toledoblade.com --

The University of Toledo and the Regional Growth Partnership are meeting Tuesday with the California research giant that invented the computer mouse to discuss development of an alternative energy research center in northwest Ohio.

SRI International, the non-profit scientific research institute formerly associated with Stanford University, will meet Tuesday in Toledo with local officials to discuss building and staffing an alternative energy research facility.

Today's meeting follows a visit by UT and economic development officials last month to SRI's headquarters in Menlo Park, Calif., said Steve Weathers, president and CEO of the Regional Growth Partnership. Mr. Weathers, who previously helped establish a similar SRI facility in Tucson, said convincing the research and development powerhouse to open a branch facility focusing on solar power and other alternative energy could cement the region's already growing reputation in the field and open up additional resources for local alternative energy entrepreneurs.

"This could be a game changer for our local area for long-term, high-paying job creation," Mr. Weathers said. "This to me is a really evolutionary thing, and the bottom line: You've got to take a shot."

With more than 2,000 employees in more than 20 locations worldwide, and annual revenues in excess of $500 million, SRI and its subsidiaries have a broad record of research and development accomplishments. The first computer mouse, electronic banking, color television, high-definition television, and robotic surgery all trace their lineage to SRI-affiliated laboratories. The organization currently has an engineering and systems facility in

Ann Arbor, which was opened in January, 2008.

Steve Ciesinski, SRI's vice president for strategic business development, was traveling to Toledo yesterday and couldn't be reached for comment. However, a spokesman for SRI did confirm that discussions were taking place.

In a written statement yesterday, UT President Lloyd Jacobs said: "The visit from SRI International is yet another piece of evidence of the emergence of Toledo and northwest Ohio as the world-recognized center of alternative energy and photovoltaic innovation. We are delighted with their interest and intend to show them every hospitality."

SRI has been looking to expand its research operations into the alternative energy field, and according to a presentation delivered to local officials last month, would consider a joint venture with UT "important to SRI's corporate strategy." Much of the research that SRI and its subsidiaries conduct is "research-for-hire," including many large contracts with the federal government.

UT is considered a national leader in research in lower-cost methods of producing solar panels.

Mr. Weathers said that while a final, formal agreement to move forward could be a year away, initial proposals would call for SRI to be located at UT's Scott Park campus, transforming the location into a teaching/research/business incubator center for alternative energy projects. He said that Toledo hadn't been on SRI's radar screen when it first studied moving into the alternative energy field, but that SRI officials were impressed when they saw the long history of solar research that had been done at UT over the last 25 years.

In addition to its long history of advanced research, SRI could bring to the Toledo-area a conduit for venture capital from Silicon Valley for future projects.

"It's really kind of an aligning of the stars," Mr. Weathers said.

Contact Larry P. Vellequette at:
lvellequette@theblade.com
or 419-724-6091.

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