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2014 Innovation Celebration Winners Announced

Innovation Celebration Logo

Over 250 people gathered at the National Center for Supercomputer Applications for the Ninth Annual Innovation Celebration on the evening of February 27th to recognize 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 the community.

Innovation Celebration is not merely an award for accomplishment, but a benchmark of success for those outstanding individuals, organizations and corporations who are nominated and selected to receive this prestigious award. Additionally, Innovation Celebration serves as a tangible collaboration between the University of Illinois, Parkland College and the community.

The winners were chosen out of more than 125 nominations.

Award Winners

Innovation Transfer Award – University of Illinois
Dr. Stephen Boppart

Innovation in Engagement Award – Parkland College
Kerris Lee

Entrepreneurial Excellence: Social Venture Award
Dr. Fouad Abd-El-Khalick & the EnLIST Team – University of Illinois

Entrepreneurial Excellence: Student Startup Award
Servabo

Entrepreneurial Excellence: New Venture Award
Electroninks

Entrepreneurial Excellence: Advocacy Award
Dennis Beard – Serra Ventures

Innovation: Economic Development Impact Award
Carlos Nieto – Nieto Enterprises

Entrepreneurial Excellence: Management Award
Dan Cermak – Volition

Innovation: Longevity Award
Prominic.NET

The EDC was pleased to work with the following sponsors of Innovation Celebration 2014: the University of Illinois’ Technology Entrepreneur Center, Research Park, Office of Corporate Relations, and Office of Technology Management, along with NCSA, Parkland College, Singleton Law Firm, Serra Ventures, Hanson Financial, Ramshaw Real Estate, Pixo, Pavlov Media, Meyer Capel, Busey, Carle, Martin Hood Friese & Associates, IllinoisVENTURES, Fox Atkins Development, the Illinois Small Business Development Center at Champaign County EDC, and the Champaign-Urbana Mass Transit District.

A special thanks to 40 North for producing the videos.

Press:

Innovation Celebration winners to be announced Thursday night, The Daily Illini

Innovation Celebration winners announced, The News-Gazette

Storify (#INNCEL14 tweets & posts)

Prominic.NET Wins Innovation Celebration’s Innovation: Longevity Award, Prominic.NET

General Manager Dan Cermak Wins the CCEDC 2014 Entrepreneurial Excellence: Management Award, Volition

2014 Innovation Celebration Awards Ceremony [VIDEO]

2014 Innovation Celebration Photos

 

Yahoo Breaks Ground for New Facility in Champaign

Article Source: University of Illinois Research Park

Champaign, IL – Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ:YHOO) broke ground on a new state-of-the-art facility that will serve as an important expansion of its Champaign, IL technology hub. Leaders from Yahoo, State of Illinois, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and City of Champaign announced plans for the new building and expanded workforce.

Champaign is the home of several Yahoo engineering teams working on critical technologies for the company. Yahoo currently occupies 24,000 sq.ft. of office space and is the largest full-time employer in the University of Illinois Research Park. The new 40,000 sq. ft. building will be solely constructed for Yahoo. Plans include recruitment of engineers over the next 12-24 months.

Yahoo’s SVP of Advertising Technology, Scott Burke, attended the groundbreaking and said, “I’m thrilled to announce our expansion in Champaign. Yahoo has benefited from the world-class engineering talent at Research Park that contributes to our advertising and data systems. We look forward to growing our team and continuing to be a valued member of the local community.”

Champaign-Urbana is the home of the University of Illinois and the National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA). The top-ranked engineering college is a hallmark of Illinois. Chancellor Phyllis Wise said, “Yahoo is an important presence in our Research Park and in our local community. Our students and our faculty have seen great new opportunities through our relationship with Yahoo, and this expansion will open even more of them for all of us.”

“The presence of Yahoo at the U of I is an incredible resource for the technology industry in Illinois,” Governor Pat Quinn said. “Illinois is a technology leader and we are actively working to grow our economy, create jobs and keep our state a center for innovation worldwide. Places like Research Park at the University of Illinois are essential in making Illinois even more competitive.”

