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    Illinois AgTech Accelerator Director Jack Marck on Latest Research park Podcast

    The most recent episode of the Innovations @ Research Park Podcast features Jack Marck, the Managing Director of the Champaign-based Illinois AgTech Accelerator. Host Tanmay Shaw discusses the benefits that the Accelerator offers agtech companies that are in the ideation stage. The Illinois AgTech Accelerator is unique in its approach because of how tailored the program is to the individual needs of startup companies selected for the program. The Accelerator focuses on fewer companies than other programs so that it can prioritize their specific issues, provide funding and help them develop an effective strategy to move forward. (Read more about the latest accelerator cohort here.) The episode also delves into the origins of the program and how Champaign was considered to be a prime spot to build an accelerator. Marck emphasizes how Champaign is unique in the collection of all the great ag-focused resources that it has to offer. University of Illinois’ strength in STEM and agriculture makes it a perfect place to recruit bright minds that can bolster innovation in the sector. “The confluence of natural resources, what the University has built over the last several hundred years…you start keeping a tally of all this, [Champaign] really is in a class by itself,” said Marck when reflecting on all the assets the community brings to the Accelerator. Marck also talks about success stories in the AgTech Accelerator and how going globally has been a great experience because of its ability to make a tangible impact on other communities that are also focused on AgTech initiatives. With a food crisis on the horizon, Marck says that innovation in this sector is critical to survival and it is inevitable as well as essential that changes are made. To listen to the podcast, visit Apple podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you prefer to download your podcasts. Is there something you want to know about Research Park? Do you have an idea for a guest for the show, or a story we should pursue? Contact Laura Bleill (lwbleill@illinois.edu).

    Illinois AgTech Accelerator Director Jack Marck on Latest Research park Podcast Read Post »

    Community EnterpriseWorks Features Media Mentions News Recognition & Awards Research Park

    EnterpriseWorks Entrepreneurs Recognized in Chicago Inno 25 Under 25 List

    Chicago Inno’s 2022 Inno Under 25 list recognizes young innovators who are already making their mark on the city’s business community. Based on nominations from readers, Chicago Inno compiled a list of founders, investors, community builders and more who are 25 years old and younger. Among those featured are innovators and entrepreneurs whose startups are located at the EnterpriseWorks incubator at Research Park, including the founders of Ascent Integrated Tech, Haylon Technologies, and Natrion. Those honored are: Paul Couston, 25 Founder and CEO, Ascent Integrated Tech Alex Kosyakov, 21 Co-founder of Natrion Dante Vaisbort, 22; Tyler Revesz, 21; Raj Lulla, 21; and Namin Shah, 22 Co-founders of Haylon Technologies The full article is available online, however it is only available to Chicago Inno subscribers.

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    Community Features Internships Media Mentions News Recognition & Awards Research Park

    Real Impact: Synchrony Culture Empowers Next-Gen Innovators

    The University of Illinois System profiles the success story of the Synchrony Emerging Technology Center at Research Park. The article covers the cornerstones of the internship experience at ETC: access to top leaders and mentors meaningful work that impacts the company corporate citizenship Here’s a snippet: “At Synchrony, we don’t just prepare students for how to do the work. We prepare them for whatever comes next in their career,” Mike Storiale said. He is Synchrony’s vice president of Innovation Development and University Partnerships. For example, summer 2022 featured the clear expectation that interns work in person. “Many of our 50 student interns envisioned working remotely. We wanted them to build connections by actually seeing what others are working on. We wanted them to have those casual conversations in the kitchen,” Dor Markovich said. “Before we knew it, they were getting together after work and on the weekends.” Read the full article HERE.

