Trevor Brown, Ravi Bellamkonda, Ratmir Timashev, Angela Timashev and Jim Tressel stand with shovels and construction hats after breaking ground of the Timashev Technology Tower on Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2026, at the Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio. Credit: Grace Everett | Lantern reporter.
Ohio State broke ground on the Timashev Technology Tower on Tuesday, marking a new phase for students’ education and investment opportunities for the university.
The eight-story and 103,000-square-foot building will bring students, research, startups, large companies and a center for software innovation all together, said University President Ravi Bellamkonda.
“The building being set in the innovation districts is not a coincidence that Coloma, the energy company, is next door,” Bellamkonda said. “Google is opening its office next door. It’s not a coincidence that Pelotonia’s research building is next door.”
The tower will be a part of Ohio State’s Innovation District, which is designed to connect the university’s research with business and economics, Ohio State Interim Executive Vice President and Provost Trevor Brown said.
This project is intended to attract more company startups and businesses to Ohio State’s campus, giving students the opportunity for collaboration between university research and professional fields, JobsOhio Managing Director of Healthcare Tyler Allchin said.
“Too often, companies built on Ohio ideas leave the state of Ohio for this resource elsewhere,” Allchin said.
“That changes with the Timashev Technology Tower, where Ohio State will curate and manage wet labs, research facilities that are equipped for chemical use, space for this exact purpose.”
A wet lab is a scientific research laboratory equipped with special plumbing, ventilation and safety gear for hands-on work to conduct experiments using liquid substances, chemicals, biological specimens and reagents.
Wet laboratory space will help researchers and entrepreneurs commercialize their work instead of moving their businesses out of Ohio to search for resources they need, Allchin said.
JobsOhio, the state’s privately run, non-profit economic development agency, intends to provide Ohio State with a low-interest, $100 million loan commitment to the tower, Allchin said.
“Right now, when we have a company that shows interest in being in the innovation district, we don’t have any place to put them,” Allchin said. “When this tower opens, companies will be able to access the power.”
Preparing students for careers in technology and entrepreneurship is also a goal of the tower, said Ratmir Timashev, a prominent university donor and entrepreneur.
Timashev gave credit to Ohio State, and said that it helped him develop his career in technology, which in turn motivated him to financially support the towers.
“I didn’t have to go to Silicon Valley to build what I’ve been lucky to build and I was given this opportunity to build,” Timashev said. “It all came from my education and community support here and now I want to pay it forward.”
Students will have the opportunity to work with and be prepared for artificial intelligence, innovation and life sciences, Timashev said.
He said he and his family are supporting the study of AI fluency, a new program for Integrated Business and Engineering with Software Innovation and 100 new startups – or businesses starting — every year.
“We want Columbus, Ohio State, Central Ohio and the Midwest to become the next Silicon Valley, the next technology hub, where like people and innovation, they come together,” Timashev said.