“On behalf of the City of Champaign, we are pleased that performance-based employment incentives were able to contribute the positive decision by Yahoo to expand in our community. Yahoo’s growth is a strong example of the thriving high-technology sector in Champaign,” said Mayor Don Gerard.

About Yahoo

Yahoo is focused on making the world’s daily habits inspiring and entertaining. By creating highly personalized experiences, we keep people connected to what matters most to them, across devices and around the world. In turn, we create value for advertisers by connecting them with the audiences that build their businesses. Yahoo is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, and has offices located throughout the Americas, Asia Pacific and the Europe, Middle East and Africa regions. For more information, visit the pressroom (pressroom.yahoo.net) or the Company’s blog (yahoo.tumblr.com).

About the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Since its founding in 1867, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has earned a reputation as a world-class leader in research, teaching, and public engagement. Located on campus, 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 more than 90 companies employing students and full-time technology professionals. For more visit www.illinois.edu and www.researchpark.illinois.edu.

Contact at Yahoo: Cathy Singer, Senior Director, cats@yahoo-inc.com
Contact at the University of Illinois: Laura Frerichs, Research Park Director, (217) 333-8323

More press coverage:

Yahoo to add 80 jobs at Research Park site, The News-Gazette

Yahoo expansion to come to University’s Research Park, The Daily Illini

2014 Innovation Celebration Finalists Announced

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The Champaign County Economic Development Corporation is pleased to announce finalists for the Ninth Annual Innovation Celebration in recognition of 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 the community.

Innovation Celebration is not merely an award for accomplishment, but a benchmark of success for those outstanding individuals, organizations and corporations who are nominated and selected to receive this prestigious award. Additionally, Innovation Celebration serves as a tangible collaboration between the University of Illinois, Parkland College and the community.

The winner of each award category will be announced at Innovation Celebration 2014, held at NCSA (1205 W. Clark, Urbana) on Thursday, February 27, 2014 from 5-8 pm. To RSVP and learn more about the event, visit www.innovationcelebration.com.

Award Finalists

Innovation Transfer Award – University of Illinois
Dr. Stephen Boppart
Dr. Stephen Sligar
Dr. Scott White

Innovation in Engagement Award – Parkland College
Winner will be announced at the event.

Entrepreneurial Excellence: Social Venture Award
[co] [lab]
Pilot
Dr. Fouad Abd-El-Khalick & the EnLIST Team – University of Illinois

Entrepreneurial Excellence: Student Startup Award
KantWait
Servabo
Miss Possible

Entrepreneurial Excellence: New Venture Award
Phi Optics
Veriflow
Electroninks

Entrepreneurial Excellence: Advocacy Award
Ray Price – iFoundry
Jed Taylor – U of I Technology Entrepreneur Center
Dennis Beard – Serra Ventures

Innovation: Economic Development Impact Award
Fox Atkins
Carlos Nieto – Nieto Enterprises
Walter Lohmann

Entrepreneurial Excellence: Management Award
Dan Cermak – Volition
Mike Folk – HDF Group
Bill Cope – Common Ground Publishing

Innovation: Longevity Award
Acoustic MedSystems
Prominic.NET
Pavlov Media

The EDC is pleased to work with the following sponsors of Innovation Celebration 2014: the University of Illinois’ Technology Entrepreneur Center, Research Park, Office of Corporate Relations, and Office of Technology Management, along with NCSA, Parkland College, Singleton Law Firm, Serra Ventures, Hanson Financial, Ramshaw Real Estate, Pixo, Pavlov Media, Meyer Capel, Busey, Carle, Martin Hood Friese & Associates, IllinoisVENTURES, Fox Atkins Development, the Illinois Small Business Development Center at Champaign County EDC, and the Champaign-Urbana Mass Transit District.

Contact:
Carly McCrory, Communications Director
Champaign County Economic Development Corporation
(217) 359-6261
carly@champaigncountyedc.org

Champaign County EDC Reveals New Strategic Plan & Highlights Products Made in Champaign County at Annual Meeting

More than 150 people gathered at the Hawthorn Suites in Champaign, IL for the 2013 Champaign County EDC Annual Meeting on Thursday, November 21, 2013. The meeting highlighted the organization’s FY13 activities, showcased products and innovation Made in Champaign County (#MadeInCC), and revealed the organization’s new Strategic Plan.

