About Us

The Institute for Materials and Manufacturing Research (IMR) is the gateway to materials-allied research at The Ohio State University.

The Ohio State University Institute for Materials and Manufacturing Research is a campus-wide, multidisciplinary institute that works with Ohio State colleges and departments to augment and synergistically advance their goals. IMR facilitates, promotes and coordinates research activities and infrastructure related to the science and engineering of materials throughout The Ohio State University.

Vision

To be the exemplar, interdisciplinary, academic research institute, which by building across colleges, creates a global reputation of excellence and impact at Ohio State through world-class basic and applied materials research, technology advancement, and innovation.

Mission

Lead an interconnected, interdisciplinary materials research community across Ohio State’s colleges and centers;

Nurture, grow, and support excellence in materials research through team development, establishing centers of excellence, and ensuring world-class research infrastructure;

Drive an innovation ecosystem to connect, create and deliver value for our students, staff, faculty and external partners.

Goals

To realize success for the IMR vision, we have developed three IMR goals, as shown below. These goals are rolling over a four-year cycle with diagnostic assessments every six months to maintain relevancy.

Lead the Ohio State materials research community to deliver scholarly impact on a national and global scale.
Grow global reputation of excellence in materials research by establishing and maintaining centers of excellence in signature areas and ensuring world-class research infrastructure is sustained.
Create a sustainable innovation ecosystem that provides value for our students, staff, faculty and external partners.

IMR supports Ohio State's materials community through:

Strategic leadership
Intercollegiate coordination
Multi-university relations
Management of major research facilities
Seed funding and facility access funding

Promotion of industry partnerships
Infrastructure support and development
Development and administration of major research programs and centers
Scientific educational programs and annual conferences
Faculty recruitment

A Closer Look

IMR was established in 2006 with a central goal: to guide Ohio State’s materials-allied research enterprise to be among the very best in the nation, impacting the forefront of materials research, winning the most competitive and prestigious research programs and centers, and enabling the attraction of top talent in areas that exploit the multicollege breadth of the university. IMR brings together a large, diverse, interdisciplinary community consisting of more than 265 faculty members from 40 departments and 10 colleges who are actively engaged in research and innovation across the materials continuum.