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UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS URBANA-CHAMPAIGN

Research Park

    Research Park

    EnterpriseWorks News Recognition & Awards Research Park

    Reconstruct Named One of Crunchbase’s 50 Hot Tech Companies in 2019

    Crunchbase published a list of the 50 Hot Tech Companies Globally in 2019, featuring Reconstruct, a Research Park startup. The companies were filtered based on Crunchbase data. Each of the companies listed has raised between $10 and $30 million in the last six months and has not exited via IPO or acquisition. Reconstruct has raised $10.1 million in total funding from investors, including Cultivation Capital, Serra Ventures, and Harbor Street Ventures. Reconstruct’s AI and digital twin capabilities help project stakeholders by providing indoor/outdoor views, enabling them to track and resolve issues in a virtual environment before actual impact on cost and schedule, revolutionizing construction management.

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    EnterpriseWorks News Research Park

    Board of Trustees Votes to Transfer Research Park Oversight

    CHAMPAIGN – The University of Illinois Board of Trustees today transferred oversight of the University of Illinois Research Park from the U. of I. System to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Trustees approved the Research Park in 1999 and authorized the University of Illinois Research Park LLC in 2000 as the formal entity to develop and operate research parks in support of the university’s economic development mission. On the endorsement of President Tim Killeen and Urbana campus Chancellor Robert Jones, the limited liability company’s Board of Managers voted in October to recommend that the Board of Trustees change the legal entity’s scope to focus solely on the Research Park in Urbana-Champaign. With its vote today at its bimonthly meeting on the Springfield campus, the board of trustees completed the transfer. “This will make our campus an even stronger contributor to the economic well-being of our community, and help to fulfill the missions of the Illinois Innovation Network and the Discovery Partners Institute,” Jones said. “We look forward to more deeply integrating activities of the campus faculty members, students and staff with those of the Research Park and EnterpriseWorks.” Susan Martinis, the interim vice chancellor for research at the Urbana-Champaign campus, said the total workforce at the Research Park represents the third-largest employer in the community. “Aligning the Research Park more closely with our campus strongly supports our research, teaching, public engagement and economic development missions,” Martinis said. “It’s a powerful pipeline for students to connect with companies for experiential learning, and for companies to connect with students to harness cutting-edge skills.” The Board of Trustees also approved four new members of the UIRP LLC Board of Managers, Wilbur Milhouse and Scott Rose from the private sector and Gies College of Business Dean Jeff Brown and College of ACES Dean Kim Kidwell to fill two faculty board positions. Read the entire news release HERE. News coverage:The News-Gazette

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    News Recognition & Awards Research Park

    Reconstruct Receives $7.7 Million Series A Investment Led By Cultivation Capital

    Reconstruct, a Research Park startup, has closed a $7.7 million series A round led by Cultivation Capital. Investors also include Serra Ventures and Seyen Capital. According to BusinessWire, Reconstruct provides a ‘visual command center’ for projects, enabling project executives to proactively and precisely manage construction progress including detecting current, past, and future performance issues. Cultivation Capital Partner and Board Member, Barry Sandweiss sees incredible potential in the company. “Reconstruct has the opportunity to transform the management, financing, and insuring of projects in construction and beyond.” Reconstruct’s AI and digital twin capabilities help project stakeholders by providing indoor/outdoor views enabling them to track and resolve issues in a virtual environment before actual impact on cost and schedule. University of Illinois Research Park Director, Laura Frerichs said, “We have been honored to be a part of the Reconstruct journey and getting to see their growth from early stage technology to commercial success. They have created a tremendous team and technology with market value, customers, and impact”. Read the full article here.

