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UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS URBANA-CHAMPAIGN

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    University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign EDA University Center Issues Report on Economic Gardening in the State of Illinois

    CHAMPAIGN — The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign’s EDA University Center published a report on how downstate Illinois communities are utilizing — and can continue to employ – economic development strategies that focus on enhancing and growing the existing assets of each community. The report, authored by the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Urban Planning Professor Marc Doussard, was supported with funding from the university’s EDA University Center. The report points out successful examples of economic gardening strategies already happening in downstate communities, such as:– Building up fermentation expertise and resources in Carbondale– Students gaining business experience by operating arts-based ventures in Decatur– A partnership between a university medical system and local healthcare system that supports medical entrepreneurs in Peoria. The report identifies further opportunities to leverage assets such as healthcare systems, agricultural resources, and an abundance of highly educated, experienced human capital. “In our work with the University Center meeting with communities across downstate Illinois, we realized there was a need for incubator and entrepreneurship assistance along with “economic gardening” fundamentals to grow jobs and companies based on community assets and opportunities,” said Laura Frerichs, director of the University Center. “We worked with Professor Marc Doussard to develop strategies to help communities and assess the differing economic potential in downstate Illinois, and incorporate challenges and opportunities we experienced in regional economies.” Some of the report’s findings:– Whether entrepreneurs make software, whiskey or biomedical devices, most communities can support them by identifying ways to mitigate some of entrepreneurship’s basic and enduring challenges such as funding and risk.– Most economic gardening strategies can be initiated quickly, simply and without extensive up-front costs.– Retirees, students and immigrants all stand out as under-realized sources for new businesses. The full report is available online at https://go.illinois.edu/GrowOurOwnIL. The University of Illinois Economic Development Association (EDA) University Center exists to promote and foster entrepreneurship in Illinois south of Interstate 80. This program is supported by federal grant funding from the United States Economic Development Administration. For more information, please contact us at research-park@illinois.edu or 217-333-8324.

    University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign EDA University Center Issues Report on Economic Gardening in the State of Illinois Read Post »

    EnterpriseWorks Graduates Media Mentions News Recognition & Awards Research Park

    Co-founders of Quicket Solutions Recognized as Crain’s 20 In Their Twenties

    The two co-founders of Quicket Solutions, a graduate from the EnterpriseWorks incubator at Research Park, have been recognized as one of Crain’s Chicago Business’s 20 In Their Twenties.  Christiaan Burner graduated from the Gies College of Business and Akshay Singh graduated from The Grainger College of Engineering. The beginnings of their successful data cloud software company began during their tenure in EnterpriseWorks. It has been recognized for its noteworthy accomplishments, innovation, high performance, and the potential to achieve even more in the technological world. Now it is located in downtown Chicago with a team largely consisted of the University of Illinois alumni.  Quicket is cloud-based data software to increase efficiency for handing out tickets, organizing the government data, and document hearings and payments. Through this software, police departments are able to digitize data, reduce ineligibility, and perform duties more efficiently. Transitioning from a paper system to a digital world provides ease and efficiency in the government workloads.  For more information on Quicket Solutions, visit here.

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    EnterpriseWorks Media Mentions News Recognition & Awards Research Park

    AgTech Startup EarthSense Featured in New York Times

    EnterpriseWorks agtech startup EarthSense was featured in an article in the New York Times in its February 13 edition. In the article, co-founder Girish Chowdhary discussed EarthSense’s TerraSentia, a farm robot that uses advanced machine-learning skills to collect and report data in the fields. EarthSense was founded in 2016 by University of Illinois researchers and entrepreneurs Chinmay Soman and Girish Chowdhary.  Since their start, the company has developed an agricultural robotics and AI platform with three key applications: (1) developing the next generation of more productive and sustainable crops, (2) helping growers obtain actionable intelligence from their fields, and (3) managing problems like herbicide resistant weeds.

