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University of Toledo students will soon have an edge with internships, partnerships and job opportunities, thanks to solar research efforts, reports TV24.

The University of Toledo and Isofoton have agreed on a plan to increase collaboration between UT and the Spanish photovoltaic company, which announced earlier this month that it would be establishing a manufacturing plant and its North American headquarters in northwest Ohio.

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Former Gov. Ted Strickland and a few of his political allies have formed a consulting firm that specializes in Midwest business expansions and political campaigns, reports Business First.

The firm, Midwest Gateway Partners, will have offices in Columbus and Washington, D.C., said a release.

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A proposed solar-panel plant will locate in northwest Ohio, providing another key part for a planned 49.9-megawatt solar-power project in the state, reports The Columbus Dispatch.

Isofoton, based in Spain, says it has selected Napoleon, in Henry County, near Toledo, and plans to hire up to 330 workers.

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The Air Force has awarded an additional $94 million in contract work for the Expeditionary Combat Support System program just months after the Defense Department proposed to interrupt funding, reports The Dayton Daily News.

The multi-year project, being led by Computer Sciences Corp. in Beavercreek, supports about 500 jobs in the Dayton area.

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James Leftwich, former director of the Dayton Development Coalition, will step down Aug. 1 as director of the Ohio Department of Development and become an informal economic development adviser to Gov. John Kasich, reports The Dayton Daily News.

Chris Schmenk, currently general counsel in the state development department, will take over as director of the department as the state's job creation efforts are transitioned to JobsOhio.

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Pennsylvania's gas drillers tapping into the Marcellus Shale are shipping more fracking waste to neighboring Ohio for disposal, reports the Associated Press.

The amount of wastewater Ohio accepted from out-of-state drillers jumped 25 percent in the first quarter, compared with the last quarter of 2010, likely in part because Pennsylvania officials this year increased pressure on drillers to keep fracking waste out of surface water.

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President Barack Obama has extended the life of an office intended to help struggling U.S. auto communities, and named Youngstown Mayor Jay Williams to lead it, reports the Detroit Free Press.

The Office of Recovery for Auto Communities and Workers, created during the 2009 rescue of General Motors and Chrysler, had been slated to dissolve at the end of June, before it was renewed by the president.

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Ohio Gov. John Kasich named his top jobs adviser, the president of Ohio State University, the chief executives of Bob Evans, Procter & Gamble and Marathon Petroleum and four others to the state's new nonprofit job-creation board Monday, reports the Associated Press.

After the first meeting of the panel, called JobsOhio, Kasich praised his lineup of recruits as a great start for Ohio's new economic development engine.

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Business-friendly changes in Ohio's tax structure have given the state a boost in a national ranking, reports The Columbus Dispatch.

Ohio moved up to fifth this year from 29th last year in the 'cost of doing business' category that is part of business cable-television channel CNBC's 'America's Top States for Business.'

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General Motors Co. says it will invest an additional $83 million in its Toledo Transmission Plant, reports The Toledo Blade.

The new money will mean the addition of 30 jobs at the plant, which has about 1,600 employees making front-wheel and rear-wheel-drive six-speed transmissions.

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A proposal allowing factories in Ohio to pull more water out of Lake Erie sailed through the state Senate on Tuesday despite objections from two ex-governors and a former administrator who said it will give Ohio the weakest water supply protection rules in the Great Lakes, reports the Associated Press.

Supporters say giving businesses the ability to increase water use will bring new work to the state's industrial belt and cities such as Cleveland and Toledo, which have lost thousands of jobs in recent years.

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Yogurt maker The Dannon Company Inc. will invest more than $88 million to expand in Minster and add 100 new jobs during the next three years, reports the Dayton Business Journal.

Gov. John R. Kasich on Tuesday joined company executives at the Dannon plant in Auglaize County to announce the project, which will increase production capacity.

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Auto supplier Johnson Controls Inc. will invest $138.5 million and will nearly double the size of its battery plant in suburban Toledo, adding about 50 jobs this year as it converts production from traditional lead-acid automotive batteries to those with newer Absorbent Glass Mat, or AGM, technology, reports The Toledo Blade.

Once construction is complete and equipment and tooling are in place, the 30-year-old plant at 10300 Industrial Rd., near Toledo Express Airport, will employ approximately 450 unionized workers and crank out an estimated 6 million technologically advanced automotive batteries each year for use in vehicles assembled in plants across the Midwest.

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Ohio's public colleges and universities have seen a 20 percent jump in students graduating with degrees in science, math and technology-related fields from 2006-2010, reports the Dayton Daily News.

Better job opportunities, higher pay and a coordinated effort by educators and lawmakers across the state and the nation focused on graduating students in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) programs have all contributed to the increase.

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The Ohio University Innovation Center on Wednesday celebrated the grand opening of its new Biotechnology Research and Development Facility, reports MicrOHscope.

The new facility offers state-of-the-art instrumentation and research equipment for chemical and biomedical analysis. The facility is available for use by Ohio University faculty, staff and students, Innovation Center clients, researchers at area colleges and universities and private industry.

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