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    NSF I-CORPS

    NSF I-CORPS National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Innovation Corps, or I-Corps, is a public-private partnership program for university faculty and student entrepreneurs working on STEM-related technology. I-Corps consists of a targeted curriculum to identify valuable product opportunities that may emerge from academic research. Additionally, the program provides entrepreneurship training to participants. The Illinois I-Corps Site was one of the first three I-Corps sites launched in the National Innovation Network in 2013. Originally it was a collaboration between the Technology Entrepreneur Center in the College of Engineering and EnterpriseWorks at the Research Park with participation from the Office of Technology Management and IllinoisVentures. Today, Illinois I-Corps is part of the Great Lakes Hub. Illinois I-Corps offers a series of programs to assist faculty, staff, and students in commercializing their research. Programming is a mix of online and in-person workshops. GET MORE INFO ABOUT I-CORPS   I-Corps provides education and funding to faculty and student entrepreneurs.

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    EnterpriseWorks Startups to Present at 2021 Illinois Life Sciences Showcase

    EnterpriseWorks startups Revive, Visionaire, Life Foundry, and Fruit Vaccine will be presenting at the 2021 Illinois Life Sciences Showcase presented by iBio. The four-day conference aims to connect innovators to investment and talent, stimulate collaboration and foster the next generation of innovations and entrepreneurs to help bridge the gap in translating groundbreaking discoveries into biomedical realities. IBio, Illinois Ventures, and academic institutions across Illinois are hosting startups and innovators to showcase their work to investors and biopharma business executives to accelerate entrepreneurship within Illinois’ rapidly growing life sciences ecosystem. Research Park is a proud sponsor of the Illinois Life Sciences Showcase, which will take place April 26 -April 30. Laura Frerichs, Executive Director at the University of Illinois Research Park, will be presenting about the Research Park entrepreneurship ecosystem on Tuesday, April 27 at 3pm Company Presentations Revive Biotechnology will present on Monday, April 26 at 12-12:45PM Lifefoundry will present on Tuesday, April 27 at 12-12:45PM Fruit Vaccine will present on Wednesday, April 28 at 12-12:45PM Visionaire will present on Thursday, April 29 at 12-12:45PM Find the complete schedule for the Illinois Life Sciences Showcase and register by clicking here.  

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    EnterpriseWorks Events News Recognition & Awards Research Park

    Natrion Sweeps Grand Prize Winnings at Cozad New Venture Challenge

    Natrion, a University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign student startup developing advanced battery technologies, captured the grand cash prize of $20,000 and other rewards at Wednesday’s Cozad New Venture Challenge Awards Ceremony. During Cozad, Natrion announced its plans to move into EnterpriseWorks, the tech incubator at Research Park. Natrion will start advanced technology development in a first-floor lab as of May 1. Natrion was founded by Alex Kosyakov, a Materials Science and Engineering undergraduate. The startup engineers and manufactures advanced batteries and battery components that make renewable energy and hybrid power systems safe and cost-efficient. Natrion also received the Dr. Paul Magelli Innovation Prize of $10,000 from Illinois Ventures; the best pitch award winner prize of $5,000, from Cozad Asset Management; and a package of legal services from Meyer Capel. AgriWater also received the I-Start prize from EnterpriseWorks. This prize provides new companies with professional services such as legal, business strategy, and more. Agriwater’s smart, clean water technology is a device that purifies and monitors the most polluted water empowering farmers in real-time to track, visualize and store turbidity, pH, and temperature via IoT enabled sensors that communicate data to the AI Cloud. With the help of the Illinois FAST Center, Natrion recently received SBIR grant funding from the United States Air Force to develop a plug-and-play solid-state electrolyte component for existing lithium-ion batteries that would improve battery life and eliminate fire risk. “Natrion was started by two college students out of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign who wanted to break away from the standard mold of how battery companies are built. After seeing too many of our peers take academic research findings and try to find a market for them (only to run out of time and money), we pioneered our own R&D approach that is customer-centric, lean, and pivotable.” VALUE PROPOSITION: To mitigate fire risk in batteries, many companies are attempting to implement electrolytes made from either pure solid ceramic or pure solid polymer. However, there are problems with this binary approach.Pure ceramics deliver high performance but use exotic materials and processes that are expensive to scale. Ceramics can also crack inside batteries from internal stresses during operation, compromising them completely. Polymers are durable, flexible, and cheap to produce, but perform poorly. To its knowledge, Natrion is the only company in the world commercializing a ceramic-polymer composite solution. To make LISIC, they start with a proprietary aluminosilicate ceramic that’s processed with the one-step heating of a raw material that costs just $160/ton and is already used in the paper and cosmetics industries. They then turn the ceramic into microparticles and embed it into a polymer that is already used as fire insulation in buildings. LISIC is thus stable to over 600°F, eliminating inherent fire risk in cells. This, in turn, improves battery pack-level performance because manufacturers no longer have to try to use active cooling systems or extensive battery management system (BMS) electronics.