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    Community EnterpriseWorks Features Media Mentions News Recognition & Awards Research Park

    “Best Tech Startups in Champaign” List Dominated by EnterpriseWorks

    Tech Tribune’s list of the Top 10 tech startups in Champaign is dominated by EnterpriseWorks tenants and graduates. All but one of the online publication’s choices have formal ties with EnterpriseWorks, the University’s tech incubator. There are a total of 11 startups on the list, the majority of which are tenants of Research Park’s EnterpriseWorks, or have since graduated from the tech incubator.  The top three ranked startups are SimBioSys, PhotoniCare, and Inprentus. SimBioSys was founded in 2018 at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and remains a tenant at EnterpriseWorks in Research Park. The company’s mission is to deploy computational oncology to transform patient experience in cancer care by making it virtual. PhotoniCare, an EnterpriseWorks graduate, works to help primary care physicians identify and diagnose middle ear issues using tools that increase accuracy and efficiency. The company’s first product, OtoSight, was launched in 2019 and is designed to allow physicians to see through the eardrum and visualize the middle ear, including the presence of fluid and its density. Inprentus is another graduate of EnterpriseWorks and was founded by University of Illinois professor Peter Abbamonte  in 2012. Inprentus executes advanced manufacturing of precision optics for x-ray applications. The list proceeds in categorizing several other companies under the “best tech startups in Champaign” such as EarthSense, Ascent Integrated Tech, Psyonic, and Yummy Future. To qualify for consideration, companies must be independent, privately owned, and have received a minimum of one round of funding. The staff’s research was centered around the following four factors: revenue potential, leadership team, brand/product traction, and competitive landscape. See the full list of startups here.

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    Features Media Mentions News Research Park

    Innovation and Success in the Illinois AgTech Accelerator

    SoyInnovator profiled the current Illinois AgTech Accelerator startup cohort in its recent article, “5 AgTech Startups You Should Know.” The article highlights the various benefits that the Accelerator manages to provide for AgTech startups. The Accelerator is a 12-week program that recruits five AgTech companies and gives them numerous opportunities to network with customers, investors, mentors, and other established AgTech companies. The Accelerator manages to give these companies a learning experience that will help them to be more successful in the future. Mentorship is one of the most important aspects of the Accelerator, which is based at the University of Illinois Research Park. “Mentorship is a major ‘unfair advantage’ for the companies that go through our program because they can discuss their technologies and business models with a range of ag professionals to really sharpen their market fit,” says Managing Director Jack Marck. The article also mentions five up-and-coming AgTech companies that are breaking barriers in the industry: AQUAOSO is a climate finance technology company that uses software to provide analytics for loan processes, improve risk management functions, and easily report on climate-related risks. Greener Crop is a data-driven hydroponic farm management company that helps clients to set up their farms efficiently. The company also helps clients plan daily farm operation strategies, supplies them with equipment, and develops effective crop strategies for higher success rates. Kray Technologies is a company that develops and produces drones for crop protection.  This reduces application costs by 90% in comparison to existing solutions. SenseGrass is a soil intelligence company. It uses soil sensors to deliver soil health analyses that help with nutrient management. This helps to reduce synthetic fertilizer use, increase crop health and grow crops using sustainable methods. Shepherd is a company that is tackling the agricultural labor shortage. The company uses a task management-based approach to ensure that workers know their responsibilities and the most efficient way to perform. This helps to reduce waste and boost operational effectiveness. This spring’s accelerator program is hybrid. Most of the teams have spent some time on-site in Champaign-Urbana; all will be in town for the OnRamp Agriculture Conference in Champaign, July 25-26. SoyInnovator is an online resource published by the Illinois Soybean Association (ISA).

    Innovation and Success in the Illinois AgTech Accelerator Read Post »

    Community Events Features News Recognition & Awards Research Park

    Cozad 2022 Winners: Nephra, Ferritiva, and Haylon Technologies Showcase Success on “Innovations” Research Park Podcast

