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Champaign, Illinois (March 10, 2021) – Epivara, a company developing more humane, natural sterilization methods for livestock and companion animals, is the recipient of the 2021 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. The Research Park together with the Moore family presented the award to Epivara Co-Founder Dr. Jay Ko and Director of Science Dr.  Rex Hess during the Agriculture Technology Innovation Summit. The event was held on Zoom webinar with more than 900 participants from around the world. “We found a major problem in agriculture, which is surgical removal of gonads from healthy animals,” said Ko, a faculty member in the University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine, reflecting on the origins of the company. “We thought, let’s do something to make it more humane and at the same time, economical.” “Now we have funding coming from many different sources and we are using the funds to test our products in pigs at university farms, and some other species. It’s an exciting moment, me as a basic scientist reaching a place where we have a product that can impact industry.” The company’s scientists work out of a lab and 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 Aspiring Universe (2020), TellTail (2019), EarthSense (2018) and Soil Diagnostics (2017). For more information about Epivara, visit their website here. About the Edwin Moore Family Agriculture Innovation Prize 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. About the Research Park at the University of Illinois The Research Park at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is a technology hub for startup companies and corporate research and development operations. Within the Research Park there are 120 companies employing students and full-time technology professionals. More information at researchpark5.wpenginepowered.com. Find the Research Park on Twitter at @UIResearchPark.

Champaign, Illinois (March 10, 2021) — Fifth generation Illinois farmer Will Glazik was named the inaugural recipient of the Glen “GB” Brandt Prize for Ag Entrepreneurism, an award that honors an individual who exemplifies an entrepreneurial spirit and advances innovation through their business practices. The award was presented at the 2021 AgTech Innovation Summit, hosted by the University of Illinois Research Park. Glazik’s nominations highlighted these qualities as a farmer, researcher, public speaker, distillery owner, and entrepreneur.  “Will is blazing a trail for a new generation of farmers in Illinois who want to be active managers and marketers for a diverse array of products,” said nominator Dr. Adam Davis,  head of the Department of Crop Sciences in the UI College of ACES.  “He is creative and fearless in trying out new innovations in production methods, marketing and new product creation. He is generous with sharing his knowledge, reaching and teaching hundreds of other growers through his work with the IDEA Farm Network.” The Glen “GB” Brandt Prize for Ag Entrepreneurism was established in 2021 in honor of Glen “GB” Brandt, a legendary figure in the field of Illinois agriculture, who passed away in late 2020. The BRANDT Foundation partnered with the University of Illinois to provide the winner a $10,000 prize.  Glazik manages Cow Creek Organics Farms in Paxton, Ill., where he has diversified the farming system, moving from producing grain to an integrated crop-livestock operation selling high-quality organic meats, grains, and seeds. His business ventures use modern technology to innovate more efficient processes and minimize the carbon footprint of farming, with the end goal of all being carbon negative. Together with his two brothers Clayton and Dallas, the family founded Silver Tree Beer and Spirits in 2017. Silver Tree is a carbon-negative farm distillery taking the organic grains they grow on their home farm to distill into spirits.  Silver Tree Spirits is currently working with the Integrated Bioprocessing Research Lab to research flavor profiles in bourbon. “I am honored and very excited to be awarded this grant,” Glazik said. “It comes at a very exciting time as our farm diversifies, and Silver Tree is transitioning from having our grain custom distilled, to now owning our own still, and will soon be doing everything in Paxton. ” Glazik also helped co-found the IDEA Farm Network, a peer-to-peer information exchange network for farmers in Illinois and beyond interested in innovative farm management that balances productivity, profitability and environmental health. The group is active through online discussion groups, webinars and on-farm field days. It has blossomed from 45 people to more than 400 members across the Midwest. A proud alumnus from the University of Illinois College of ACES, Glazik graduated in 2013 with a degree in crop science. About The BRANDT Foundation The BRANDT Foundation was established in 2012 as a philanthropic extension of BRANDT, Inc. The Brandt family has always stood with their communities and as their company grew, so did the opportunities to give back. The BRANDT Foundation offers donations, grants, and support to the charities, organizations, and communities that reside in the same area of the company; geographically and industry-related. About the AgTech Innovation Summit The AgTech Innovation Summit is an interactive conference where participants learn and share knowledge about the current state of agtech and get a looking into the future through dynamic panels, inspiring keynote presentations, and networking opportunities. It is produced by the University of Illinois Research Park in partnership with the College of ACES and the Office of Corporate Relations. One of the premier AgTech hubs in the nation, Champaign-Urbana is uniquely positioned to bring together entrepreneurs, investors, academics, and industry for learning, networking, and advancing this sector.