Products were on display from the following Champaign County companies: Advanced Filtration Systems, Inc. (AFSI), Bump Nonprofit Design Studio, Columbia Street Roastery, Conair Corporation, Dart Container Corporation, Data Comm for Business, Inc., Eagle Wings Industries, Easton-Bell Sports, Flex-N-Gate, Herff Jones, IntelliWheels, Litania Sports Group, Oso Technologies, Ragle Dental Laboratory, Silgan White Cap Americas, Taylor Studios, Triptych Brewing, and Volition. Some of the products on display included bumpers from Flex-N-Gate, oil filers from AFSI, a bicycle helmet from Easton-Bell Sports, video games from Volition, and a dinosaur made by Taylor Studios.

The Champaign County Economic Development Corporation acts through public-private partnerships to continually grow the local economy by supporting local business and driving expansion and attraction.

The Champaign County EDC has set the following two-year goals (as revealed in their new Strategic Plan): provide support to create 3,000 new jobs, attract $225 million in new private investment, assist companies to grow payroll by $132 million (this will ultimately increase per capita pay to $26,000), and increase private sector influence in EDC by doubling the number of private investors.

To read the full plan, download a copy below.

EDC 2013-2015 Strategic Plan

To view photos from the event, please visit the Champaign County EDC’s Facebook album.

Buzz about the event:

Group’s aim: Per capita pay hike for county, The News-Gazette

Economic Development Corporation showcases locally-made products, The Daily Illini

Tweets (#MadeInCC)

Contact:

Carly McCrory, Communications Director
Champaign County EDC
217-359-6261
carly@champaigncountyedc.org

 

Anheuser-Busch InBev Unveils ‘Bud Lab’ at the University of Illinois Research Park

Article Source: UI Research Park

LEUVEN, BELGIUM – August 30, 2013 – AB InBev, the leading global brewer has announced a partnership with the University of Illinois, and will open the Bud Lab, a state of the art data analytics center, at the University of Illinois Research Park at the beginning of next month.

The Bud Lab will focus on data analytics, developing data research and innovation to solve problems ranging from assortment optimization, social media and market trends to large scale data initiatives, bringing together the University of Illinois’ top talent with the company’s portfolio of leading beer brands in a vibrant environment designed to stimulate innovative thinking.

“Our dream is to be the Best Beer Company in a Better World.  To achieve our dream we need to constantly innovate and attract the best talent, and our collaboration with the University of Illinois provides a tremendous opportunity to work with the best and brightest in the field,” said Claudio Garcia, Chief People and Technology Officer for AB InBev. “Through our permanent presence on-campus we will be at the edge of leading research and innovation, working together with some of the best minds in key fields including statistics, computer science, business and engineering. We strongly believe that our collaboration will put forth new and exciting solutions and insights, and we look forward to working closely with the team here.”

Rafael Pinterich will serve as the Director of the Bud Lab, and will focus on selecting and implementing experimental projects.  Prior to joining the collaboration with University of Illinois initiative, Rafael served several different roles within AB InBev such as Project Specialist, Regional Finance Manager and People & HR Lead for Latin America North. In his role as director, Rafael will focus on selecting and implementing experimental projects. He will also be working closely with students, guiding their work and providing them with experiences that will complement university knowledge.

Through the Bud Lab, AB InBev will provide students the opportunity to enhance their University of Illinois education with real-life projects addressing key global product challenges. The University of Illinois has a long and distinguished history in data systems, artificial intelligence, systems and networking, architecture and parallel computing, which make a strong partnership for AB InBev to pursue applications in analytics from data-intensive researches to support a data-driven world.

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Chancellor Phyllis Wise said, “As a truly global institution, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is pleased to welcome AB InBev, a world leader in consumer products, to our Research Park. We have a long tradition of international relationships and collaborations, one that is further advanced with this new analytics lab. We are excited about the new research and learning opportunities this partnership will create for our students and faculty and about the new insights around global products and international business that will follow.”

More press coverage:

– Photos from Grand Opening of Bud Lab, Champaign County EDC Facebook Page
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