City of Ponca City, ConocoPhillips and OSU representatives gathered Dec. 4 in Ponca City to view progress on construction of the OSU University Multispectral Laboratory and for a presentation of the second installment on the $4 million the city and the company have committed to the facility. Pictured are (from left) ConocoPhillips Refinery manager Ron Armstrong, OSU UML director Tim Reynolds, OSU Assistant Vice President Toni Shaklee, Ponca City Mayor Homer Nicholson and Lee Evans, chairman of the Ponca City Development Authority. More than 70,000 square feet of space ConocoPhillips provided at its Ponca City complex is being renovated to headquarter the UML, with the first labs expected to go on line in February.

ConocoPhillips/Ponca City Make Second Million Dollar Payment to OSU’s Sensor Facility

Two $500,000 checks were presented today to Oklahoma State University.  The checks from ConocoPhillips and Ponca City are the second installment of a combined $4 million commitment to fund the OSU University Multispectral Laboratory (UML) sensor research facility.

In a presentation at the UML in Ponca City, Ponca City Mayor Homer Nicholson and ConocoPhillips Refinery Manager Ron Armstrong each presented checks in the amount of $500,000 to OSU Assistant Vice President for Research Toni Shaklee.

“The partnership developed to develop this facility has been truly remarkable,” said Mayor Nicholson.  “Today is just one more example of ConocoPhillips, Ponca City and Oklahoma State University all delivering on commitments made.  We’re very proud to have the UML and OSU here in Ponca City.”

The checks are the second of four installments to fund the OSU sensor facility, which will serve federal, state and local commercial organizations.  The UML is located in a 70,000 square-foot building located at the ConocoPhillips complex in Ponca City.  The facility is part of a $2 million ConocoPhillips gift that is being matched by the City of Ponca City through the Ponca City Development Authority.

"ConocoPhillips is pleased to contribute to this important OSU testing facility and laboratory, which will also provide significant economic benefits to Ponca City and North-Central Oklahoma," said Ron Armstrong, ConocoPhillips refinery manager and Ponca City lead executive.

“Oklahoma State University is extremely grateful to the continued support it has and is receiving from ConocoPhillips and the city of Ponca City,” said Steve McKeever, OSU Vice President for Research and Technology Transfer. 

McKeever added, “The success of the UML hinges on all of us (OSU, ConocoPhillips, Ponca City and AMTI) working cooperatively to create a one-of-a-kind facility in the nation where testing, evaluation and training is all done in a single location.” 

Recently Ponca City received the International Economic Development Partnership of the Year Award for its partnership with Oklahoma State University and ConocoPhillips. 

The UML will develop and test sensors and sensor systems.  The primary mission is the rapid transfer of innovation through to commercialization and use. It is designed to support fast tracking and development of chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and explosive detection systems, as well as provide support for command, communications, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance systems.

OSU is partnering with AMTI, a leading government contractor and a subsidiary of Science Applications International Corporation. When fully operational the UML facility in Ponca City, with a satellite facility at OSU, will employ 80 scientists, engineers and support personnel and provide a projected economic impact to Ponca City exceeding $140 million during the next 10 years.

Oklahoma’s only university with a statewide presence, Oklahoma State University is a five-campus, public land-grant educational system that improves the lives of people in Oklahoma, the nation, and the world through integrated, high-quality teaching, research and outreach.  OSU has nearly 33,000 students across its system and nearly 21,000 on its Stillwater campus.  Established in 1890, the Stillwater campus is the home of the OSU System.  The STATE’s university boasts students from all 50 states and nearly 120 nations, and has more than 200,000 alumni throughout the world.  

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