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UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS URBANA-CHAMPAIGN

Research Park

    Recognition & Awards

    Media Mentions News Recognition & Awards Research Park

    Research Park Cited For Job Creation As Champaign Named Third Fastest Growing City In Illinois

    NerdWallet, a consumer advocacy website, recently conducted a study to find the fastest-growing cities in Illinois – and Champaign ranked third. The website specifically called out the Research Park as being a driver for economic development and growth. “Tech companies are expanding in Champaign, including new jobs added at Intel and an expansion of the Yahoo! offices at The Research Park at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. The Research Park is also supporting job and income growth in Champaign through its startup incubator Enterprise Works, which supports science and technology startups with lab and office space, entrepreneurship classes and the resources of the university community.” For more on the Nerdwallet rankings, visit the story on its website.

    Research Park Cited For Job Creation As Champaign Named Third Fastest Growing City In Illinois Read Post »

    EnterpriseWorks News Recognition & Awards

    EP Purification Wins Clean Energy Challenge $100,000 Grand Prize

    EP Purification captured the $100,000 Wells Fargo Grand Prize for Clean Energy Entrepreneurship at the 2014 Clean Energy Trust Challenge on April 3. The EnterpriseWorks-based startup is devoted to the manufacturing of novel systems for the purification of water and air, based on microplasma technology developed at and licensed from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The company is led by Sung-Jin Park and Gary Eden, both University of Illinois engineering faculty. The Clean Energy Challenge is one of the nation’s most important clean energy business events. Finalists from the past three Challenge events have raised more than $40 million in outside investment, created 280 jobs and registered 40 patents and disclosures. Press coverage of the Clean Energy Trust Challenge: Crain’s Chicago Business :

    EP Purification Wins Clean Energy Challenge $100,000 Grand Prize Read Post »

    News Recognition & Awards Research Park

    Congratulations to Innovation Celebration Winners!

    Congratulations to all the winners and finalists from Innovation Celebration, especially those with Research Park ties. The event, held on Feb. 27 at the NCSA building, was standing room only. The wiinners are listed in bold: Innovation Transfer Award – University of Illinois Dr. Stephen Boppart: winner, founder of I-Start company PhotonicareDr. Stephen SligarDr. Scott White Innovation in Engagement Award – Parkland College Kerris Lee – formerly with Lost Points and Cazoodle, Kerris has spent a lot of time at EnterpriseWorks. Entrepreneurial Excellence: Social Venture Award[co] [lab]PilotDr. Fouad Abd-El-Khalick & the EnLIST Team – University of Illinois Entrepreneurial Excellence: Student Startup AwardKantWaitServabo – I-Start client at EnterpriseWorks. Congrats TIm and Nishana!Miss Possible Entrepreneurial Excellence: New Venture AwardPhi OpticsVeriflowElectroninks – EnterpriseWorks tenant and I-Start client. Congrats Brett and the team! Entrepreneurial Excellence: Advocacy AwardRay Price – iFoundryJed Taylor – U of I Technology Entrepreneur CenterDennis Beard – Serra Ventures. Dennis is a member of our Entrepreneur-in-Residence team; Serra’s offices are in Research Park.  Innovation: Economic Development Impact AwardFox AtkinsCarlos Nieto – Nieto EnterprisesWalter Lohmann Entrepreneurial Excellence: Management AwardDan Cermak – VolitionMike Folk – HDF GroupBill Cope – Common Ground Publishing Innovation: Longevity AwardAcoustic MedSystemsProminic.NETPavlov Media Here is a detailed wrap-up of the event from Don Dodson of the News-Gazette. 

    Congratulations to Innovation Celebration Winners! Read Post »

    EnterpriseWorks News Recognition & Awards Research Park

    Oracle Biosciences Awarded $1 Million for Cancer Research

    A Carle physician has received a $1 million grant from the National Cancer Institute to study a diagnostic test that could help identify the often deadly triple negative breast cancer earlier. Dr. Partha Ray, a Carle surgical oncologist, will focus on the FOXC1 gene, a diagnostic and prognostic biomarker for basal-like breast cancer, a particularly deadly form of triple negative breast cancer. The National Cancer Institute awarded the grant to Oracle Biosciences LLC, Dr. Partha Ray’s biotech company, which has laboratory facilities at EnterpriseWorks incubator at the Research Park. 

