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UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS URBANA-CHAMPAIGN

Research Park

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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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    News Recognition & Awards Research Park

    Agrible, ADM Receives 2018 Sustainability Leadership Awards

    On November 14, Field to Market: The Alliance for Sustainable Agriculture announced the 2018 recipients of its Sustainability Leadership Awards. Two Research Park companies, Archer Daniels Midland Company (ADM) and Agrible along with General Mills, Inc. were awarded the 2018 Collaboration of the Year Award. The three recipients were recognized for their efforts to aid farmers in the Southern Plains build soil health, conserve water, and extend the life of the Ogallala aquifer. ADM, Agrible, and General Mills are “helping farmers measure continuous improvement in soil health and water conservation,” says Rod Snyder, president of Field to Market. With the future potential of prolonged drought, these partners are helping farmers improve the resiliency of their fields, conserve water, and improve their bottom line through conservation or no-till. Field to Market has more than 140 members who represent all parts of the United States agricultural supply chain. Members employ more than 5 million people and represent combined revenues of over $1.5 trillion. For more information and to view the full story, click here.

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    Community News Research Park

    Research Park Updates Master Plan To Direct Future Development

    The Research Park master plan has been significantly updated to reflect forward-thinking priorities such as infill development, tenant-driven amenities, walkability, and connectivity to the community and other parts of campus. Thank you to our colleagues at Ratio for their expertise and thank you to the many University and community stakeholders who participated in this process.  Coverage of the updates from The News-Gazette is available here.

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    News Recognition & Awards Research Park

    Linda McMahon Visits Research Park

    Linda McMahon, the 25th Administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration, visited the Research Park today to tour EnterpriseWorks, the technology business incubator that focuses on science- and research-based entrepreneurs. The visit was organized by the Illinois Small Business Development Center at Champaign County EDC.  McMahon heard an overview of the University of Illinois Research Park and talked with several EnterpriseWorks technology startups including Serionix, Reconstruct, AirScout, and Petronics.  In addition to showcasing small businesses, the visit highlighted the local entrepreneurial ecosystem and the programs in place to help small businesses succeed, including services through the SBDC / International Trade Center and programs like University of Illinois Research Park‘s Shared Services Program and the City of Champaign – Municipal Government‘s Small Business Incentive Program. To view media coverage, click here. To view video 1, click here. To view video 2, click here.

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    Investments News Research Park

    DPI Funding to Support Research Park Growth

    Part of the state funding allocated to the University of Illinois for the Discovery Partners Institute and its statewide innovation network will be used to continue the expansion of the University of Illinois Research Park, university leaders announced during a town hall on Wednesday, August 29. According to an announcement made by Chancellor Robert J. Jones, funding related to DPI will support further instructure that will support the growth of the Research Park. Jones said the money for the research park will help expand its infrastructure to allow more startup companies to grow, he said. He described the park as an “unmatched success,” with more than 120 companies such as John Deere and Archer Daniels Midland working with faculty and students, as well as 2,100 employees and 800 student interns. It has also helped launch more than 250 start-up companies from faculty innovations since its inception in 2001. Jones said he will “work with the Research Park’s board of managers, community leaders, economic development advisers and DPI’s leadership to identify opportunities for investment.” View the News-Gazette coverage of the announcement here. 

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