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    EnterpriseWorks Features Media Mentions News

    EarthSense, Featured on OneZero about Autonomous Tractors

    EnterpriseWorks agtech startup EarthSense was featured in an OneZero Article about the regulations on autonomous tractors in January. This article stresses the importance of the freedom to send autonomous tractors over farm fields without much, if any, regulatory interference or risk of injuring humans helps speed the development of better technology. Cofounder Girish Chowdhary says “The challenge with agriculture is that the environment can be very different in different fields.” EarthSense, a company that develops ultra-compact autonomous robots was founded in 2016 by University of Illinois researchers and entrepreneurs Chinmay Soman and Girish Chowdhary. This past month, the company received Phase II SBIR funding from the National Science Foundation. This award will allow the startup to continue work toward large-scale deployment of TerraSentia for agricultural research and product development.  To read the full article by OneZero, click here.

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    EnterpriseWorks Graduates Media Mentions News

    Personify Named One of Crain’s Chicago’s Most Innovative Companies

    EnterpriseWorks graduate Personify landed in the top 10 on Crain’s Chicago’s Most Innovative Companies list. The company was named number 4, but this isn’t the first time Personify has appeared on the Most Innovative Companies list. Crain’s Chicago Business named Personify tenth on the list in 2018. Personify was founded in 2009 by University of Illinois Professor Sanjay Patel and his colleagues Minh Do and Wen-mei Hwu. The company has developed advanced video technology that allows users to have an immersive video experience. Users can use Personify’s “virtual green screen” to blur video background or customize their background. Learn more about Personify’s technology here.

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    EnterpriseWorks Features Graduates Media Mentions News

    EnterpriseWorks Graduate Serionix Featured in NASA’s Spinoff

    EnterpriseWorks graduate, Serionix was featured in the NASA’s 2019 Edition of Spinoff, an annual publication that features commerical technologies that have origins to NASA-backed research. Serionix was founded in 2011 by two Materials Science and Engineering PhD students at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. While at EnterpriseWorks, Serionix was awarded multiple SBIR awards from the Johnson Space Center. These awards allowed the company to research and design filters for spacesuits and spacecrafts. However, this technology used to filter space can also be used in the home to improve indoor air quality and reduce pet odors. “All of the challenges that we have here are simply magnified up in space. That’s the environment up there, and people’s lives depend on solving those problems,” he says. “The challenges of deploying the technology in space definitely serve us well in making a more robust product for our customers on Earth,” said Co-Founder and President James Langer in the the Spinoff article. Learn more about Serinox’s partnership with NASA and their filtering technology here.

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    EnterpriseWorks Media Mentions News

    Interview with Tushar Pandey, SimBioSys Inc., CEO

    Tushar Pandey, Chief Executive Officer at SimBioSys Inc., spoke with The News-Gazette on July 21, 2019, about what he does for the company and what the company is accomplishing. The company’s work focuses on cancer, and the SimBioSys team has “created a platform to computationally simulate tumor response to drug regimens to help oncologists in treatment planning phase.” A patient’s tumor can be made virtual, which allows for deeper understanding that impacts drug delivery, chemical interactions, and metabolism. Essentially, a cancer is modeled in order to monitor its behavior. The company has a complete product for early-stage breast cancer, and clinical trials are already underway. SimBioSys is also working with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to gain regulatory approval for their device so it can be used in medical settings. The goal of the company is to have a complete suite for all solid tumors within the next few years, and the first cancer targeted will be lung cancer. Initial work was funded by a grant from the National Cancer Institute and from angel investors, and SimBioSys aims to secure another round of funding in late 2019 to speed up their work. To learn more about SimBioSys, click HERE.

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    Media Mentions News Research Park

    Interview with Troy Kollman, Brunswick’s i-Jet Lab Director

    Troy Kollman, the site director for Brunswick Corporation’s i-Jet Lab within Research Park, spoke with The News-Gazette about the key contributions of interns and the current direction of the company on July 14, 2019. “The Research Park at the UI is fairly unique among large universities. It offers corporations a collaborative environment to exchange operational ideas with other companies that operate in an innovation space,” he explained. The i-Jet Lab has worked with over 50 University of Illinois students from a wide range of backgrounds, including business, design, and mechanical engineering. They play a large role in supporting Brunswick as they seek to focus resources on the recreational boating industry. Kollmann and his colleagues act as mentors for interns as they all work cohesively as a team, overcoming roadblocks and redefining the marine industry. To learn more about the i-Jet Lab and the future direction of Brunswick, click HERE.