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    News Recognition & Awards Research Park

    Research Park Honors Most Outstanding Interns of 2013

    Five outstanding interns working for companies in the Research Park, all students at the University of Illinois, were honored Aug 1. More than 400 highly-skilled student interns work for Research Park tenants, gaining valuable experience while making real contributions to internal corporate research and development programs. The 2013 winners are: Most Advanced Marketing/Business Development Intern: Megan Broom, senior in speech and hearing science, IMO (Intelligent Medical Objects, Inc.) Megan recommended new processes which will be implemented at the corporate level. Best Entrepreneurial Leadership in a Startup: Yuyan Hua, graduate student in Materials Science and Engineering, Serionix “Diligent and aggressive,” in less than three months Yuyan helped Serionix progress on a project that has resulted in a minimal viable product being ready for customer evaluation. Best Tech Innovation in the Research Park: Josh Eckhardt, senior in Computer Science, Caterpillar Josh’s technical contribution to a web-based optimization tool is now being applied, and in just one manufacturing facility shows an initial cost reduction of $1 to 2 million. Most Valuable Graduate Student in the Research Park: Dan Zhou, doctoral student in Food Science and Human Nutrition, Abbott Dan translated scientific evidence into talking points and other information that can be used to educate policymakers on key Abbott Nutrition health policy issues. Most Valuable Undergraduate Student in the Research Park: Daniel Loeblich, junior in Chemical Engineering, Dioxide Materials Daniel’s work has accelerated company efforts to bring its CO2 sensor to market and made other important contributions to patent-pending fabrications. Finalists in each category are: Most Valuable Graduate Student in the Research Park:Julie Honneger, Agricultural and Biological Engineering graduate student, Waterborne Environmental; Shuai Wang, Educational Psychology graduate student, State Farm Research and Development Center Most Valuable Undergraduate Student in the Research Park: Sam Rappeport, Materials Science and Engineering undergraduate, Serionix; Bryan Plummer, Computer Science undergraduate, State Farm Research and Development Center Best Tech Innovation in the Research Park: Cristina Abad, doctoral student in Computer Science, Yahoo!; Brian Doherty, Computer Science undergraduate, IMO Best Entrepreneurial Leadership in a Startup: Siddhant Morakhia, General Engineering undergraduate, BioAnalytics Most Advanced Marketing/Business Development Intern: Michelle Kwak, Industrial Design undergraduate, John Deere Technology Innovation Center

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    EnterpriseWorks News Recognition & Awards

    EnterpriseWorks Graduate aPriori Secures An Additional $6 Million in Funding

          aPriori, graduate of EnterpriseWorks, raises additional venture capital funding. Important milestones for the company in FY 2013 include: Revenues grew 84% year over year Bookings grew 48% year over year International revenues grew 367% year over year Existing customers renewed at a rate of 90% – for the 5th consecutive year New customers in all geographies drove a 62% expansion of the customer base.      

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    Features Media Mentions News Recognition & Awards

    Oso Technologies Product Inspires Letterman “Top Ten” and Conan

    The “Top Ten List” segment from David Letterman’s Late Night show on Feb. 7 was inspired by Oso Technologies’ PlantLink system. Its product was also mentioned on Conan, CBS This Morning, and Drudge Report the week of Feb. 4. Top Ten Things House Plants Have To Say Thursday, February 7, 2013 10. “Watching you eat salad is creepy” 9. “Please ask the dog to stop ‘watering’ me” 8. “I had the most amazing photosynthesis last weekend” 7. “Your wife is sleeping with the UPS guy” 6. “I’m not going back on tour with Led Zeppelin” (Oh, I’m sorry, that’s what Robert Plant has to say) 5. “I absorb the CO2 you exhale–maybe try a breath mint” 4. “I’d like to thank the people of Colorado and Washington for legalizing me” 3. “For the love of God, put on some pants” 2. “With my ass in the dirt all day, I feel like the 49ers defense–Hey-o!” 1. “Your cactus is a real prick”  

