THE PRESIDENT AND TRUSTEES OF THE OHIO UNIVERSITY

Their core work

Ohio University is a public research university in Athens, Ohio, USA, with a broad disciplinary range spanning natural sciences and social sciences. In H2020-funded work, it has contributed in two distinct areas: advanced nanomaterials science (optical properties of doped semiconductor nanocrystals) and comparative entrepreneurship education research across US and Italian contexts. Its participation has been exclusively as a third-party host institution under MSCA mobility schemes, providing a US academic base for EU-funded researchers and enabling transatlantic comparative studies. The scope of topics across just two projects reflects the university's comprehensive scale rather than a single focused institutional research identity.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

Ohio University's earlier H2020 involvement (SONAR, starting 2017) was grounded in materials physics — plasmon resonance, 2D layered materials, and electro-tunable nanocrystals. By 2021, its second project (WOentrecompMEN) shifted entirely to social science, examining entrepreneurship competencies and gender disparities in business creation. These two projects sit in completely different disciplines, which almost certainly reflects separate research groups within the same large institution rather than any deliberate institutional shift in direction.

With only two projects in unrelated fields, no reliable trajectory can be identified — future collaborations could emerge from any department within this large comprehensive university.

How they like to work

Ohio University has participated exclusively as a third party in both its H2020 projects, never taking a lead or formal partner role with contractual deliverables. This positions it as a host or collaborating institution under MSCA mobility rules rather than a co-investigator shaping project outputs. Engaging Ohio University works best when a consortium needs a credible US academic base for researcher exchanges or a North American comparative case study, not when deep technical co-development is required.

Ohio University has connected with 10 unique consortium partners across 6 countries through its 2 H2020 projects. Given its third-party status, direct working relationships are narrow and concentrated around the coordinating institutions in each MSCA project.

What sets them apart

Ohio University is one of the few US public universities appearing in the H2020 database, giving it a distinctive value as a North American academic anchor for EU-US research collaboration under MSCA schemes. Its contribution to European consortia is specifically its capacity to host EU researchers on US soil and provide an American comparative context — whether in materials science or social research. However, with only two recorded projects and no direct EC funding, this positioning is based on thin evidence and should be treated cautiously.

Highlights from their portfolio

• SONAR
  A five-year MSCA-RISE project on tunable plasmonic nanocrystals — the university's only technical science contribution, bridging nanophotonics and emerging 2D material devices.
• WOentrecompMEN
  A transatlantic gender and entrepreneurship study applying the EU's EntreComp framework to a US-Italy comparison, making Ohio University the indispensable American reference point.