Champaign, Illinois
Is A High Tech Hot Spot
By Laura Hollis and Tony Millenbine
Champaign County is located in
the center of a well established
triangle of east central Illinois
between Chicago, St. Louis and
Indianapolis. Its own major metro
area consists of the twin cities of
Champaign and Urbana, home to the
University of Illinois, one of the world’s
most renowned research institutions.
Drawing the most gifted faculty and
students from Illinois, across the
United States, and hundreds of countries around the globe, has made
Champaign County a hub of international culture, with a solid base of
diversified Midwestern economic
activity that smooths the vagaries of
the nation’s economic climate. There
are more than 150 high-tech companies locally, ranging from startups in
gas chromatography, biotechnology
and nanotechnology, to more established firms such as Volition and
Vesuvius, to Fortune 500 enterprises
such as Rockwell Automation,
Flex-N-Gate and Amdocs.
The University of Illinois is the backbone of economic development to
Champaign County, not only as the
area’s top employer, but also because
of its valuable resources. According
to the most recently published statistics by the National Science
Foundation, based on 2006 data, the
University of Illinois was ranked 25th
John Bardeen, University of Illinois
professor of physics and two-time
Nobel Laureate sits for a photo with a
piece of equipment, presumably a
prototype of the transistor he invented
nationally for total R&D spending in
science and engineering, with expenditures just over $476 million.
Champaign County’s growing technology sector, in partnership with the
University of Illinois’ personnel, and
having ready access to its research
and facilities, make this area a prime
location for the development of alternative fuel sources — absolutely critical as oil prices continue to rise, along
with public demand for technologies
having greater energy efficiency.
The university’s research partnerships include working with the private
sector as well. British Petroleum is
funding a $500 million collaboration
between the University of Illinois and
the University of California/Berkeley to
research biofuels. And other research
and development is underway at the
University of Illinois with the potential
to save the United States billions of
dollars in rising utility costs.
Nestled within the university’s
research park is its business incubator,
Enterprise Works, a 43,000-square-
foot facility that has spun out more
than 50 startup companies from
University of Illinois technologies since
opening in 2003. Enterprise Works’
tenants include a number of young
research companies on the brink
of alternative fuel breakthroughs.
Tetrivitae Bioscience is capturing the
fermentation process of butanol.
SmartSpark Energy Systems, LLC,
Assembly Hall
continues to make strides in its efforts
to create scalable solar energy.
Nuclear Plasma Laboratories &
Associates, LLC, has developed the
first hydrogen peroxide based fuel cell
— an innovation whose applications
are being tested by the United States
military. And the colleges of engineering, and agricultural, consumer and
environmental sciences are collaborating in a multidisciplinary competition
to build an 800-square-foot home
powered entirely by solar energy that
will be on display at the National Mall
in Washington, D.C.
Entrepreneurs and others who have
received their education or started
their companies in Champaign County
are intimately familiar with its attributes. Quality of life, cost of living, and
access to world-class research faculty,
brilliant students, and cutting-edge
scientific equipment has also attracted
companies such as Yahoo!, ADM,
QualComm, State Farm, John Deere
and Bayer.
For information about how your
company can fit into the outstanding
mix of established Champaign County
educational and business resources,
call 217-359-6261 or visit
www.champaigncountyedc.org.
Laura Hollis is a clinical professor of business
administration at the University of Illinois’
College of Business. Tony Millenbine is the
high-tech manager for the Champaign
County EconomicDevelopment Corp.
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