Ohio Third Frontier Commission officials will vote Wednesday on applications for $6 million in funding for start-up companies that want to commercialize technologies developed by Ohio colleges and universities.

The $6 million Tech Validation and Start-Up Fund is available for fiscal year 2012. It includes $3 million each in technology validation and start-up funds.

The commission announced the fund in November. Proposals were due Feb. 1.

Miami University in Oxford has requested more than $41,000 for a device to diminish gag reflex response, according to the proposals listed on the commission’s website. No Dayton-area schools or companies are listed as lead applicants on current proposals.

The technology validation phase is to generate the proof needed to determine whether the technology is either ready to be licensed by an Ohio start-up company or otherwise deemed commercially unfeasible. The money will be used to do prototyping and demonstrations, and to assess possible flaws that could develop along the way to commercialization.The start-up funds phase will support companies that have licensed an Ohio institution-developed technology during the critical early life of the company, and accelerate the technology’s time to market. It will fund activities such as beta prototype development and testing, evaluation and market research.

The fund will support technology that falls within advanced materials; aeropropulsion power management; fuel cells and energy storage; medical technology; software applications for business and health care; sensing and automation technologies; situational awareness and surveillance systems; or solar photovoltaics.

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2419 or dlarsen@DaytonDailyNews.com.