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This week, BAYER brought its fun and educational science-themed mobile escape room to Research Park. “Breaking Through Impossible – The Escape Game” is an agriculture-themed game that revolves around rescuing a biotech breakthrough. It is completed by solving puzzles and deciphering clues through collaborating with a team. It was open from April 23 through April 25, 2024, and was free for participants. “Previous stops have been events like SXSW and in cities such as Austin, San Francisco, Berlin, Boston, and New York, so we are thrilled to welcome this unique interactive escape room to Champaign,” said Laura Appenzeller, executive director of the University of Illinois Research Park. “While it’s open to people of all ages, high school and college students are particularly encouraged to participate.” The escape room was located directly outside Bayer’s Innovation Center at1904 S. First Street, next to the I-Hotel and Illinois Conference Center, in a bright blue shipping container. Teams of up to six people experienced the escape room, working together to solve a puzzle that took around 30 minutes to complete Find more information about the escape room on the Leaps by Bayer website or read WCIA News’ event coverage.

Research Park is now home to a new address for growth-stage life sciences startups. The University marked the opening of LabWorks and its first tenant, a graduate from the EnterpriseWorks incubator, at a celebration and ribbon cutting on Tuesday, April 9. LabWorks offers turn-key wet lab and office suites for growth-stage startup companies in Research Park, enabling startups to establish roots and continue growing in the Champaign-Urbana community. “Things like this help this university stay relevant,” said Kim Kidwell, Associate Chancellor for Strategic Partnerships and Initiatives. Kidwell emphasized LabWorks’ key role in bridging the gap and enabling startups to get on the ground after their time in EnterpriseWorks. In 2021, Research Park was awarded $550,000 funding through the Rebuild Illinois Wet Lab Capital Program (via the State of Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity) to create turn-key lab spaces for growth-stage agriculture and life science companies, and shorter-term leasing to industry partners/collaborators. In addition to the state’s contribution, LabWorks is a partnership between the University of Illinois Research Park and building landlord GRE UIRP LLC. In November 2023, the Champaign City Council approved a $100,000 investment in LabWorks, providing resources to bring the project to completion. “We have done what many communities are trying to duplicate. But the heart is here, with the heart of the state, with the heart of the region, and because of this kind of innovative work, will be the heart of the nation,” said Illinois State Representative Carol Ammons. Epivara is the first company to relocate into LabWorks. Founded by College of Veterinary Medicine Professor Jay Ko, the move to LabWorks signifies Epivara’s growth plans following its graduation from EnterpriseWorks. Wilson acknowledged the milestone of Epivara’s graduation from the EnterpriseWorks incubator into a location that will facilitate additional growth as an important accomplishment for the Champaign-Urbana community. “If we want companies like Epivara to remain in our community, in our region, and in our state, we have to continue to invest in the facilities they need at every stage of their growth, said Gerald O. Wilson, PhD, MBA, director of entrepreneurship. “Representing the culmination of a partnership between the University of Illinois Research Park, Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, and City of Champaign, LabWorks is a symbol of an understanding that these kinds of investments are an imperative in our economic development efforts at the university, municipality, and state-wide levels.” Learn more about the LabWorks ribbon cutting and Epivara grand opening in a recent News-Gazette article. About Epivara Founded in 2016 by Dr. Jay Ko of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign College of Veterinary Medicine, Epivara is innovating better ways that pets are spayed and neutered worldwide. Epivara’s mission is to make life better for animals and humans through innovative science and compassionate care. The company has developed EpiFix, a low-cost injection to spay and neuter pets efficiently. Currently, this is the only alternative to spay and neuter surgery that works safely and permanently within seconds. Learn more at epivara.com. About LabWorks LabWorks provides affordable turn-key life science laboratory/office suites for growth-stage life science and agriculture companies in the Research Park. The $1.3 million build out was completed thanks to resources from the Rebuild Illinois Wet Lab Capital Program; the City of Champaign; the University of Illinois Research Park Board of Managers LLC; and landlord GRE UIRP LLC. See more pictures of the LabWorks space on the Research Park website.