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    News Research Park

    Brunswick Expands i-Jet Innovation Lab at University of Illinois Research Park

    Brunswick Corporation announced  April 7, 2021 a major expansion of its i-Jet Innovation Lab at the University of Illinois Research Park to support an acceleration of the Company’s ACES (Autonomy, Connectivity and Electrification) strategy and vision to use technology and design to enhance the recreational boating experience.   The new space will triple the square footage of the current location, allowing for more than double the number of students currently at the site and provide a home for some of the rapidly expanding team of full-time electrification and autonomy specialists being hired as part of Brunswick’s Enterprise Technology Team. Opened in 2018, the i-Jet lab was created to provide an opportunity for engineering, design and business students at the University of Illinois to work closely with leaders at Brunswick to help shape the boating experience by leveraging the latest advancements in areas such as robotics, artificial intelligence, advanced electrical systems and UX/UI, including virtual/augmented reality. The i-Jet students engage with Brunswick’s corporate and divisional resources to generate creative solutions for Brunswick’s award-winning brands through multi-disciplinary collaboration and the exploration and implementation of these new and emerging technologies. “Over the past year, we’ve made significant investments in building our electrification and autonomy solutions, more than doubling our enterprise technology team,” said John Reid, Brunswick Corporation vice president of enterprise technologies. “The expansion of our i-Jet lab is a critical component in our ability to improve our pipeline for talent.  We look forward to fostering the next generation of leaders by creating an environment that is conducive to innovation and collaboration as we define the future of the marine industry and deliver innovation and inspiration on the water.” “We see technology and innovation as enablers to a frictionless boating experience and, importantly, we believe in the power of constant collaboration and exploration.,” said Trevor George, i-Jet Site Director.  “These strengths, along with the collaboration with other companies within the Research Park gives us an opportunity that most companies don’t have, allowing us to define the future of boating by continuously investing in state-of-the-art technology, and industry-leading processes and methods.” Recently, Brunswick announced additional senior technical positions and new leaders to spearhead its autonomy and electrification programs, including John Oenick, Director of Enterprise Electrification and Jason Arbuckle, Autonomy Technical Lead. The official grand opening of the expanded i-Jet lab is scheduled for July 1, 2021. To learn more, visit https://ijetlab.com. About Brunswick Headquartered in Mettawa, Ill., Brunswick Corporation’s leading consumer brands include Mercury Marine outboard engines; Mercury MerCruiser sterndrive and inboard packages; Mercury global parts and accessories including propellers and SmartCraft electronics; Power Products Integrated Solutions; MotorGuide trolling motors; Attwood, Mastervolt, and Whale marine parts; Land ’N’ Sea, BLA, Payne’s Marine, Kellogg Marine, and Lankhorst Taselaar marine parts distribution; Mercury and Quicksilver parts and oils; Bayliner, Boston Whaler, Crestliner, Cypress Cay, Harris, Heyday, Lowe, Lund, Princecraft, Quicksilver, Rayglass, Sea Ray, Thunder Jet and Uttern boats; Boating Services Network, Freedom Boat Club and BoatClass.  For more information, visit brunswick.com. View the original press release from Brunswick here.

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    Community Internships News Research Park

    Innovations @ Research Park Podcast Episode 3: The Research Park Intern Experience

    The University of Illinois Research Park launched Episode 3 of the Innovations @ Research Park podcast, which highlights the thriving entrepreneurial and corporate innovation culture in Champaign. The episode features Srijith Srinath, data scientist and former intern at the Motorola Solutions Innovation Center in Research Park. Srinath discusses the Motorola Solutions hiring process and work environment as well as the Research Park Career Fair. Episode 2 of the podcast can be accessed here. 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). To listen to the podcast, visit iTunes Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you prefer to download your podcasts.

