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UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS URBANA-CHAMPAIGN

Research Park

    Research Park

    News Research Park

    Progress Continues in the Research Park Residential/Retail Project

    The Research Park continues to make progress to develop an additional 160 acres on the east side of First Street, with the first project being the long-anticipated retail and residential component. The News-Gazette reported on the recent meeting of the Research Park Board of Managers, which featured discussion of the retail/residential amenities as well as information regarding broadband.

    Progress Continues in the Research Park Residential/Retail Project Read Post »

    Investments News Research Park

    Research Park Expansion Update: Fourth Street Extension Paved

    One of the key factors in the expansion of the University of Illinois Research Park is the extension of Fourth Street to connect St. Mary’s and Windsor Roads. The concrete for this road was poured on Thursday, Sept. 13. From the News-Gazette: “For 12 hours on Thursday, workers poured, smoothed and worked the concrete that will become a 4,100-foot segment of a street that officials hope will spur the continued development of the University of Illinois Research Park.”

    Research Park Expansion Update: Fourth Street Extension Paved 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  

    Research Park Honors Most Valuable Interns of 2012 Read Post »

    Community News Research Park

    Rantoul Business Incubator Now Open

    The Rantoul Business Incubator, which celebrated its grand opening on June 28, is now accepting applications for tenants. Services available in this community incubator include free space for entrepreneurs as well as several support programs, including access to the Entrepreneurs-in-Residence at EnterpriseWorks and the counselors at the Small Business Development Center. Enterpreneurial education, first in the form of the FasTrac course, will be offered at this location. Here’s a photo gallery from the grand opening. Thanks to all who attended.

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    News Partnerships & Acquisitions Research Park

    Bytemobile Acquired by Citrix

    Citrix today announced it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire privately held Bytemobile, a leading provider of data and video optimization solutions for mobile network operators. This acquisition gives Citrix a key strategic foothold in the core infrastructure of more than 130 mobile operators in 60 countries around the world, significantly extending the company’s market reach, and enhancing the broader Citrix strategy of powering mobile workstyles and cloud services. Bytemobile has deep University of Illinois roots. University of Illinois Electrical Engineering professor Constantine Polychronopoulos’s research in multithreading computer architectures and wireless network performance optimization at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) formed the core of Bytemobile technology. The company was founded in 2000, and it is a graduate of the Technology Commercialization Lab, the incubator facility that was the predecessor to EnterpriseWorks.  It opened a research and development facility in the Research Park in 2006. Citrix is publicly traded on the NASDAQ, and becomes the 14th publicly traded company to have an operation in the Research Park.

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    Community News Research Park

    Champaign City Council Approves Critical Step in Research Park Expansion

    Critical to the planned expansion of Research Park is the construction of roads and other infrastructure. The Champaign City Council unanimously signed off on the project at its meeting May 1. The $4.9 million, state-funded project will extend a network of roads to the east of First Street, including South Fourth Street from St. Mary’s Road to Windsor Road. Laura Frerichs, director of Research Park, was interviewed about the expansion plans on WCIA-TV. The News-Gazette also provided coverage of the approval by the city council. The first building on the 160 acres slated for expansion has been completed off Hazelwood Drive. Construction of the new roads will go forward in June.

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    News Recognition & Awards Research Park