On November 12, 2020, the University of Illinois Research Park hosted its eighth annual Big Data Summit virtually through Zoom. The 2020 Big Data summit focused on machine learning, artificial intelligence, and digital transformation. Keynote speaker Phil Hajduk, VP for Information Research at AbbVie, discussed how to turn data into knowledge to solve real problems in developing biologics and improve operations. This year’s speakers discussed a wide range of topics from AI in life sciences, consumer privacy in advertising, and biases in data sciences. The speakers also ranged from academia, industry leaders, and entrepreneurs. In addition to the unique mix of presentations, a panel of EnterpriseWorks startup companies discussed how corporate partnerships lead to new innovations. The panel was moderated by Laila Partridge, Managing Director at STANLEY+Techstars Accelerator. The panel included Chinmay Soman, Co-founder and CEO of EarthSense, Daphne Preuss, Chief Executive Officer at Aspiring Universe, Sam Hamedi Rad, COO and Sr. Research Scientist at LifeFoundry, and Mani Golparvar, CTO of Reconstruct. The day concluded with a networking reception. This not only allowed Big Data companies to talk about new advances in Big Data, but it also provided the opportunity for the community to connect with Research Park companies and to network with industry leaders.  Find photos from the 2020 Big Data Summit here. 2020 Agenda 8:00 AM COFFEE AND CONVERSATION 8:30 AM WELCOME AND OPENING REMARKS Laura Frerichs | Executive Director, University of Illinois Research Park 8:40 AM AWS DEEPRACER LEAGUE Jarai Carter | Data Scientist, John Deere 9:10 AM NETWORK PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT Bryan Elverson | Team Lead, Engineering, Riverbed Technology 9:40 AM ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IN LIFE SCIENCES Yannick Djoumbou Feunang | Data Scientist – Cheminformatics, Corteva 10:10 AM MACHINE LEARNING FOR TUMOR TREATMENTS John Cole | Chief Scientific Officer, SimBioSys 10:25 AM BREAK 10:35 AM CONSUMER PRIVACY IN DIGITAL ADVERTISING Larry Lo | VP of Engineering, Data Systems, Amobee 11:05 AM WASTEWATER MANAGEMENT THROUGH AI Nina Kshetry | President, Ensaras 11:25 AM BIASES IN DATA SCIENCE Jana Diesner | Associate Professor, School of Information Sciences 11:55 AM KEYNOTE SPEAKER Philip Hajduk | VP for Information Research, AbbVie 12:20 PM MHUB ACCELERATION INCUBATION – INDUSTRIAL INTERNET OF THINGS (IIOT) Haven Allen | CEO, mHub 12:30 PM CORPORATE PARTNERSHIPS WITH STARTUPS Moderator: Laila Partridge | Managing Director, STANLEY+Techstars Accelerator, working in partnership with Stanley Black & Decker Chinmay Soman | Co-founder and CEO, EarthSense Daphne Preuss | Chief Executive Officer, Aspiring Universe Sam Hamedi Rad | COO and Sr. Research Scientist, LifeFoundry Mani Golparvar | CTO, Reconstruct 1:30 PM MANAGING DISRUPTIVE TECHNOLOGY Robert Brunner | Associate Dean for Innovation & Chief Disruption Officer,  Gies College of Business 2:00 PM MACHINE LEARNING FOR COVID-19 MITIGATION Sayantani Basu | PhD Student, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign 2:30 PM ALL COVID TESTS (ACT) PIPELINE Ken Taylor | Cloud Architect, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign 2:55 PM BREAK 3:05 PM DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION IN LIFE SCIENCES Dirk Tomandl | Principal Scientist and Group Leader Cheminformatics, Corteva 3:25 PM VERIZON 5G INNOVATION HUB Abhijit Kudrimoti | Distinguished Architect, Verizon  3:45 PM TECH TRAINING PROGRAM Neal Davis | Teaching Assistant Professor, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Emilio Ruiz | Tech Training Participant 4:00 PM STUDENT CAREER AND NETWORKING RECEPTION 4:30 PM CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE INNOVATION Abhijit Chinai | SVP, Analytics Capabilities & Business Development, Synchrony 4:55 PM CLOSING REMARKS Laura Frerichs | Executive Director, University of Illinois Research Park 5:00 PM NETWORKING RECEPTION  

