For Immediate Release: Senator Sherrod Brown Promotes Innovation Hubs in visit to WBIs 444 Facility
Sarah Epstein of Mason (left) looks on as Sen. Sherrod Brown greets students in Dayton for the Summer of Innovation - Digital Drone, at WBI's 444 E. Second St. facility. Photo by Anne Hertenstein/WBI
Dayton, June 29, 2021: Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown continued his tour of the state’s centers for manufacturing, STEM pursuits and innovation with a stop at Wright Brothers Institute’s 444 E. Second Street facility in downtown Dayton.
Sen. Brown said the 444 building is “a good example of what innovation centers could be.”
During a tour of the facility, he visited with students in Dayton for the “Summer of Innovation - Digital Drone” program. The 24 participating students from local high schools, Sinclair Community College, and seven universities, are working to discover and refine best practices for the U.S. Air Force’s Digital Transformation.
“It’s great to hear them speaking a language I can’t understand,” Sen. Brown joked.
In a short press conference following the tour, Sen. Brown promoted the 2021 Innovation and Competition Act (USICA) a $110 billion initiative designed to empower competition with China. The bill passed the Senate 68-32; the House passed its own version of the bill earlier this week. It’s now up to Congress to craft a compromise. The Senate version contained provisions to create innovations hubs similar to WBI’s 444 complex.
“We know we’ve got to compete with China,” Sen. Brown said. “We know we’ve got to invest.”
Wendell Banks, Executive Director of WBI, is on board. “The key to reaching a competitive edge is with breakthrough capability and that means finding the optimum balance between defense and commercial markets,” he said. “Sen. Brown’s visit highlights how this bill can amplify programming at innovation hubs like WBI to transform Ohio’s economy.”
Also on hand were Jeff Graley, president of MileTwo, and Nicholas Ripplinger, president of Battle Sight Technologies, examples of businesses working along the lines the USICA would promote.
Sen. Brown’s visit to Southwest Ohio and WBI’s 444 building was part of an effort to highlight innovation hubs that he hopes will leverage passage of the bill.
About Wright Brothers Institute
Wright Brothers Institute (WBI) is a cutting-edge innovation and technology commercialization center for the Air Force Research Laboratory, with facilities located just outside of WPAFB in Dayton, OH. We drive fast, agile innovation that enables successful technology development to solve the Air Force’s most complex challenges by leveraging resident experts, unique facilities, disruptive innovation processes, and extensive networks. We leverage subject matter experts and intellectual property from AFRL and SBIR companies to unlock the right problem, connect to new partners and synchronize transition pathways through our commercialization partners.
To receive updates about future events at all Wright Brothers Institute locations, visit www.wbi-innovates.com. Follow Wright Brothers Institute on Twitter @wbiinnovates, on Facebook @WBIInnovates and on LinkedIn at Wright Brothers Institute.