 Through 2005 , Ohio was ranked in the top ten for states with the best environment for nanotechnology development . The Center for Multifunctional Polymer Nanomaterials and Devices at the Ohio State University was awarded $ 22 @.@ 5 million from the Third Frontier around the start of the 21st century with a goal of returning $ 78 million in research and commercialization . The University of Dayton Research Institute was also awarded investments from the state . Other major research institutes include the Institute for <unk> Science and Technology at the University of Cincinnati . The University of Toledo is home to professor Abdul @-@ Majeed Azad , a world @-@ renowned <unk> who won a <unk> Award from NASA in 2007 for developing a method of converting steel mill waste into nanoscale iron particles , and is also a recent recipient of the Fulbright Distinguished Chair Award . 
