Laura Appenzeller
Laura Appenzeller is the Executive Director of the University of Illinois Research Park and the Chief Operating Officer of the Illinois Quantum and Microelectronics Park. Associated with both roles, she is also the Assistant Vice Chancellor for Innovation at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign to support research commercialization and industry partnerships.
The Research Park provides an on-campus vibrant business ecosystem that creates long-term value for the university’s intellectual assets, its students, participant companies, and the economy. The Research Park is located on the campus of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign with mixed-use development of more than 800K square feet of constructed buildings, 120 companies (large corporations and startup companies), 2,000 employees including 700 students working year-round in internships. The Research Park hosts numerous programs and events to support its companies through collaboration, peer sharing, and technology programs to elevate skills and innovation outcomes. Corporate R&D centers at the Research Park include ADM, AGCO, Bayer, Caterpillar, John Deere, Mondelez, Motorola, Nvidia, State Farm, Synchrony and Yahoo as examples of industry leaders that Laura has developed through business attraction and corporate engagement. EnterpriseWorks incubator startup companies have raised more than $1.4 Billion in venture capital and $200 Million in SBIR/STTR awards since the incubator opened. Laura led the creation of the U.S. SBA Illinois FAST Center at the Research Park, which provides small business assistance across Illinois for SBIR and STTR programs. Laura is on the leadership team of the EDA iFAB Tech Hub, which was awarded $51 Million for the growth of precision fermentation and bioprocessing in Central Illinois. Laura has been active in the formation of the new Illinois Quantum and Microelectronics Park (IQMP) located at the former U.S. Steel South Works site on Chicago’s far South Side. IQMP is designed to support the full ecosystem of companies, researchers, suppliers, end users and other partners working to facilitate the development and commercialization of quantum technologies. In her role with IQMP, she leads site and infrastructure planning, financial and operational oversight, and real estate projects.
Laura is active in numerous regional organizations including serving as the board of the Illinois Science and Technology Coalition; the board of the Champaign County Economic Development Corporation; the board of the Illinois Clean Energy and Resilience Fund; past board member of the Association of University Research Parks (AURP); and she is a member of the Economic Club of Chicago.