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    Community EnterpriseWorks Events Investments News Partnerships & Acquisitions Research Park

    2020 Research Park Year in Review

    In 2020, Research Park accomplished several milestones despite the numerous adaptions. Research Park offered several programming opportunities for small businesses, launched Illinois Reboot, and received a FAST Center grant to aid the impacts of the pandemic. Here is a glimpse of the 2020 Year in Review:  In a virtual environment, Cargill Innovation Lab, Genective, and the Verizon 5G Innovation Hub expanded into the Research Park community. The I-Hotel and Conference Center expansion, the greenhouse for the RIPE project, and the mixed-use building on 1907 S. Fourth St. completed construction during the fall as well.  After the initial lockdown of COVID-19 in March, Research Park offered over 59 hours of programming engaging 243 companies ranging from EnterpriseWorks graduates to current tenants.  In August, Research Park launched the COVID-19 Technology Acceleration Program. This program offered technical assistance, EDA Cares Act funding, and business development assistance. The EDA University Center received over $300,000 from the EDA CARES Act Recovery Assistance program to assist companies impacted by the effects of COVID-19.  Several startups including EarthSense and Serionix transformed their technology to suit the consequences of COVID-19 such as beginning to create high-tech face masks.  Overall, Research Park reached several milestones in 2020 including securing the Illinois FAST Center grant from the U.S. SBA and the addition of two new staff members. Click to view: 2020 Year in Review View previous Year in Reviews: 2018 Year in Review 2019 Year in Review

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    News Research Park

    Gov. Pritzker Signs Legislation to Create Illinois SBIR/STTR Funding Match Program

    Historic legislation signed by Governor Pritzker on Tuesday included creation of a new funding program that will advance Illinois startups who secure federal small business innovation grants. The equity-centric legislative package, which focuses on expanding economic access and opportunity across the state, adds a new Illinois Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Matching Funds Program. This program provides a cash match for federal funds that help finance early-stage technology companies.  The Illinois SBIR/STTR Matching Funds Program will provide a state match of 50 percent, up to $50,000, for qualifying Illinois companies who receive a Phase I SBIR/STTR grant award. The Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) will administer the Illinois SBIR/STTR Matching Funds Program. No details regarding eligibility or application processes have been released.  Illinois startups seeking SBIR/STTR grant funding can access assistance from the FAST Center at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, which provides the resources, support, and expertise necessary to submit a highly competitive proposal. The FAST Center offers free technical assistance, mentoring, and training to technology entrepreneurs across the State of Illinois. Illinois previously had a SBIR/STTR matching program during the Blagojevich administration, but that funding expired more than a dozen years ago. Momentum to restore the funding reignited in 2019, when Senator Elgie Sims (D-17th) worked with iBIO and DCEO to introduce SB1608, legislation to reestablish a SBIR matching program in Illinois.  The Champaign-Urbana Tech CEO Roundtable — a coalition of tech CEOs located in the greater Champaign-Urbana area — wrote a letter in support of the legislation at that time. “The state currently pulls below its weight in SBIR funding received, ranking 13th nationally. Increasing the incentive to pursue SBIR funding will help growing companies bring innovative technologies to market in Illinois,” Ryan Shelton, CEO of PhotoniCare and chair of the CEO Roundtable, wrote in the 2019 letter. “State matching programs further encourage small businesses operating within their borders to apply for these types of awards.” Illinois is now the 23rd state (as of 2020) to establish a federal funds matching program, including neighbors Wisconsin and Iowa.

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    Community Features News Research Park

    Innovations @ Research Park Podcast Episode 2: Research Park Origins, Impact, and Student Talent Pipeline

    The University of Illinois Research Park launched Episode 2 of the Innovations @ Research Park podcast. The podcast highlights the thriving entrepreneurial and corporate innovation culture in Champaign. Episode 2 features Laura Frerichs, Executive Director of Research Park. Frerichs discusses the evolution of Research Park, partnerships with Fortune 500 companies, and the student talent pipeline. 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). To listen to the podcast, visit iTunes Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you prefer to download your podcasts.

