The Ohio State University receives $26M grant for natural rubber production

The Ohio State University has been awarded $26 million in federal funding to initiate natural rubber production in the United States and enhance workforce development. The U.S. National Science Foundation announced funding on Aug. 21, for the creation of the “Transformation of American Rubber through Domestic Innovation for Supply Security” (TARDISS) Engineering Research Center (ERC). The first round of funding will last for five years, with the potential to renew for an additional $26 million for five more years.

“Our ongoing priority is to support the people, communities and businesses in Ohio by leveraging the expertise and research of our outstanding faculty and students through these partnerships,” Ohio State President Walter “Ted” Carter Jr. said. “Ohio State is proud to lead this work advancing domestic natural rubber production in our state and region.”

TARDISS, composed of academic partners and supported by industry stakeholders, will lead fundamental research supporting the creation of a “Silicon Valley of Domestic Natural Rubber Production,” said Judit Puskas, professor of food, agricultural and biological engineering (FABE) and a distinguished university professor at Ohio State. As principal investigator on the grant, Puskas will lead the center along with its director, Ajay Shah, also a professor in FABE. Katrina Cornish, Ohio State professor emeritus and current director of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service and Arid Land Agricultural Research Center, will serve as an external adviser to TARDISS.

The ERC said it will combine engineering, biology, and agriculture to evolve alternative natural rubber production from domestic crops like guayule, the TK “rubber” dandelion, and mountain gum.

“Ohio State is prepared to make the most of this opportunity to get domestic natural rubber production up and running,” Puskas said. “This significant federal support coupled with the large network of expertise under the ERC umbrella positions us well to meet the critical need for a biotechnology-driven solution that boosts domestic manufacturing and reduces reliance on imports.”

As the lead of the multi-institutional engineering research center, Ohio State will partner with the California Institute of Technology; North Carolina State University; Texas Tech University; the University of California, Merced; Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute; and Case Western Reserve University, as well as industry, educational, and technical organizations including The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., the Rubber Division of the American Chemical Society, and the Waters Corp.

TARDISS will be headquartered at the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences (CFAES) Wooster campus.

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