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    Events News Research Park

    2019 AgTech Summit a Success

    The 2019 Agriculture Technology Innovation Summit was a success yet again, bringing together the biggest agriculture companies and brightest minds in agtech to discuss new ideas that will revolutionize the farming industry. The AgTech Summit is a collaboration between the University of Illinois Research Park, the University of Illinois, College of ACES, and the Office of Corporate Relations. This year’s panels included those such as “Investment Landscape”, “Animal Health and Nutrition”, and “Digital Agriculture.” They were mediated by Champaign’s agtech experts, including Mark Moran, Director of the John Deere Innovation Center. In his keynote speech, Moran said that there “has been more change to ag in the last 100 years than the 10,000 years before that. Those of us that do it every day maybe don’t realize how different it is from just a century ago” (Brownfield Ag News). It’s true–the talks throughout the day explored brand new technologies such as robots and artificial intelligence and explored how they are rapidly changing farmers’ approaches to production and sustainability issues on their farms. Another talk included University of Illinois professor Angela Green-Miller. The idea for her pig production company TellTail “originated from the idea of taking university research and translating that into tools that are immediately accessible and easily used by producers,” similar to other EnterpriseWorks startups (Brownfield Ag News). Startup TellTail was the winner of the Moore Innovation Prize this year. Thank you to all those from the local agriculture community as well as others from all over the Midwest that attended the event. Another thank you to the moderators and panelists for sharing your time and talents. Last but not least, thanks to the AgTech 2019 sponsors–Bayer/The Climate Corporation, John Deere, ADM, and COUNTRY Financial–for your generous support of AgTech Summit 2019. 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 4, 2020. Tuesday March 5, 2019 EnterpriseWorks Atrium, 60 Hazelwood Drive, Champaign 8:00am-12pm | USDA SBIR Workshop 5:30-7:00pm | Opening Reception Wednesday March 6, 2019 I-Hotel & Conference Center, 1900 South First Street, Champaign 7:45am | Registration & Continental Breakfast 8:10am | Welcome & Opening Remarks Laura Frerichs, University of Illinois Research Park Adam Davis, University of Illinois ACES Frank Dohleman, The Climate Corporation 8:30am | Morning Keynote Address Mark Moran, John Deere Technology Innovation Center 9:15am | Collaborations Between Startups & Corporations Learn more about the important symbiotic relationship between entrepreneurs and established companies in order to implement new products. Roger Vanhoy, University of Illinois Corporate Relations Mark Fincham, John Deere Tim Kuehlorn, Nutrien Ag Solutions Kirsten Skogerson, Bayer Crop Science Scott Wilkin, University of Illinois National Center for Supercomputing Applications 10:15am | Break 10:30am | Investment Landscape AgTech investments are growing rapidly. Key elements include biotech, software & IoT, robotics and automation and commodity platforms. This panel will cover how this is impacting the agricultural industry. Nancy Sullivan, Illinois Ventures Connie Bowen, The Yield Lab Tim Foote, Flyover Capital Kevin McCurren, Michigan State University Corbett Kull, Tillable David Pierson, Syngenta Ventures 11:30am | Animal Health & Nutrition Industry leaders will highlight the teamwork between academia, startups and businesses to advance new ways to ensure a safe food supply and enhance the well-being of animals. Rod Johnson, University of Illinois College of ACES Angela Green-Miller, TellTail Lena Head, AGCO/GSI Ryan Lane, ADM Bruce Taillon, Elanco 12:30pm | Lunch Buffet 12:50pm | Afternoon Kickoff Sponsor remarks, Ryan Lane, ADM Moore Innovation Prize Presentation 1:05pm | Lunchtime Fireside Chat Laura Frerichs, University of Illinois Research Park Dennis Beard, Serra Ventures Dave Stanko, Nutrien/Agrible 1:45pm | Digital Agriculture Now is the time to discuss the technologies that provide the agricultural industry with the tools, data and knowledge to make better on-farm decisions and improve productivity and sustainability. Robert Brunner, University of Illinois Lance Brown, AGCO Grain & Protein Eric Barnard, Granular Kelly Gillespie, Bayer Crop Science Chris Dempsey, Case IH Robert Lubben, Rabo AgriFinance Chinmay Soman, EarthSense Rebeccah Stay, Cargill, INC. 2:45pm | Break 3:00pm | Growers Talk Back Leading farmers and key customers for new technology developments will discuss the challenges they face, the technologies helpful to their businesses and what types of products they’re looking for as they continue to advance. Chris Harbourt, Research Park Entrepreneur In Residence Jason Little, Nutrien Ag Solutions Matt Barnard, Barnard Farms Heath Huisinga, Huisinga Farms Ken Dalenberg, Scattered Acres Farm Josh Plunk, Plunk Brothers, Inc.

