State officials this fall doled out $4.7 million in grants aimed at jumpstarting research in five new "innovation partnership zones."

The grants went to help fund research park projects in Bellingham, Grays Harbor, Pullman, Spokane and Walla Walla. The goal is to mimic North Carolina's famed Research Triangle Park by helping communities bring together researchers, educators and businesspeople to develop technologies that could help existing industries or help to generate new business opportunities, although the zones are scattered statewide, in some cases located far from research facilities or universities.

The Port of Bellingham will assist research into new high-speed, low-wake ferry designs; the Port of Grays Harbor's project will assist development of biofuels; the Port of Whitman County's project in Pullman will study energy-efficient and eco-friendly data centers; Spokane's University District consortium plans to buy new computers to assist biomedical research; and the city of Walla Walla's project will focus on new technology for irrigation, grape growing and wine production.

Six other zones were established by the state's Department of Community, Trade and Economic Development, but they did not receive grant money. They were an aerospace materials research zone in Snohomish County, a marine research center in Sequim, a biomedical technology institute in Bothell, a semiconductor and micro-device research center in Vancouver, a biotech research center in Seattle, and a solar-power and fuel-cell research institute in the Tri-Cities.