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UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS URBANA-CHAMPAIGN

Research Park

    News

    EnterpriseWorks News

    Trudy Kriven of KeaneTech Shares Plans for her Technology Transition Startup

    Trudy Kriven, CEO of EnterpriseWorks Affiliate startup KeaneTech, talks with the News-Gazette about its Small Business Innovation Research grant from the Army Corps of Engineers, geopolymer materials, and the opportunities and challenges of having a technology transition company. Kriven’s group philosophy with her company and partners is to nurture each other in a way that encourages every individual to their fullest potential, which she has been able to foster at EnterpriseWorks. Kriven shares that EnterpriseWorks, “is a very valuable asset and resource to this community, to nurture and guide start-up companies.” To read more about Trudy Kriven and KeaneTech, click here.

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    Events News Research Park

    Brunswick Officially Opens Illini Joint Explorations in Technology Lab

    Brunswick is first company to move into Research Park’s new Mixed Use Building at 1904 S. First Street, Champaign Brunswick Corporation (NYSE: BC) recently celebrated the grand opening of new quarters for what has been known as the Brunswick Innovation Laboratory in Research Park at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. But with its new building, the lab also now has a new name – the Brunswick I-JET Lab. Inspired by the students and the staff who work there, the facility’s new name incorporates the acronym for Brunswick Illini – Joint Explorations in Technology lab. The new name fits with the changing times and the Company’s evolving business model, explained Brunswick Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Mark Schwabero, who led a contingent of the firm’s top executives who attended the event. “Brunswick will mark its 175th year in business in 2020,” Schwabero noted.  “You don’t stay in business that long without being innovative, agile and resilient.  Technology and innovation have always been important to us, and never more so than today as we see consumers desiring even more in the way of features and connectivity in both marine and fitness.” “It also is fitting that ‘Illini’ has a prominent position in our facility’s new name,” explained Brunswick Chief Technology Officer David Foulkes.  “Obviously, the close ties to the University of Illinois, with its resources, staff and gifted students, are truly unique. These strengths, along with those of other companies within the park, offer an atmosphere conducive to collaboration and learning. “Further, the ‘JET’ portion of the name aptly describes the urgency and energy with which those at the Brunswick I-JET Lab approach their duties and responsibilities,” Foulkes said. Foulkes pointed out that research and development is a continuous effort throughout Brunswick to drive innovation.  These efforts have been solidly productive as the Company continues to outpace its competition in the introduction of new products to market as well as securing patents on its technologies and features.  In 2016, Brunswick ranked among the top 25 Illinois-based companies in securing patents. The Brunswick I-JET Lab works closely with Brunswick corporate and divisional resources to further accelerate Brunswick’s progress in areas of high interest, including the Internet of Things, advanced analytics, and a range of human-machine interaction and enhanced user-experience technologies. More than 100 companies, including industry leaders such as Abbott, John Deere and Yahoo, have facilities within the 200-acre research park, which is adjacent to the university’s campus. “It feels good to have a place to call home,” Schwabero concluded.  “Our name is on the building and on the door, but what truly excites us is the work that is being done inside by the talented and dedicated researchers and students.” The newly constructed building is at 1904 South First Street.   Beginning last April, the Brunswick I-JET Lab had occupied temporary quarters. Brunswick is the first company in the Research Park’s new growth facility to mark such an event. (SOURCE: BRUNSWICK)

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    EnterpriseWorks News

    Aptimmune Achieves Industry First with Mucosal Swine Flu Vaccine

    Aptimmune Biologics, Inc. once again breaks through industry barriers by commercializing the first inactivated musosal vaccine for Influenza A virus in swine, administered via nasal spray. This vaccine helps provide veternarians and swine producers a new way to combat these diseases that can create costly and horrific results as they spread through swine. The vaccine is safe to use, and accurately manages these respirtatory diseases. The new vaccine is available in 250-mL and 500-mL bottles, an Aptimmune recommends the swine be vaccinated once at 7-10 days old and then again during weaning, at 3-4 weeks of age. Aptimmune Biologics is a startup located at EnterpriseWorks that specializes in developing and marketing a portfolio of revolutionary musosal vaccines that provide answers for the most costly viral diseases that impact swine industry. Read more here.