    The newest episode of the Innovations @ Research Park Podcast features the top 3 finishers from the Cozad New Venture Challenge, a University of Illinois event where student teams can compete to win funding for their startups. Tanmay Shaw first speaks with Jonathan Politzki, CEO of EnterpriseWorks startup Nephra, whose team won $20,000 worth of funding and the I-Start prize at Cozad. Nephra is revolutionizing kidney dialysis by engineering a software embedded in ECGs. This allows patients to monitor potassium levels through fingerprints. When reflecting on his success, Politzki offers up his own advice to those inspired by his company’s success, “I encourage everyone out there to just give it a shot, try new things, learn a lot, spend a lot of time and focused effort, and you will make changes.” The future of Nephra involves investing in hardware that will facilitate more deep learning, allowing Nephra to accelerate its developments and continue to bring groundbreaking technology to the medical world.  Next in the podcast, Shaw brings on Jeffrey Lu, co-founder of Ferritiva, a startup that is developing a noninvasive method to detect iron deficiency. At Cozad, Ferritiva won more than $45,000 in funding as a second place winner. The creation of Ferritiva started from Lu’s observations as a cross country coach, leading him to attend Carle Illinois College of Medicine and ultimately work on bringing his idea to life. Lu shares how the Cozad New Venture Challenge played a role in his startup’s journey, “Cozad reminded me how difficult entrepreneurship is…but once things got rolling and we had some data to report, it was just very fun to share our story and share our vision with people.” Finally, Shaw introduces Namin Shah, founder of Haylon Technologies, the startup that won the grand prize at Cozad, the I-Start prize, and acceptance into multiple accelerators. Haylon Technologies’ goal is to improve battery life and functioning for various businesses that rely heavily on battery usage.  As someone who competed in Cozad multiple times, Shah highlights the most consistent and helpful aspects of the process. “Cozad does a really good job of highlighting the importance of doing proper customer discovery before you even engage in anything.” To listen to more of the conversations that Tanmay Shaw had with Jonathan Politzki, Jeffrey Lu, and Namin Shah about their experiences at Cozad, tune in to the Innovations @ Research Park Podcast. To listen to the podcast, visit iTunes Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you prefer to download your podcasts. Is there something you want to know about Research Park? Do you have an idea for a guest for the show, or a story we should pursue? Do you want to provide other feedback? Contact Laura Bleill (lwbleill@illinois.edu).

    Cozad 2022 Winners: Nephra, Ferritiva, and Haylon Technologies Showcase Success on “Innovations” Research Park Podcast Read Post »

    Community EnterpriseWorks Features News Recognition & Awards Research Park

    EarthSense Co-Founder Chinmay Soman Talks AgTech Trends and Company Success in Recent “Innovations” Research Park Podcast

    The latest episode of the Innovations @ Research Park Podcast delves into the history and background of EarthSense, an agricultural robotics and AI company that is a tenant here at the Research Park. Host Tanmay Shaw facilitates a discussion with Chinmay Soman, co-founder and CEO of EarthSense. The podcast delves into the origin story of the company as well as Soman’s drive to make a difference in the agricultural industry. Soman explains that the main mission behind EarthSense came from a desire to help farmers. Soman tells the story of growing up in India and having many extended family members that made a living by farming. Around the time that Soman was finishing his Ph.D., farming in India underwent many changes that led to a larger proportion of farmers being in debt. This led to increased suicide rates for individuals in this profession, which was something Soman was motivated to change. EarthSense was founded to innovate the AgTech industry while also keeping in mind environmental sustainability. They primarily focus on creating ground-based robots that are able to collect data on crops and soil. TerraSentia, their first robot, improves the quantity, accuracy, cost, and speed of in-field plant trait data collection, specifically for under canopy plants. Tune in to hear more on Soman’s perspective on future autonomous agricultural trends, EarthSense’s recent successes, and the importance of Research Park as a resource to the startup. To listen to the podcast, visit iTunes Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you prefer to download your podcasts. Is there something you want to know about Research Park? Do you have an idea for a guest for the show, or a story we should pursue? Do you want to provide other feedback? Contact Laura Bleill (lwbleill@illinois.edu).

    EarthSense Co-Founder Chinmay Soman Talks AgTech Trends and Company Success in Recent “Innovations” Research Park Podcast Read Post »