Champaign, Illinois (March 5, 2020) – Aspiring Universe Corporation, a company that provides in-depth intelligence and cost-effective assessments of farmland, is the recipient of the 2020 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. Ed Moore and Penny DeYoung, members of the Moore family, presented the award to Aspiring Universe Corporation founder Kaiyu Guan during the Agriculture Technology Innovation Summit on March 4 in Champaign. Aspiring Universe’s technology takes a modern approach to risk management integrating artificial intelligence, remote sensing, and financial risk models to create customized risk modeling assessments for farm-related businesses. The company occupies an office at EnterpriseWorks, the technology incubator in the Research Park. Guan is a Blue Waters Assistant Professor in ecohydrology and remote sensing in the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. 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, TellTail (2019), 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. For more information about Aspiring Universe Corporation, visit their website here. About the Edwin Moore Family Agriculture Innovation Prize 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. About the Research Park at the University of Illinois The Research Park at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is a technology hub for startup companies and corporate research and development operations. Within the Research Park there are 120 companies employing students and full-time technology professionals. More information at researchpark5.wpenginepowered.com. Find the Research Park on Twitter at @UIResearchPark.

Interns from around Research Park gathered on Thursday, July 25, 2019, for the Summer Picnic and Intern Awards. The Research Park community celebrated with food, games, and awards for the most outstanding interns of the year. Throughout the academic year and summer, interns gained valuable work experience while working on projects that positively impacted their respective companies. Of the 700+ interns working within the Research Park, less than 30 became finalists for the awards, and only 5 individuals and 1 group were awarded the winning prizes. The winners and finalists were determined from a pool of nominees by a team of Research Park professionals. To watch the entirety of the Intern Awards, click HERE. Most Outstanding Undergraduate Intern Derek Meyer, P&C Actuarial Intern at State Farm Undergraduate in Actuarial Science “Derek is an extremely hardworking individual, both in his work and school life. He maintains many extracurriculars, an excellent GPA, and handles the pressures of our internship with his time management, organization, leadership, and technical skills. He takes every piece of feedback to heart to try to improve upon his own skills, not just for his sake, but to help benefit his team dynamic as well. He holds not only himself highly accountable for his projects but also his team members.” Finalist: Avani Patel, Clinical Research Intern at PhotoniCare Undergraduate in Bioengineering Most Outstanding Graduate Intern Saurav Yadav, Data Scientist at COUNTRY Financial DigitaLab Master’s Student in Information Science “I believe that Saurav deserves this award because he is dedicated, treats people well, and has a high level of integrity. He continually offers to take on more responsibility and works well with all interns in the DigitaLab. He has excellent communication and technical skills. Overall, Saurav has had a huge impact on COUNTRY Financial. [Because of his] outstanding leadership and technical skills, we will be able to provide a large cost savings to the home office on 9 data-related initiatives this semester.” Finalists: Nuraini Aguse, Front End Intern at InstaRecon Master’s Student in Computer Science Zhuzhu Wang, Product Development Intern at Abbott Ph.D. Student in Food Science Best Entrepreneurial Leadership in a Startup Shaoyu Meng, Lead Software Engineer at LifeFoundry Master’s Student in Electrical and Computer Engineering “Shaoyu works autonomously without supervision. He can sort things through. He doesn’t comment about others. He can always finish all assigned tasks with a calm mind. He is very patient, regardless of what he is facing. When we were inexperienced, Shaoyu stayed very patient, even when we [were thrown a] project he worked on [for] a full month. It is a very rare personality [trait] to [be able to] look forward and discuss with us how to do better in the future. Shaoyu’s work ethic is very