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    News Research Park

    Research Park Occupancy Reaches All Time High

    This year, Research Park occupancy reached an all-time high at a staggering 97 percent. With the welcoming of more agricultural, financial services, and global companies, collaboration between innovative businesses, students and faculty have never been greater. Research Park is now home to 110+ companies and employs more than 600 student interns. Laura Freichs comments on the increase of financial service insurance trading companies, or “FinTech” companies in Research Park, explaining, “I think that most people assume that companies like Google, Microsoft or Facebook are top employers, but one of the trends that we’re starting to see is an opportunity for FinTech companies to offer very exciting jobs.” FinTech company Country Financial opened their DigitaLab this year to develop mobile applications that enhance the customer experience and create brand awareness. Research Park has also welcomed new AgTech companies, such as AGCO, Syngenta, and Indigo Ag. Laura Freichs states that “The worlds of agriculture and technology have melded together, so you see a lot of the ag companies needing both agronomy expertise and technology expertise.” This year, Research Park has also welcomed Huawei, a global information and communication technology company based in Shenzhen, China to collaborate with students, scholars and researchers in exploring innovations in software technology. Research Park’s occupancy growth does not end there. On December 11, 2017, Brunswick Corporation, will have their grand opening, and Synchrony Financial, a credit card issuer to many retailers, will also have its opening soon. With occupancy growth comes architectural growth. In order to keep up with interest in the park, Research Park is opening two new buildings, the Mixed Use Building and the TDFV IV Building. This way, occupancy can continue to grow and companies can continue to foster Illinois’ top tech talent. Read the full story on the Daily Illini.

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    EnterpriseWorks Media Mentions News

    Agrible and IntelinAir Named in the Most Prominent Remote Sensing Companies

    AgFunder News highlights 20 remote sensing startups, sorted by their main sources of data such as satellites, drones, airplanes, and ground-based sensors. EnterpriseWorks graduate Agrible is named one of the most prominent players that rely on a combination of drone/airplane-based imagery. Agrible focuses on providing innovative science that farmers and ag companies can use easily every day to improve their production with cloud-based delivery systems, their core offering being the Morning Farm Report. EnterpriseWorks startup IntelinAir is recognized as one of the most prominent players that rely on either drone or airplane-based data. IntelinAir’s provides farmers in-season insights through aerial imagery analytics powered by traditional computer vision, modern machine learning methodologies and agronomic science.

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    EnterpriseWorks News

    Inprentus selected for NASA project

    Inprentus, a recent EnterpriseWorks gradute, has announced this week that it has been selected to participate in a project by NASA. Inprentus was founded in 2012 by University of Illinois physics professor Peter Abbamonte. It was created to manufacture diffraction gratings, an advanced prism used in laboratories around the world after Abbamonte recognized the need for such prisms for research. Inprentus is able to manufacture diffraction gratings with 2,500 grooves per millimeter that separate electromagnetic waves allowing researchers to better understand what a material is made of and how that material will react in different scenarios. Ron van OS, Inprentus CEO said diffraction gratings can “actually look in real time how plastic will behave under stress.” The company has grown to 15 employees and now operate in a “state of the art” facility in Champaign. The company is pairing with NASA to create a diffraction grading that could someday make its way to space. “We’re actually making a grating for them to go up in space and to take a picture of the corona of the sun” said van Os. Read the full story on the News-Gazette. 

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    News Partnerships & Acquisitions Research Park

    COUNTRY Financial Partners with University of Illinois to Foster Technology Innovation

