The Timken Company has announced an open-innovation agreement with the University of Akron, Ohio, to accelerate technology development.
The Timken Company will fund and equip a new Timken Engineered Surfaces Laboratory currently under construction on the UA campus, one of five laboratories to be housed in the new engineering research building where the two organizations plan to combine their expertise in materials and surface engineering.
Douglas H. Smith, Timken's senior vice president of technology and quality, hails the agreement as a new model of open innovation. "Not only is UA Ohio's fastest growing college of engineering, it is a leading developer of materials for vital, commercially viable uses," he said.
"Matching some of Timken's leading scientists and capabilities with UA's renowned faculty and gifted postdoctoral researchers and students will further the development and commercialization of advanced materials, engineered surfaces, and performance coatings for the world's most demanding applications."
UA President Luis M. Proenza also praises the arrangement, adding that it defines The Akron Model, the University's blueprint for successful regional development and job creation and a new gold standard for university performance.
"The UA-Timken collaboration demonstrates what The Akron Model truly is," said Proenza. "Universities must be engaged with the larger community and its regional economies to build a very synergistic and reciprocal relationship with each other – universities feeding the economy and the economy feeding the university back."
George K. Haritos, dean of the UA College of Engineering, pointed out that this new agreement significantly broadens the scope of the existing Timken-UA strategic alliance.
Timken’s collaboration with UA dates back several years, with students and graduates supporting Timken's global operations as co-ops and employees. “This agreement further strengthens our strategic partnership with The Timken Company and creates a new, important platform for innovation that will benefit our engineering students, Timken, UA, and the region,” said George K. Haritos, dean of the UA College of Engineering.