impressive, and it benefits both him and the whole team.” Finalists: Jugat Singh Lamba, Summer Engineering Intern at InstaRecon Master’s Student in Computer Science Xiaofan Zhang, Neural Network Engineering Intern at Inspirit-IoT Ph.D. Student in Electrical and Computer Engineering Best Technological Innovation Harshit Gupta, Data Scientist Technology Intern at Syngenta Master’s Student in Information Management “Harshit successfully created a Proof of Concept (and, after its success, a Minimum Viable Product) for Syngenta’s Global Data Science teams. This service, created entirely in AWS, will lay the foundation for how all of the company’s Data Scientists work with the latest and greatest Data Science technologies. Harshit drove change and adoption of Data Science technology on a global level for the company and across many different parts of the organization. He led and implemented the project in its entirety on his own…. He displayed incredible maturity, tact, and technical knowledge, and, more importantly, a wonderful ability to communicate. His work ethic, passion, dedication, and curiosity drove the success of this project in ways that were not anticipated for the scope of work or internship.” Finalists: Ashley Oyirifi, Biomedical Innovation Researcher at AbbVie Ph.D. Student in Nutritional Sciences Qianli Chen, Data Scientist at COUNTRY Financial DigitaLab Ph.D. Student in Civil Engineering Most Advanced Business Development Mallory Gorman, Associate Product Owner at Nutrien Ag Solutions Undergraduate Student in Agricultural Engineering “Mallory is a critical team member. She not only can complete critical tasks on-time and on-schedule, but she can also bridge the science-based world of our work with the business and marketing requirements necessary for the work to proceed…. Mallory works hard, quickly, and efficiently. She can handle stressful situations and keep her eye and the team on-task. Currently, she is supervising the entire testing plan for our platform launch. I would only trust such an activity to someone who is dedicated to getting the job done correctly and efficiently.” Finalists: Nikita Nerkar, Web Develope at Ekey Technology Master’s Student in Technology Management Sherry Yi, Idea Lab Summer Intern at AbbVie Ph.D. Student in Educational Psychology Most Competent and Collaborative Team IntelinAir Agronomy and Deep Learning Team: Xingqian Xu, Ph.D. Student in Computer Vision Research Pedro Leal-Aradillas, Undergraduate in Agricultural Engineering MangTik “David” Chiu, Master’s Student in Computer Science Engineering Kyle Adomaitis, Undergraduate in Music Kate “Sam” Ssentamu, Undergraduate in Agribusiness Jerame “JT” Jones, Associate’s Student in Precision Agriculture “Our Ag Team is essentially the eyes and ears for the rest of our company…. Our team has done an amazing job being responsive and putting in the late night and early mornings when they are needed. In coming together as a team, we’ve been very impressed with their ability to work together. You may have noticed the diversity of our team, not only in their career paths but culturally. In order for our company to be successful, our Ag Team and our Engineering Team need to work as closely as possible.” Finalists: AARP Computer Programming Team: Mohammed Faiz Patangia, Undergraduate in Computer Science Kushal Kumar Goenka, Undergraduate in Computer Engineering PSYONIC Mechanical Engineering Team: Robert Mauge, Undergraduate in Mechanical Engineering Richard Mauge, Undergraduate in Mechanical Engineering Patrick Shalton, Undergraduate in Electrical Engineering Gabe Delgado, Undergraduate in Industrial Design Dhipak Bala, Undergraduate in Mechanical Engineering