    Champaign, Ill. – Nov. 3, 2017 – COUNTRY Financial is investing in student research with an eye on the technological needs of the future. The insurance and financial services company opened a digital innovation lab in the Research Park at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign this fall. The DigitaLab has been established by the COUNTRY Financial Information Technology Services (ITS) Department to develop and innovate digital projects, with an emphasis on mobile app development. “With a top-five ranked engineering and computer science program, the U of I is a perfect partner as we grow our digital skills and reach out to new talent,” said Kurt Bock, Chief Executive Officer at COUNTRY Financial. The University of Illinois Research Park, which connects private industry with faculty researchers and students, has more than 110 resident companies including leading corporations and deep-tech startups. “COUNTRY Financial’s interests match many strengths of our campus, from agriculture to finance to computing,” said University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign chancellor Robert Jones. “The new DigitaLab will provide even more experiential learning opportunities for our students.” Putting a team in place Full-time site manager Julia Hart was named in September to lead the efforts at the DigitaLab, which has 2,600 square feet of work space. She will supervise 10-12 students who will work in the lab at U of I and act as the liaison to the University and other COUNTRY employees. A bright future Recruitment efforts are underway to find students who will be on the front lines of application development and enhancement. “The DigitaLab will help us explore new ways of working but also provide a growth opportunity for students just beginning their careers.” Brad Hildestad, Executive Vice President and Chief Information Officer at COUNTRY Financial. “It’s an exciting environment to experiment with our digital capabilities understand what we can do and iterate further. We can’t wait to get started.” About COUNTRY Financial®            COUNTRY Financial® (countryfinancial.com) serves about one million households and businesses throughout the United States. It offers a wide range of financial products and services from auto, home, business, farm and life insurance to retirement planning services, investment management and annuities. Find news coverage of this event here and here.  View photographs from the event here.  

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    News

    Anheuser-Busch and Agrible Relationship Improves Barley Production with Big Data

    Anheuser-Busch InBev utilizes Agrible’s Morning Farm Report in order to enhance AB InBev’s existing SmartBarley Platform, which aims to leverage data, technology and insights. Agrible, an EnterpriseWorks graduate, has been working with AB InBev since 2016. Since then, their relationship has developed beyond the United States into a major international expansion across multiple countries, such as with South Africa, Uruguay, Brazil and Argentina. On the home front, the Agrible and AB InBev Bud Analytics offices are neighbors at the University of Illinois Research Park. Leaders at AB InBev stress the significance of big data, with Global Director of Ag Innovation Katie Hoard explaining, “We are the biggest user of malted barley, so it was up to us to make sure barley remains sustainable and competitive so farmers will want to continue growing it.” Using big data and analytics to measure efficiency allows the company to take a more holistic approach to the farming process, and eventually build a global sustainability view. Paul Miller, Chief Science Officer for Agrible, understands that, “The road to achieving a sustainable global supply chain isn’t an easy one, and we want to help address those challenges with technology and teamwork.” For the full article, visit Chief Executive.  

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    News Research Park

    Indigo Agriculture, Boston’s “Unicorn Startup,” to open office in Research Park

    September 29, 2017: Indigo Agriculture, an ag-tech startup that began in Massachusetts, is opening an office in Research Park to add to the growing number of ag-tech companies in the park. Indigo Agriculture treats the seeds of America’s most important cash crops so they become more disease resistant. It treats the seeds with a combination of naturally occuring bacteria and fungi that are already found in plants. This treatment makes it so that farmers have a better chance at producing disease-free crops that can ward off the harmful effects of drought, poor soil, and pestilence. Investor enthusiasm is growing fast, as the company announced on Tuesday that it had raised $156 million, giving the company a valuation of $1.4 billion. To read the full story, click here.

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    News Partnerships & Acquisitions

    AB InBev and Agrible Announce Global Partnership

    September 20, 2017: Anheuser-Busch InBev Lab and Agrible, Inc., both located in the Research Park, are partnering up. The goal of the partnership is to improve barley production while simultaneously minimizing environmental impact. This partnership will make it easier for farmers around the world to access better data and predictive analytics on crop management and climate effects. Agrible is an AgTech startup that began here at the Research Park and is aiming for better and more productive crop production while working toward the goal of a sustainable food supply for the future. It supplies products to growers worldwide that help them access better data and run farms more efficiently. AB InBev is the largest brewer and user of malt barley in the world. It creates products like SmartBay, a platform and incubator that leverages data and technology to better help growers worldwide solve challenges to improve productivity and environmental performance. The companies have partnered up before. In 2016, the two joined forces on project that worked to forcast barley yield and quality factors through better crop modeling and predictive analytics for American farmers. This project soon went international. Now, the two companies will merge technology to make the products even more effecient. Agrible will allow AB InBev to access it’s product, Morning Farm Report, to enhance SmartBay. The companies will also work together on the goal of sustainability in areas like water use, land efficiency, and the carbon footprint. Agrible and AB InBev are leaders in the market of connecting farmers with real-time data and insights straight from the field. To read the full press release click here.   

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