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    News Research Park

    Research Park Wins at Innovation Celebration 2019

    Every year, the community gathers at Parkland College for the Innovation Celebration – an event honoring the innovators and changemakers in the Champaign-Urbana area. This year’s event was the 14th time the University of Illinois, Parkland College, and the Champaign County Economic Development Corporation have come together to celebrate the continued economic prosperity and entrepreneurial success of Champaign County. The Research Park had many representatives at this year’s awards. Some familiar faces that won awards are: RingWing, LLC (student startup in EnterpriseWorks) – Student Startup Award EarthSense, Inc. (EnterpriseWorks tenant) – New Venture Award Roland Garton (SBIR technical consultant) – Paul Magelli Advocacy Award Granular, Inc. (Research Park company) – Management Award Congratulations to the winners, and many thanks to the ground-breaking thinkers that make our community better every day. For a full list of winners and finalists, and to read more about the Innovation Celebration, go here.  

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    News Partnerships & Acquisitions Research Park

    BP Opens New Center at the University of Illinois to Develop Sustainable IT Solutions

    BP OPENS NEW CENTER AT THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS TO DEVELOP SUSTAINABLE IT SOLUTIONS Champaign, Illinois (April 2, 2019) – The University of Illinois today announced that BP (NYSE: BP), one of the world’s largest energy companies, has opened an information technology center at the University of Illinois Research Park. The new center will provide BP with better access to the next generation of talent to explore digital solutions and technologies to enhance the modernization of IT services for the company. “I am excited by the possibilities of our new center at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign – engaging with talent in an innovative way and pioneering the future of digital at BP,” said Steve Fortune, BP Chief Information Officer. “Students will work on real projects and give us fresh perspectives to apply towards energy industry challenges.” The students in the program will work closely with BP information technology experts to develop proof-of-concept prototypes for digital solutions ranging from Big Data and Machine Learning, to the Internet of Things (IoT) and Cloud. Projects will cover multiple disciplines, such as basic market and technology research, data analytics and visualization, user-interface analysis and software development. Bryan Copeland, a BP technologist for 16 years, has relocated from within the company to serve as the center’s Site Leader and will lead student recruitment, training, mentorship and assist in the delivery of innovative solutions. BP is a longtime strategic partner of the University of Illinois. This center further embeds the company within the fabric of the university, with the goal to continue a symbiotic and mutually beneficial relationship. “We’re pleased to welcome BP to Research Park. Like many industries, data science is transforming the way the world thinks about energy. It is a perfect partnership to have a company that is developing the future of energy come together with the university that is pioneering the future of computing and data sciences,” said University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign chancellor Robert J. Jones. “BP’s commitment to discovery and technological innovation will open new opportunities for collaboration with our faculty and offer our students new career horizons.” About BP (NYSE: BP) BP is a global producer of oil and gas with operations in 70 countries. BP has a larger economic footprint in the U.S. than in any other nation, and it has invested more than $100 billion here since 2005. BP employs about 14,000 people across the U.S. and supports more than 111,000 additional jobs through all its business activities. For more information on BP in America, visit www.bp.com/us.