    Oso Technologies Product Inspires Letterman “Top Ten” and Conan Read Post »

    Events News Recognition & Awards Research Park

    Lt. Gov. Sheila Simon Performs Ribbon Cutting at Grand Opening of Weatherization Training Facility

    The new Indoor Climate Research & Training (ICRT) program training facility held its Grand Opening Ceremony on October 16, 2012.  Dr. Manohar Kulkarni (ISTC Director) and Paul Francisco (Research Engineer and Program Leader for ICRT) kicked of the ceremony with welcoming remarks and short history of the ICRT program.  Special guest Lt. Governor Sheila Simon was given the honor of cutting the ribbon for the official opening of the training facility. In addition to the Lt. Governor, Naomi Jakobsson (Representative from the 103rd district) and Paul Faraci (local representative) were in attendance as well as Dr. Howard Guenther from the Office of the Vice Chancellor of Research (UI), members from the Prairie Research Institute, the ISTC Advisory Board, the Smart Energy Design Assistance Center (SEDAC), Business Innovation Services (UI), Masha Trenhalie (VP of Operations for Fox Development), Civil and Environmental Engineering Department (UI), Agricultural and Biological Engineering Department (UI), Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (IDCEO), Community and Economic Development Association (CEDA), and a number of training instructors and contractors. The new weatherization training facility is 6,700 square feet and is located at 2111 S. Oak Street, Suite 106 in Champaign.  The program  is the only one in Illinois that includes space for both classrooms and hands-on training opportunities for the home performance industry. It is expected to serve thousands of trainees. Funding for the training center was provided by the federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and the Illinois Jobs Now! capital construction program.

    Lt. Gov. Sheila Simon Performs Ribbon Cutting at Grand Opening of Weatherization Training Facility Read Post »

    Internships News Recognition & Awards Research Park

    Research Park Honors Most Valuable Interns of 2012

      Outstanding student interns working for companies in the Research Park were honored Aug. 2 at the annual Intern Recognition Event. Supervisors nominated a broad spectrum of interns for this year’s awards; all the awardees are students at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. At any given time more than 400 highly-skilled student interns work for Research Park tenants, gaining valuable experience while making real contributions to internal corporate research and development programs. The judging team received 38 nominations this year, almost double last year’s total. Five awards were given out, with finalists honored in each category. The winners are: Most Valuable Marketing/Business Development Intern: Anne Wessel, junior in industrial design, IPT: Anne designed dramatic innovations in the sewing components of IPT’s prosthetic arm. (Finalists: Carol Grzych, State Farm; Jon Striegel, State Farm)   Most Valuable Entrepreneurial Leadership in a Startup: John Stratton, PhD student in Electrical and Computer Engineering, MulticoreWare: He has been the primary developer of a new product line that has been getting consistently high interest from clients. Finalists: Sam Rappeport, Serionix; Philip Jurik, 4D Teleport; Christina Korp, Dioxide Materials   Most Valuable Tech Innovation in the Research Park: Daniel Herber (pictured with manager Hank Roark), graduate student in Industrial and Enterprise Systems Engineering, Deere & Co.: Created a significant computational simulation and developed a method for calibration of the models. His work will be the basis for a patent application and/or submitted for publication. Finalists: Josh Eckhardt, Caterpillar; Hee-Seok Kim, MulticoreWare   Most Valuable Graduate in the Research Park: Jibo He, Psychology graduate student, State Farm: Developed a high functioning smartphone prototype that has the potential to prevent thousands of drowsy driver-related crashes. Finalists: Saurav Mohapatra, PowerWorld; Rohit Naini, Neustar   Most Valuable Undergraduate in the Research Park: Anna Oldani, recent graduate, Caterpillar: Anna’s modeling and structural analysis work is very comparable to the work done by full-time engineers, and allowed her team to serve more customers that it could otherwise serve. Finalists: Zack Stone, Waterborne Environmental; Alex Ratcliff, MulticoreWare  

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