We are excited to announce the finalists for the 2019 Research Park Intern Awards. The winners will be named on Thursday, July 25, during our annual Summer Picnic and Intern Awards between 4-5:30PM and, consequently, will be listed here. Missed the awards ceremony? Watch the video. Best Entrepreneurial Leadership in a Startup Winner – Shaoyu Meng: Software Engineer, LifeFoundry (Masters, Electrical & Computer Engineering) Xiofan Zhang: Neural Network Engineering Intern, Inspirit-IoT (Ph.D., Electrical & Computer Engineering) Jugat Singh: Summer Engineering Intern, InstaRecon, Inc. (Masters, Computer Science) Best Technological Innovation Winner – Harshit Gupta: Data Science Technology Intern, Syngenta (Masters, Information Management) Ashley Oyirifi: Biomedical Innovation Researcher, AbbVie (Ph.D., Nutritional Sciences) Qianli Chen: Data Scientist, COUNTRY Financial DigitaLab (Ph.D., Civil Engineering) Most Advanced Marketing-Business Development Winner – Mallory Gorman: Associate Product Owner, Nutrien Ag Solutions (Undergraduate, Agricultural Engineering) Sherry Yi: Idea Summer Lab Intern, AbbVie (Ph.D., Educational Psychology) Nikita Nerkar: Web Developer, Ekey Technology (Masters, Technology Management) Most Outstanding Graduate Student Intern Zhuzhu Wang: Product Development Intern, Abbott (Ph.D., Food Science) Winner – Saurav Yadav: Data Scientist, COUNTRY Financial DigitaLab (Masters, Information Management) Nuraini Aguse: Front End Intern, InstaRecon (Masters, Computer Science) Most Outstanding Undergraduate Student Intern Winner – Derek Meyer: P&C Actuarial Intern, State Farm (Undergraduate, Actuarial Science) Avani Patel: Clinical Research Intern, PhotoniCare (Undergraduate, Bioengineering) Most Competent and Collaborative Team Winner – Intelinair Agronomy and Deep Learning Intern Team PSYONIC Mechanical Engineering Team AARP Computer Programming Team

TellTail Receives 2019 Edwin Moore Family Agriculture Innovation Prize  Prize honors University of Illinois entrepreneurs pioneering new agricultural technologies  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. For more information on TellTail, visit its website HERE.

EarthSense Recieves 2018 Edwin Moore Family Agriculture Innovation Prize Prize honors University of Illinois entrepreneurs pioneering new agricultural technologies Champaign, IL — EarthSense, a company that develops ultracompact autonomous robots for crop breeders, agronomists, and growers, is the recipient of the second 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. Family members Penny DeYoung and Ed Moore presented the award to EarthSense during the Agriculture Technology Innovation Summit on Feb. 28 in Champaign. EarthSense provides herbicide-free superweed eradication using TerraSentia, an ultracompact autonomous robot. TerraSentia also delivers under-canopy plant health and trait information. In 2018, more than 25 TerraSentia robots are in paid trials. The team who developed the TerraSentia’s robotics and machine-vision technology includes CEO Chinmay Soman and CTO Girish Chowdhary, an assistant professor of Agricultural and Biological Engineering at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. The company occupies a lab 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. 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.For more information on EarthSense, visit its website HERE.

Edwin Moore Family Agriculture Innovation Prize Established Gift will support University of Illinois entrepreneurs pioneering new agricultural technologies Champaign, IL— February 23, 2017 — The first annual Edwin Moore Family Agriculture Innovation Prize will be presented at today’s Agriculture Technology Innovation Summit. The award, generously funded by University of Illinois alumni and their families, rewards University of Illinois entrepreneurs focusing on agricultural innovations. 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. “The Edwin Moore Family Agriculture Innovation Prize informs us that the science of farming, while one of the oldest in the world, continues to provide new opportunities and challenges in our society,” said Laura Frerichs, director of the University of Illinois Research Park and EnterpriseWorks. “We are grateful to the Moore Family for its support of the University of Illinois entrepreneurial ecosystem, and look forward to seeing how this resource will inspire future innovators and innovations.” The first of two $5,000 prizes to be awarded annually will be presented at today’s Agriculture Technology Innovation Summit to Soil Diagnostics. The second prize is at stake as part of the Cozad New Venture Competition, the university’s signature competition for student startups, and 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. For more information on EnterpriseWorks and Research Park, visit researchpark5.wpenginepowered.com.