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    EnterpriseWorks Events News Recognition & Awards Research Park

    TellTail Honored with 2019 Edwin Moore Family Agriculture Innovation Prize

    Champaign, IL — TellTail, a startup that uses predictive and forecast algorithm technology to improve the management of pig production systems, is the recipient of the 2019 Edwin Moore Family Agriculture Innovation Prize. The award, generously funded by University of Illinois alumni and their families, rewards University of Illinois entrepreneurs focusing on agricultural innovations. Members of the Moore family presented the award to TellTail co-founders Angela Green-Miller, Andy Miller, and Chris Harbourt during the Agriculture Technology Innovation Summit on March 6 in Champaign. TellTail’s primary goal is to improve pig management in a way that reduces mortality, encourages desirable production traits, and increases profitability of production facilities. Its technology directly addresses its customer’s desire to produce more pork with fewer resources; its algorithms improve efficiency as well as animal welfare. The team who developed TellTail’s includes Green-Miller, an associate professor of Agricultural and Biological Engineering at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. The company just moved into its own office at EnterpriseWorks, the technology incubator in the Research Park. The Edwin Moore Agriculture Innovation Fund was established in 2016 with a generous gift to EnterpriseWorks, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign’s technology incubator. Its goal is to encourage startup companies engaged in development of new innovative technologies that may lead to increased productivity and/or efficiency in farming, or to create new agricultural opportunities, including new processes, new crops, and new food production systems. Previous winners include EarthSense (2018) and Soil Diagnostics (2017). In addition to the prize given at the AgTech Innovation Summit, a second Edwin Moore Agriculture Innovation Fund award is at stake as part of the Cozad New Venture Competition, the university’s signature competition for student startups. It will be awarded in April. The award honors the legacy of Edwin E. Moore (1924), who graduated from the University of Illinois College of Agriculture and began farming in Will County. Throughout his agricultural career, he and wife, Iva, used innovative farming practices for both crop production and livestock management. Two of their four children became farmers, Edwin and Thomas (1953, College of Agriculture), and continued use of innovative farm practices. Subsequent generations of Edwin Moore’s family have continued to pursue farming and ag related careers capturing the same innovative spirit.

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    EnterpriseWorks News Partnerships & Acquisitions Research Park

    A Vision for “Research Park Commons” and EnterpriseWorks Incubator Expansion

    The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign’s recently released campus strategic plan includes several references to increasing investments in the University of Illinois Research Park and the EnterpriseWorks incubator with the express goal to grow the entrepreneurial ecosystem and support economic development in the region. The Research Park Master Plan, adopted in September 2018 by the University of Illinois Board of Trustees, aims to double its size and continue attracting more companies, employees, and private development. At Monday’s University of Illinois Research Park LLC Board of Managers meeting, members discussed a vision toward those goals, called the EnterpriseWorks Expansion and Research Park Commons. This vision is a concept for a new building that would address two known factors impacting the future growth of the Research Park: 1) a lack of adequate lab facilities for growth-stage startup companies, in the community and throughout the state of Illinois; and 2) the need for additional Research Park community spaces providing an environment for creative collisions between the companies, employees, and faculty. No formal action was taken by the UIRP LLC Board of Managers. The study was commissioned by the University of Illinois Research Park LLC and completed by Clark Enersen Partners, a firm out of Kansas City that specializes in scientific buildings on college campuses.

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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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    Media Mentions News Research Park

    Agrinews Reviews AgTech at the Research Park

    Agrinews wrote all about the University of Illinois Research Park in one of their latest articles. The agriculturally-focused site covered all of the aspects of the Research Park, from the growing number of industries it houses to the increasing workforce of full-time and student employees. They reviewed the park’s history, from its time as farmland to what it is now–a tech hub housing startups and corporate centers that create innovative products every day. Research Park Associate Director Laura Bleill was quoted with some words about agricultural tech at the park, saying “Corporations are located at the research park because they have access to student talent of kids who have grown up on farms and are familiar with farm tech […] they are doing projects related to data analytics, mobile app developments or augmented reality.” The Association of University Research Parks caught wind of the story by Agrinews and also shared it on their platforms. If you want to read about the AURP and see who is included in their network, click here. If you want to see the original story by Agrinews, click here.

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