Northeast Ohio hosts National Science Foundation site visit as NEO-SMART advances as national finalist
Northeast Ohio was in the national spotlight this week (Jan. 21-22) as regional leaders hosted a site visit from the National Science Foundation (NSF) review team evaluating NEO-SMART, a regionally led, execution-ready collaborative that is a finalist in the NSF’s Regional Innovation Engines program.
NEO-SMART (Northeast Ohio Strengthening Manufacturing for American Resilience through Technology) is one of just 15 finalists nationwide—the only one in Ohio—under consideration for a transformative NSF Engines award designed to catalyze regional multisector partnerships for greater innovation, economic prosperity, and enhanced national security.
Anchored by Case Western Reserve University and numerous partners, NEO-SMART has been in development for over three years. The work aligns cutting edge research, workforce development, and innovative manufacturing technologies to strengthen Northeast Ohio’s competitiveness as a national center for advanced materials and manufacturing—including polymers, metals, and chemicals and coatings. The goal is to convert materials-focused R&D into tangible economic growth and jobs in Northeast Ohio.
The visit—held at MAGNET—marked the final stage of a highly competitive national process and brought together over 100 leaders from across Northeast Ohio representing industry, workforce development, philanthropy, higher education and government. Sessions focused on research and development, commercialization, workforce strategies, governance and regional alignment.
Those in attendance included Ohio Governor Mike DeWine; Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb (LAW '18, MGT '18), and Akron Mayor Shammas Malik, reflecting unprecedented cooperation and commitments across Northeast Ohio. The governing board for NEO-SMART was also in attendance and includes Michael Oakes, CWRU’s executive vice president for research and economic development; Steve Millard, president and CEO of the Greater Akron Chamber; Baiju Shah, president and CEO of the Greater Cleveland Partnership; Bethia Burke, president of The Fund for Economic Future; Marcia Ballinger, president of Lorain County Community College; Matt Dolan, chief executive officer of Team NEO; Nick Barendt, CEO of NEO-SMART; and Julie Edgar, senior vice president and chief technology officer at Lubrizol.
They were joined by Case Western Reserve University President Eric W. Kaler; Lillian Kuri, president and CEO of the Cleveland Foundation; leaders from manufacturing and workforce organizations; regional economic development partners; and representatives from the Polymer Industry Tech Hub, Cleveland State University, Sherwin-Williams, Goodyear, Avient, Novagard, and many other partners.
Since being named an NSF finalist, the initiative has continued to gain momentum. What began as a 50-partner coalition has expanded to include more than 70 partners representing 18 Northeast Ohio counties, spanning research universities, global manufacturers, small and mid-sized companies, workforce and education providers, economic development organizations, and public-sector partners. NEO-SMART is structured to support pre-competitive collaboration and market-driven innovation, enabling companies to compete and grow independently rather than coordinating market behavior.
“The story here is the partnership and teamwork,” said Case Western Reserve University President Kaler. “NEO-SMART reflects what can happen when industry, universities, workforce organizations and government align around shared priorities. Our role as a university is to help catalyze that collaboration.”
While Case Western Reserve is incubating NEO-SMART during its early stages—providing initial infrastructure and operational support—the initiative is governed by an external board and is designed to rapidly evolve into an independent entity.
The NSF Engines program is designed to support place-based innovation ecosystems that integrate research, translation, workforce development and manufacturing at scale. While NEO-SMART has built strong momentum, NSF support is essential to move from coordinated planning to execution at the scale required to compete nationally and globally. An NSF investment would unlock additional partner commitments and enable deployment at the scale required to compete nationally and globally.
Julie Edgar, chief technology officer at Lubrizol, said this effort “shows what’s possible when a region comes together around innovation, talent and manufacturing.”
Throughout the two-day visit, NSF reviewers met with partners and participated in structured sessions examining the initiative’s strategy, governance, budget and anticipated outcomes.
Regional leaders emphasized that hosting the site visit itself represented a significant achievement—and a reflection of Northeast Ohio’s readiness to compete nationally.
“Across manufacturing industries, NEO-SMART isn’t optional—it’s essential. Collaboration at this scale helps us accelerate innovation, sharpen our global competitiveness and produce the materials and technologies that fuel economic growth in Ohio and across the nation,” said Chris Helsel, SVP and Chief Technical Officer at The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company.
Final funding decisions are expected later this year. Regardless of the outcome, partners emphasized to reviewers that the process has already strengthened regional coordination and set the foundation for continued collaboration.
“The strength of NEO-SMART is the people and organizations working together to build long-term opportunities,” said Oakes.