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    Community Media Mentions News Recognition & Awards

    Champaign-Urbana Ranked Top Startup City by Silicon Prairie News

    CHAMPAIGN, IL, February 13, 2019 – In a new study measuring the startup ecosystems of an 11-state region it calls “the Silicon Prairie”, Champaign-Urbana ranked Number 2 out of 42 communities analyzed for startup and entrepreneurial activity. Champaign-Urbana ranks above much larger cities including Minneapolis, St. Louis and Kansas City. “We’re thrilled to receive this community ranking which recognizes and celebrates the incredible entrepreneurship culture and resources we have in Champaign-Urbana, Illinois’ fastest-growing city,” said Carly McCrory, Executive Director of the Champaign County EDC. “Breaking this down, the “grade” we are most proud of coming out of this report is the “A” in the community spirit category,” said Research Park director Laura Frerichs. “This reflects our strongest asset as a knowledge city – an engaged community that thrives on true collaboration and strong partnerships.” College towns are a “magnet” for startup and entrepreneurship activity. In addition to Champaign, Madison, Ames, Iowa; Columbia, Missouri; and Iowa City all rank in the top 12. “Champaign, Illinois, home of the University of Illinois, dramatically overperforms expectations based on population – finishing in the Top Five. For example, in 2017 the community had 21 venture fundings for nearly $75 million dollars. There were also 37 SBIR/STTR grants in the region. These elements suggest that early stage companies and research are generating hundreds of jobs in Champaign (between 390- 620).” The study also indicates that Illinois as a state, although expected to be strong due to its size, overperforms its “expected value” when it comes to venture capital. Chicago was the overall No. 1 community measured; Springfield also made it into the top 20. “Venture Capital funding activity in the region increased by 28% from 2016 to 2018 despite the decreasing number of companies receiving funding. Chicago was a significant spur for the region – but other communities such as Lincoln, Nebraska and Champaign, Illinois provided valuable community funding growth,” the report reads. The study was performed by Chapman and Company out of Omaha. The 11 states measured include Arkansas, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Wisconsin, North Dakota, and South Dakota. The methodology for the report measured eight specific components: Small business activity Cool jobs Sustaining companies Structure Innovation Venture investment Community spirit Connectivity “Chapman and Company attempted to measure those components using relatively near-term measurements,” says the report. “The challenge in measuring startup activity and entrepreneurship is that there is always a desire for more accuracy – but more accuracy usually occurs at the cost of time or comparables.” The full report is available here: http://siliconprairienews.com/2019/02/spn-special-report-the-2018-state-of-the-silicon-prairie/    

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    Media Mentions News Research Park

    Campus Prioritizes Entrepreneurship, Innovation in “The Next 150”

    Entrepreneurship and innovation are central to the new five-year strategic plan unveiled by University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign on Friday in a town hall at the Illini Union. Called “The Next 150,” the strategic plan renews the campus commitment to four goals, including Fostering scholarship, discovery and innovation Providing transformative learning experiences Making a significant and visible societal impact Stewarding current resources and generating additional resources for strategic initiatives The Next 150 twice references the university’s commitment to invest more resources in the Research Park, specifically as they relate to entrepreneurship and innovation. The first mention comes under the first goal, “fostering scholarship, discovery and innovation.” A pillar of that goal is “Develop a strong infrastructure, policies, and practices to support scholarship, innovation, public engagement, and entrepreneurship across disciplinary lines.” The plan states the university will “grow our entrepreneurial ecosystem, research translation, and new venture creation through investments in EnterpriseWorks, Research Park, and Carle Illinois College of Medicine.” The other specific mention is under the goal, “making a significant and visible societal impact,” where the report states that the campus will “accelerate the growth of the Illinois entrepreneurial ecosystem to establish Champaign-Urbana as the best university-based entrepreneurship and innovation hub in the Midwest.” The plan states the university will “invest in new facilities in the Research Park to grow our resources and services in support of new business creation, economic development, and prosperity in the region, across the state, and beyond.” “The Next 150 really lays out our collective vision and our bold goals for the future,” Chancellor Robert Jones said. “It’s the framework for how we will continue to serve the 21st-century needs of our community, our state, our nation and our world. We’ve been transforming the way the world lives, thinks and learns since 1867. This plan positions us to do that for the next 150 years.” To read the entire strategic plan, go here. To read the Illinois News Bureau’s article on the plan, go here.

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