    Features News Recognition & Awards Research Park

    Genective’s Qiaoni Linda Jing Named Entrepreneur Of The Year Finalist

    Ernst & Young LLP (EY US) announced this week that Qiaoni Linda Jing, President, CEO and Board Director of Genective was named an Entrepreneur Of The Year 2022 Midwest Award finalist. Entrepreneur Of The Year is a competitive business awards for entrepreneurs and leaders of high-growth companies who “think big to succeed.” Jing was selected by a panel of independent judges according to the following criteria – entrepreneurial spirit, purpose, growth and impact – among other core contributions and attributes. Genective is a technology joint venture of Groupe Limagrain and KWS Group, the largest seed companies in France and Germany, respectively. Its offices and labs are located at the University of Illinois Research Park in Champaign. “I am thrilled for this great recognition, not only for myself, but for all the team members at Genective,” said Jing. “Three years ago, I embarked on a journey to reestablish Genective in the U.S. Midwest, putting us at the heart of one of the most vibrant AgTech innovation communities in the world.” “Genective has been on a tremendous growth trajectory over the past three years, despite the challenges of COVID-19. Our team continues to live and breathe our mission of providing novel and sustainable biotech solutions to farmers across the globe,” said Jing. The award recognizes “audacious, game-changing business leaders” who have “ushered in innovation while lifting up their employees and communities.” Genective is dedicated to the research, development, and commercialization of transgenic traits, focusing on insect resistant corn. Regional award winners will be announced on June 14, 2022. The regional winners will then be considered by the National independent judging panel, and National awards will be presented in November at the Strategic Growth Forum. The Entrepreneur Of The Year National Overall Award winner will then move on to compete for the EY World Entrepreneur Of The Year Award in June 2023. For over 35 years, EY US has celebrated the unstoppable entrepreneurs who are building a more equitable, sustainable and prosperous world for all. The Entrepreneur Of The Year program has recognized more than 10,000 US executives since its inception in 1986. 

    Genective’s Qiaoni Linda Jing Named Entrepreneur Of The Year Finalist Read Post »

    Community EnterpriseWorks Features News Research Park

    Research Park Podcast Features EnterpriseWorks Startup Reconstruct

    Episode 11 of the Innovations @ Research Park podcast features Reconstruct, a venture-backed  startup company that launched and incubated at EnterpriseWorks led by a team of faculty and graduate students from the Grainger College of Engineering. The company — which builds artificial intelligence and  software for the construction and real-estate industries — has more than 1,000 projects underway. Host Tanmay Shah interviews Reconstruct co-founder Dr. Mani Golparvar, associate professor of civil engineering, computer science, and technology entrepreneurship at the Grainger College of Engineering. Golparvar discusses how the early-stage tech startup has “revolutionized” the planning, monitoring, and management of large construction projects around the world. The Innovations @ Research Park podcast highlights the thriving entrepreneurial and corporate innovation culture in Champaign. The host, Tanmay Shah, is a University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Grainger College of Engineering alumnus. To listen to the podcast, visit iTunes Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you prefer to download your podcasts. Is there something you want to know about Research Park? Do you have an idea for a guest for the show, or a story we should pursue? Do you want to provide other feedback? Contact Laura Bleill (lwbleill@illinois.edu).

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    Community EnterpriseWorks Features News Research Park

    SNOOZ Co-Founder Eli Lazar Talks Journey to Success on “Innovations” Podcast

    It started with an idea. SNOOZ is a consumer electronics company that focuses on controlling airflow and acoustics to turn a bedroom into a haven for sleep. SNOOZ’s flagship product is a white noise machine and they are currently in 2000 hotel rooms around the country. Host Tanmay Shaw interviews SNOOZ co-founder and CTO Eli Lazar. Tune in to this episode to hear about Eli’s journey from UIUC student to CTO, his inspiration to create this product, and what’s on his roadmap for the future of the company. SNOOZ incubated at EnterpriseWorks in the Research Park. “When you’re first starting off [Enterpriseworks] helps to get the word out about what you’re doing and helps kickstart campaigns,” Lazar said, while reflecting on his time and experience at EnterpriseWorks. Lazar also cited networking events such as the  Champaign-Urbana Tech CEO Roundtable as being a significant boost in the early days of the company, and how important it is to be connected to other founders and cofounders of startups. The Innovations @ Research Park podcast highlights the thriving entrepreneurial and corporate innovation culture in Champaign. Its host is Tanmay Shah, a University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign alumnus. To listen to the podcast, visit iTunes Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you prefer to download your podcasts. Is there something you want to know about Research Park? Do you have an idea for a guest for the show, or a story we should pursue? Do you want to provide other feedback? Contact Laura Bleill (lwbleill@illinois.edu).

    SNOOZ Co-Founder Eli Lazar Talks Journey to Success on “Innovations” Podcast Read Post »