WKSU Stories

Researchers Call Youngstown's 3-D Printing Accelerator an Example of Transformative Innovation

Ideastream Public Media | By Tim Rudell,

Tim Rudell

Published July 20, 2018 at 9:18 PM EDT

This is a 3-D printer at the America Makes Additive Manufacturing Institute in Youngstown.

To break the cycle of lagging behind the rest of the country in economic development, Ohio needs to do more with homegrown innovations. That’s the recommendation a major new study.

Elliot Reed, a board member of the Ohio Chamber of Commerce Foundation, says Ohio hasn't had a tradition of pushing out its breakthroughs to various sectors of business.

The research, funded by the nonprofit Ohio Chamber of Commerce Research Foundation, says the state has as much innovation as other states. But Foundation board member Elliot Reed said unlike most of them, Ohio hasn’t had a tradition of pushing out knowledge of the breakthroughs to different sectors of business.

“They really miss the convergence that happens in a lot of these areas. And we’re seeing more and more as we become more data focused that these particular clusters of innovation are really converging at this point in time,” Reed said.

The study cites Youngstown’s America MakesAdditive Manufacturing Institute as an example of the kind of integrated innovation the rest of the state should be looking at.