so they are going to have to interact with all kinds of machines and robotics,” says Sankovic. “Our relationship with Parallax will help us realize how we maximize that sort of thing.”
That’s but one of the collaborative programs that will be managed by the two organizations. Others include the Ohio Federal Research Network (OFRN), the Academic Partnership Engagement Experiment (APEX) for the Department of the Air Force, small business support programs and economic development support programs in Southwest and Northeast Ohio.
For its part, OAI brings aerospace manufacturing supply chain partnerships and core areas of research in physical sciences, computational modeling and advanced materials sciences with applications to propulsion, power and communications. In addition to interfacing humans and machines, Parallax possesses technical capabilities in emerging areas including data science, artificial intelligence, machine learning, autonomous systems, advanced technology integration and demonstration, and rapid technology transition for multiple customers. It is these combined skills that will enable the affiliation to bolster the impact of both organizations across the entire aerospace ecosystem, from commercial aviation to the national security community.
“The purpose of the affiliation is to strengthen our areas of innovation and to combine our unique competencies to provide our customers with end-to-end, advanced technological systems and solutions,” says Sankovic.
As a vital component of their work, both organizations build collaborative teams with other industry, government and academic partners; help partners obtain contract funding; and aid in product development. Both organizations support economic development by creating high-quality technology jobs throughout Ohio, the Midwest and the nation.
“This affiliation is the opportunity for both organizations to extend each other’s missions and capabilities,” says Lt. Gen. (Ret) C.D. Moore, Parallax board chair. “Now each of their respective sets of capabilities become interdependent and reciprocal. This gives both a tremendous advantage at fulfilling the needs of our current and future clients.”
“This affiliation is key to expanding both Parallax’s and OAI’s operations into new geographic areas, thus increasing our market share,” adds Wayne Denny Jr., OAI board chair. “The uniqueness and likeness of both organizations will help them continue to stay at the forefront of innovation through leadership of national-scale, collaborative teams.”
Earlier this spring, Parallax Advanced Research scientists Mary Frame, director of Cognitive Research, and LJ Eads, director of Research Intelligence, were named winners of Gold Stevie Awards in the categories of Technical Professional of the Year and Achievement in Science or Technology at the 21st annual American Business Awards. Nicknamed the Stevies for the Greek word meaning “crowned,” the awards were presented in June in New York at the Marriott Marquis Hotel.
The Technical Professional of the Year category recognizes technical professionals who have demonstrated exceptional skills, expertise and achievements in their respective fields of technology—in the case of Frame, cognitive research and human-machine teaming—and who have made significant contributions to their organizations, industry or community through their innovative ideas, problem-solving abilities and leadership skills.
The Achievement in Science or Technology award recognizes individuals or organizations who have made significant contributions to the advancement of science or technology through groundbreaking discoveries, innovative research or the development of new technologies. Eads created Data Abyss, a platform that provides research intelligence analytics and knowledge security solutions through data collection, analysis and visualization of people, places, publications, organizations, technologies, funding and social profiles with risk analysis using natural language processing, understanding and analytics tools.