    Research Park Innovators Win Big at Innovation Celebration

    Several companies and individuals with close ties to Research Park won awards at Thursday night’s 7th annual Innovation Celebration. Research Park director Laura Frerichs was the emcee for the event, which took place at the Beckman Institute. Innovation Celebration recognizes those individuals and organizations that have made significant contributions, taken risks, and provided leadership to ensure the continuing economic success of Champaign County, the ongoing success of the University’s economic development mission, and the growth of entrepreneurial talent and energy in our community. The winners with Research Park ties include: Brian Jurczyk, co-founder of Starfire Industries, won the Entrepreneurial Excellence in Management Award. The company, an EnterpriseWorks graduate that remains in the Research Park, employs 17 and is a leader in neutron sources and plasma engineering. Nuvixa, founded in 2009 by electrical and computer engineering Associate Professor Sanjay Patel, won the New Venture Award. The company, based at EnterpriseWorks, has used new sensing devices, advanced algorithms, and new computing power to expand the potential of video presentations. Serionix, founded by materials science doctoral student Jim Langer, won the Student Startup Award. The company is developing technologies for air and water purification. Serionix recently moved into space at EnterpriseWorks. Scott Daigle and Marissa Siebel of IntelliWheels received the Social Entrepreneurship Award for developing an automatic gear-shifting system for wheelchairs. The device reduces shoulder pain for those using wheelchairs. IntelliWheels is housed at EnterpriseWorks. Professor Dave Kranz, co-founder of both Immuven and Biodisplay, won the Technology Transfer Award. Immuven, an EnterpriseWorks tenant, is developing new drugs based on the engineering of T-cell receptor proteins. Yi Lu, co-founder of ANDalyze Inc., received the Innovation Discovery Award. A professor of chemistry, biochemistry, and biophysics, he has 41 invention disclosures and 14 issued patents. ANDalyze Inc. is an EnterpriseWorks graduate and Research Park tenant. Liz Kellner won the Entrepreneur Advocacy Award for nearly 20 years of work to support and encourage entrepreneurship in the community. She has worked at the Technology Commercialization Lab, in TechCommunity and with the Second Saturdays group. Kellner is the entrepreneurship specialist at Singleton Law Firm, a tenant in the Research Park.

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    News Research Park

    Research Park Tenant Abbott and U of I establish Center for Nutrition, Learning, and Memory

    Abbott, a tenant at the Research Park, and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign announced today they have established the first-ever multi-disciplinary nutrition and cognition research center, which will be located on the Urbana campus. The Center for Nutrition, Learning, and Memory will lead directed and solicited research on the impact of nutrition on learning and memory in the human brain. Abbott has been a tenant at Research Park since 2009 and recently expanded operations. Its Research Park facility focuses on nutrition, and the new research collaboration has its roots in the relationships developed through its presence here. Learn more here: https://researchpark.illinois.edu/abbott-laboratories/ 

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    News Recognition & Awards Research Park

    AURP Honors Research Park at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign as the 2011 Outstanding Research Park

    NEW ORLEANS — The Association of University Research Parks (AURP) named the Research Park at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign the 2011 Outstanding Research Park during its annual Awards of Excellence ceremony on Dec. 1. The awards were presented at the AURP 2011 International Conference in New Orleans. The 16th Annual AURP Awards of Excellence recognize the achievements of outstanding research parks and industry veterans and encourages the development of best practices among research and science parks. “AURP recognizes exceptional leadership in innovation by honoring university research parks, individuals and companies who are driving innovation in their communities,” said AURP President Harold Strong. “Among this year’s AURP Awards of Excellence recipients, we are proud to name the Research Park at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign the 2011 AURP Outstanding Research Park.” The Outstanding Research/Science Park Achievement Award recognizes parks that excel in bringing technology from the laboratory to economically viable business activities, thus promoting the growth of businesses, jobs and public revenue. “Over the last 10 years, the Research Park has had a significant impact on its community by incubating new startups, attracting large corporations to the region and creating jobs,” said Strong. “The Research Park at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has demonstrated leadership in the research park profession and is deserving of the honor and recognition as the 2011 Outstanding Research Park.” Laura Frerichs, Director of Research Park, accepted the award on behalf of the University of Illinois. “We are honored to receive this recognition, especially as we culminate our 10th anniversary celebration,” Frerichs said. “It reinforces our continuing efforts to build a community of technology entrepreneurship – one that fosters collaboration between the university and industry in addition to creating opportunities for faculty, staff, students, and members of the community at large.” About AURP: The Association of University Research Parks is a professional association of more than 700 university related research and science parks. AURP’s mission is to foster innovation, commercialization and economic growth through university, industry and government partnerships. For more information, visit AURP’s Web site at www.aurp.net or contact Chelsea Simpson at chelseasimpson@aurp.net. 

    AURP Honors Research Park at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign as the 2011 Outstanding Research Park Read Post »

    News Research Park

    News Coverage of Research Park 10th Anniversary Events

    The (Champaign-Urbana) News-Gazette reported on Research Park expansion progress, as detailed at the Board of Managers meeting on Nov. 10, 2011. It continued its coverage of Research Park 10-Year Anniversary event with a photo gallery of the Research Park tours, the Atkins Building dedication and the 10-Year Anniversary Program.  The Daily Illini also wrapped up the Research Park’s 10-Year Anniversary events with coverage from the tours. 

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