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    Community News Research Park

    St. Mary’s Road Construction To Improve Connectivity to Research Park

    Short Term Pain for Long Term Gain: Road Project Will Provide Safer Passage for Bicyclists, Pedestrians and Motorists The first concrete steps to improved connectivity and safety at one of the main access points to Research Park will start on March 15. St. Mary’s Road between Oak Street and Neil Street will be closed to traffic for up to five months to complete construction to ensure safer passage for motorists, bicyclists and pedestrians at that intersection and corresponding viaduct under the railroad tracks. This means that motorists will need to seek alternate routes into the Research Park, such as First Street (see maps below.) The project features a new sidewalk connection with pedestrian lighting along the north side of Saint Mary’s Road to Neil Street, and a new pedestrian crossing of Neil Street on the north leg of the intersection. “The main reason is for safety purposes since there is no pedestrian access or path underneath that viaduct,” Stacey DeLorenzo of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign told the News-Gazette in an article published in February. “It’s increasingly busier for pedestrians to use it. We wanted to make a protected sidewalk or pathway on the north side of the street so people either walking or on a bike could not be having to deal with the cars all the time.” The project has its roots in a 2008 study  conducted by the Champaign County Regional Planning Commission, which recommended a sidewalk be added to the St. Mary’s Road viaduct — the only viaduct in town under the Canadian National Railroad without one. Serious discussions to implement the project resurfaced in 2018. The entire section of road will be reconstructed, including pavement and sewer improvements, signal improvements, and upgrading curbs. Impacts of the construction include: Oak Street will be one-way northbound at its intersection with Saint Mary’s Road. If taking Kirby as an alternate route to the Research Park, use First Street to go south. Saint Mary’s Road will remain closed until the roadway improvements are completed. Construction delays should be expected. The street will be re-opened to traffic no later than August 14, 2021, according to the City of Champaign. The Saint Mary’s Road Project is a cooperative project between the University of Illinois and the City of Champaign. ROAD CLOSING: SAINT MARY’S ROAD, CHAMPAIGNBetween Neil Street and Oak Street | ALTERNATE ROUTES: FIRST STREET, WINDSOR ROAD, KIRBY AVENUE

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    Community Events News Partnerships & Acquisitions Research Park