The News-Gazette documented the construction progress of the CABBI greenhouse, which is expected to be finished by May 1, 2024. The building is located in the Research Park neighborhood at 1902 S. Fourth Street, next to the RIPE (Realizing Increased Photosynthetic Efficiency) Facility. The Center for Advanced Bioenergy and Bioproducts Innovation (CABBI) is a $252.5M U.S. Department of Energy-funded Bioenergy Research Center. Its mission is to “develop efficient ways to grow bioenergy crops, transform biomass into valuable chemicals, and market the resulting biofuels and other bioproducts.” The new greenhouse will create research and teaching opportunities, featuring a solar panel array, plant phenotyping facility, walk-in growth chambers, and more. Learn more about the CABBI construction progress on the News-Gazette website.  The groundbreaking for the CABBI greenhouse occurred on September 28, 2023. Learn more about the groundbreaking event on the Research Park website.

The 9th Annual AgTech Summit was a resounding success: with over 700 registered participants, Research Park hosted a diverse array of attendees from the Midwest and beyond. The summit’s agenda was packed with insightful panels covering trending topics including policy impact on AgTech, sustainability, and digital agriculture. Moderators and panelists represented a wide spectrum of AgTech, including startups, investors, academics, growers, government officials, and more. Keep reading for a recap of the AgTech Summit. The event kicked with opening remarks from our hosts, community leaders, and presenting sponsor. Laura Appenzeller, the Executive Director of the University of Illinois Research Park, opened the day with a recap of highlighting why Champaign-Urbana is the epicenter of AgTech. That was followed by a proclamation from the City of Champaign and City of Urbana mayors Deborah Frank Feinen and Diane Wolfe Marlin declared the week of March 4-8 as Champaign-Urbana AgTech Week. Intersect Illinois CEO Dan Seals took the stage to tell the “Why Illinois” story. Seals’ presentation discussed how Illinois is #1 in private food manufacturing R&D, #2 for food-related patents, and boasts the largest number of food processing workers in the Midwest. The day’s first panel focused on navigating digital agriculture, including obstacles and opportunities that data and analytics present to the end users. UIUC Crop Sciences Clinical Assistant Professor Elhan Ersoz moderated this discussion, featuring panelists Justin McMenamy, the VP of Disruptive Products at Precision Planting, Dave Knippenberg, the Director of Data Platforms at Elanco, Jared Fry, the Director of Modeling & Simulation at Mondelez, and Dominic Walkes, the Director of Technical Product Management at CNH. After Navigating Digital Ag, the first fireside chat started, spotlighting Corteva Agriscience Chief Technology and Digital Officer Sam Eathington. Eathington sat down with Kim Kidwell, the Associate Chancellor for Strategic Partnerships and Initiatives at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. The second panel, Policy Impact on AgTech was moderated by Stephen Wald, the Director of External Communications and Government Relations at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. The panel covered the intersection between government and agriculture, featuring University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Associate Professor Jonathan Coppess, United States House of Representatives Legislative Assistant Aleksi Knepp, and ADM Vice President of State Government Relations Greg Webb. “Conversations like this are important. We can write…all day long, but if it’s not going to actually be useful to the folks who need it, then that’s a problem.” -Aleksi Knepp That was followed by a panel highlighting the excitement around the Illinois Fermentation and Agriculture Biomanufacturing (iFAB) Tech Hub, a regional partnership in the corridor between Decatur and Champaign which has been tapped by the Economic Development Administration as a federally designated tech hub. iFAB seeks to scale precision fermentation to convert underutilized corn feedstocks into high-value, customized alternative proteins, food