The Economist Profile of the Midwest Highlights Research Park’s Focus on Technology Commercialization

An in-depth, multi-story report on the Midwest economy published in the Economist’s July 23 edition included a snapshot of the University of Illinois Research Park, highlighting its commitment to commercialize technology and to capture talent on its own campus – creating a tech hub that is a viable alternative to the coasts.

One portion of the report, “A Region with Outsized Punch,” focused on how top Midwest universities drive economic prosperity by supplying a talented, educated workforce and developing advanced technology.

Reporter Adam Roberts visited UIRP and EnterpriseWorks in March, meeting with startups and touring with Laura Frerichs, UIRP Executive Director.

Laura Frerichs … “says her university—with 13,000 engineering students and more mathematics phds than anywhere in America—learned from that experience. It has since put up 17 buildings for entrepreneurial students and recent graduates.”

The story highlights some of the Research Park’s stellar startup stories, including EarthSense, Reconstruct, and SimBioSys, but doesn’t mention them by name.

The story is available online, but subscription is required to read it.