    2021 Virtual AgTech Innovation Summit a Success

    The 2021 Agriculture Technology Innovation Summit was a success yet again, bringing together the biggest agriculture companies and brightest minds in agtech for the sixth year in a row; this time virtually. This year, Research Park held its first AgTech Networking Night prior to the AgTech Innovation Summit. This event allowed agtech professionals to connect with other conference-goers, hear pitches from agtech startups, and engage in meaningful discussion with one another on the night before the summit. This year’s event included remarks from industry thought leaders including Bayer’s Senior Vice President and Head of Seed Production Innovation Shannon Hauf, who delivered the keynote speech. In her speech, Hauf emphasizes the importance of innovation, diversity, and sustainability for the future of advertising. “If we are to meet the needs of the future, innovation is critical, it is needed. Everyone needs to be at the table to solve the challenges,” says Hauf.  The 2021 panels included discussions on agrifood innovation, regenerative agriculture, the ag sector’s role in carbon markets, AI farms, building the future agtech workforce, investment, and growers & producers. In addition to the unique mix of panel discussions, key individuals participated in fireside chats, where they could give brief presentations on their company, their technology, and their plans for the future. The day concluded with the AgTech Student Career Event, a first for the Summit. This interactive conference offers participants the opportunity to learn and share knowledge about the current state of agtech and looking into the future through dynamic panels, inspiring keynote presentations, and networking opportunities. The AgTech Summit is a collaboration between the University of Illinois Research Park, the University of Illinois, the College of ACES, and the Office of Corporate Relations. Thank you to all those from the local agriculture community as well as others from all over the globe that attended this virtual event. Another thank you to the moderators and panelists for sharing your time and talents. Last but not least, thanks to the AgTech 2021 sponsors who made this year’s event possible:  Bayer, John Deere, Moore & Warner Ag Group, Kin + Carta and Genective. To browse the event’s photo gallery, go here. For this year’s agenda, look below. And don’t forget to save the date for next year’s Agriculture Innovation Technology Summit on March 9, 2022. 2021 Agenda Wednesday March 10, 2021 8:00 AM: WEBINAR OPENS 8:15 AM: WELCOME AND OPENING REMARKS Laura Frerichs | Executive Director, University of Illinois Research Park Chancellor Robert Jones | Chancellor, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign 8:45 AM: MORNING KEYNOTE Shannon Hauf |  Senior Vice President and Head of Seed Production Innovation, Bayer Crop Science 9:10 AM: FIRESIDE CHAT: JIM SPRADLIN, GROWMARK Moderator: Dean Kim Kidwell |  Dean, University of Illinois College of ACES Jim Spradlin | CEO, GROWMARK 9:45 AM: AGRIFOOD INNOVATION Moderator: Vijay Singh | Director, University of Illinois IBRL Michael Fassnacht | Interim President & CEO, World Business Chicago  Linda Mallers Porzenheim | CEO & President, FarmLogix Robbert Rietbroek | Senior Vice President and General Manager, Quaker Foods North America Samir Mayekar | Deputy Mayor for Economic and Neighborhood Development, City of Chicago 10:15 AM: BREAK 10:30 AM: REGENERATIVE AGRICULTURE Moderator: Adam Davis | Department Head, University of Illinois Dept. of Crop Sciences Matt Duncan | Manager of Digital Agronomy, Nutrien Ag Solutions Tom Rabaey | Sr. R&D Manager, General Mills 11:00 AM: FIRESIDE CHAT: SETH CRAWFORD, AGCO Moderator: Cody Allen | Assistant Professor, UIUC Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering Seth Crawford | SVP, Precision Ag and Digital, AGCO  11:20 AM: GLEN “GB” BRANDT PRIZE FOR AG ENTREPRENEURISM 11:35 AM: THE AG SECTOR’S ROLE IN CARBON MARKETS Moderator: Megan Miller | Business Development Manager, Moore & Warner Ag Group Emma Fuller | Director of Sustainability Science, Granular Chris Harbourt | Global Head of Carbon, Indigo Ag Kaiyu Guan | Blue Waters Professor, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign 12:05 PM: FIRESIDE CHAT: JULIAN SANCHEZ, JOHN DEERE Moderator:  Laura Frerichs | Executive Director, University of Illinois Research Park Julian Sanchez | Director of Emerging Technology, John Deere 12:30 PM: EDWIN MOORE FAMILY AGRICULTURE INNOVATION PRIZE 12:45 PM: PAST MOORE INNOVATION PRIZE WINNERS Moderator: Jack Marck | Managing Director, Illinois AgTech Accelerator Angela Green-Miller | Co-Founder and President, TellTail Chinmay Soman | Co-founder and CEO, EarthSense Daphne Preuss | CEO, Aspiring Universe Kaustubh Bhalerao | CEO, Soil Diagnostics 1:15 PM FIRESIDE CHAT: KROGER Moderator:  Brendan McGinty | Director of Industry, National Center for Supercomputing Applications Dan Whitacre, Senior Director of Kroger Labs, Kroger 1:30 PM: FIRESIDE CHAT: SAM EATHINGTON, CORTEVA Moderator: Dean Kim Kidwell |  Dean, University of Illinois College of ACES Sam Eathington | Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, Corteva Agriscience 2:00 PM: BREAK 2:15 PM: EMERGING DISRUPTION IN AGRICULTURE What technology or business model will be the next big disruption or game-changing paradigm in agriculture? For this session with Genective President & CEO Linda Jing, we will gather ideas in advance and select contributors to share their vision live during the program. During the AgTech Summit we will use the Zoom polling feature to ask participants to vote on ideas that they think will be most impactful the industry. Submit your idea. If you submit an idea, you will receive the collective input from all contributed ideas in this call for submissions.  The results will be aggregated and not attributed to individual names or companies. We will also share polling results from the event and notes from the overall AgTech Summit. Moderator:  Laura Frerichs | Executive Director, University of Illinois Research Park Linda Jing | President & CEO, Genective 2:40 PM: AI FARMS Moderator:  Germán Bollero | Associate Dean of Research, University of Illinois College of ACES Vikram Adve | Co-Director, Center for Digital Ag Matt Hudson | Co-Director, Center for Digital Ag 3:00 PM: BUILDING THE FUTURE AGTECH WORKFORCE Moderator: Laura Bleill | Director, Communications and External Engagement, University of Illinois Research Park Misha Shah | Site Manager, AGCO April Hoffart | Modeling Capability Manager, ADM Blake Giles | Head of Innovation Center, Bayer 3:30 PM: INVESTMENT IN AGTECH Moderator: Nancy Sullivan | CEO & Managing Director, Illinois Ventures Darren Streiler | Managing Director – ADM Ventures, ADM Dennis Beard | Managing Partner, Serra Ventures Michael Lavin | Founder & Managing Partner, Germin8 Ventures 4:00 PM: GROWERS & PRODUCERS Moderator: Jim Hedges | VP Seed & Services Marketing, Winfield United Mike Haag | Former President, Illinois Pork Producers Association Brady Holst | At Large Director, Illinois Soybean Association John Williams | Farm Manager, Sola Gratia Farm 4:25 PM: CLOSING REMARKS 4:30 – 5:30 PM: AGTECH STUDENT CAREER

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