ingredients, materials, chemicals, and more. The panel was moderated by Nicole Bateman, the President of the Economic Development Corporation of Decatur & Macon County, and featured Boston Bioprocess CEO Michael Tai, Corn Refiners Association Senior Vice President of Advanced Bioproducts James Glueck, iFAB Regional Innovation Officer Beth Conerty, and Primient Director of Business Development Eric Lee. The program than shifted for the presentation of the 8th annual Edwin Moore Family Agriculture Innovation Prize, which recognizes a University of Illinois entrepreneur focused on agricultural innovations. The winner is Hypercell Technologies, an EnterpriseWorks startup that develops new methods to control infectious diseases. “We are proud to be the incubator location for this AgTech startup company, which is protecting livestock and our food supply,” said Laura Appenzeller, Assistant Vice Chancellor for Innovation at the University of Illinois. https://youtube.com/watch?v=VoR7mcc6ew0%3Ffeature%3Doembed The award presentation flowed into a fireside chat about Hypercell with its CEO, Bruno Jactel, and moderator Gerald Wilson, the Director of Entrepreneurship at the Research Park. Jactel discussed the “start there” paradox that is essential for successful startup members, necessitating they stay realistic when facing business problems but remember they will prevail in the end. After a break for lunch, the AgTech Summit continued with the third fireside chat, featuring GDM Global Strategy Lead Gastón Suardiaz. This chat was moderated by Germán Bollero, the Dean of the University of Illinois College of Agricultural, Consumer, & Environmental Sciences. This fireside chat was followed by a series of lightning presentations, including: Andrew Leakey, the director of the University of Illinois Center for Advanced Bioenergy and Bioproducts Innovation (CABBI), presented the capabilities of the new CABBI Greenhouse, including real-time phenotyping and a controlled growth chamber facility with tracer gas technology. Dennis Beard, Managing Partner at Serra Ventures, discussed venture capital in AgTech. Winners of the first AgTech Hackathon presented their work from the past weekend. The AgTech Hackathon was sponsored by Bayer and John Deere. The Glen “GB” Brandt Prize for Ag Entrepreneurism was presented to Andrew and Karlie Bowman, the innovative minds behind the popcorn brand Pilot Knob Farms. “There is entrepreneurship, innovation, and excitement in this room,” said recipient Andrew Bowman. “Our journey is…a microcosm of all the wonderful things that we’re discussing today.” The Brandt Prize recognizes a grower, producer, or farmer who exemplifies an entrepreneurial spirit and advances innovation in agricultural practices. Dr. John Reid from the University of Illinois Center for Digital Agriculture sat down for a panel on sustainability with HabiTerre founder Kaiyu Guan, S2G Ventures Senior Associate Sumeeta Salvador, John Deere Head of Labs and Sustainability Solutions Alexey Rostapshov, and Bayer Ecosystems Impact Lead Charlie Foresman. “Sustainability is local. To work alongside growers, to learn as much as we can, is where we need to be.” -Charlie Foresman The final panel featured the perspective of growers and producers and was moderated by VP of TAG Farms at The Atkins Group, Jim Goss. Panelists included Hastings CCI Equipment Co-Owner Sarah Hastings, Roots Run Deep Farm Co-Owner Eric Miller, and Run Farms Owner Eric Rund. The 2024 AgTech Innovation Summit concluded with a Tech Showcase of local startups and area innovators during a networking reception. The AgTech Summit is free thanks to its generous sponsors Intersect Illinois, John Deere, Bayer, Corteva, AGCO, BRANDT, GDM, and the NSF I-Corps Hub. The AgTech Summit is hosted by the University of Illinois Research Park with support from the University of Illinois, the College of ACES, and the Office of Corporate Relations. Thank you to our AgTech Summit Planning Committee: Laura Bleill, Desiree Clayton, Pedro Fernandes da Costa, Amy Fruehling, Kim Kidwell, and Cathy McArthur. Special thanks to our mistress of ceremonies, Katheryne Rehberg. Save the date for next year’s AgTech Summit on Thursday, March 6, 2025.