New R&D group awards $11 million in Fort Leonard Wood area

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) -- The region around Fort Leonard Wood was expected to get an economic boost from $11 million in federal funding for Army-related research and development projects.

The Leonard Wood Institute, a nonprofit group created in 2004, announced its first round of grants Thursday for 20 projects during the next year in areas of interest to the Army.

Those areas include chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear defense preparedness, the detection and destruction of improvised explosive devices and improved sensor capabilities for unmanned aerial vehicles and robots.

Joe Driskill, executive director of LWI and a former head of the state economic development department, said most of the research and development work will stay in the area and an estimated $7 million of the total funding will be spent locally.

Some of the companies and university departments that won awards will do some of the work at their home bases, he added.

"This is going to have a multimillion dollar impact," Driskill said.

The funding is a Congressional appropriation through the Army Research Laboratory. Mike Dunbar, president of the LWI board, said in a statement that Congressman Ike Skelton (D-MO) played a key role in helping the institute receive the money.

Driskill said the institute was established to promote and manage research and development of technology that can benefit the Army and also fuel economic development.

LWI said in a statement that the 20 projects will create or support dozens of jobs.

Offices are still being set up by most of the project groups, which include researchers from the University of Missouri at Columbia and Rolla, Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio, and several military and technology companies.

Fort Leonard Wood is a former World War II training base that has turned into headquarters for the Army's engineering, chemical weapons defense and military police school.

With between 25,000 and 30,000 people on the post on any given day, it is the economic engine of the surrounding region that includes Rolla. Driskill said a state economic impact study several years ago found the facility made a multi-billion-dollar contribution to the overall state economy.