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Greetings!
Welcome to our quarterly University Technology Park
e-newsletter, designed to give you quick updates about new and growing companies
within the UTP and to announce lectures, workshops and networking
events. This month's spotlight is on Martin-Protean, a
biotechnology company that determines protein structures for drug discovery
efforts.
And we've gone global with our outreach efforts! The
UTP is exploring strategic and development alliances
with research parks and economic development agencies in France, Germany, Spain and Ireland.
If you have comments, questions or suggestions, drop me a line. Sincerely,
Daniel F.
Marselle
Director, University Technology Park at
IIT marselle@utp.iit.edu |
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New UTP Company - Martin-Protean, LLC
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 The UTP welcomes Martin-Protean, LLC and its founding manager, Lance Martin, to the Technology Business Center. Lance recently moved to Chicago from California, where he completed his doctoral studies in biochemistry at the California Institute of Technology and worked as a postdoctoral researcher in the Biochemistry
Department at the Stanford
University School of Medicine.
While at Stanford, Lance helped develop the technology central to Martin-Protean, which allows him to examine the three-dimensional structure of protein at high resolution. In 2007 he licensed the technology from Stanford and founded Martin-Protean to answer protein structure questions for pharmaceutical and biotechnology
companies and academic and national laboratories. More detailed information about services offered by Martin-Protean is available here.
Lance
describes protein as the "muscle, get things done part of the body - like
Chicago, the City of Big Shoulders." It is the most diverse part of the gene, playing a critical and
expanding role in health, agriculture and environmental protection.
Most notably, protein is a key factor in the search for treatments for diseases like AIDS, diabetes and cancer. The mission of Martin-Protean is to generate data that will contribute to solving these and other world problems.
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UTP Builds Strategic European Partnerships
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David Baker, IIT's
Vice President of External Affairs and Executive Director of the University Technology Park at IIT, traveled on three missions to Europe in 2008 to visit technology parks and build
alliances with them. The purpose of his travel was to position the UTP
as a North American headquarters for many European companies, providing them
with a "soft landing" spot for entry into the North American market.
The UTP will offer shorter, more flexible leases and rent space at an affordable
rate to European companies from its partner technology parks. Companies will be
able to "test the North American waters at a low risk," according to David.
Other benefits
for European companies are connections to IIT researchers and the UTP's established networks within the Chicago
area. According to Dan Marselle, Director of the UTP, "Our goal is to move innovation forward with wide-ranging
business support services, everything from new hires to connectivity with city
and state economic development programs and agencies."
Because of its
location, the UTP has a competitive
advantage over other North American technology parks. It is situated in
Chicago, which hosts consular offices from most countries,
and is close to O'Hare Airport, which has direct flights to most major
cities
in Europe and Asia.
"We are also an
international institution with students from over 100 countries. Many of the European companies might find
qualified student employees from among our student body," said David.
David discovered a growing interest in international collaboration among the technology park community. Among the parks he visited were Technopole near Poitiers
(France), Science Park SAAR
at Saarland University
(Germany), the Heidelberg Technology
Park (Germany),
the Rubicon Centre at the Cork Institute of Technology (Ireland), and the Technology
Park of the Basque Country (Spain).
As a result of
David's travel, IIT will be hosting a French trade mission for hybrid and
electric vehicles. The mission, which is being organized by the French Trade
Commission's Chicago office, will participate in
an all-day seminar in the UTP on November 17,
2008. David's long-term vision is to establish an international hybrid vehicle technology
hub in the UTP.
As a result of
his trip to Spain, technology parks in the Basque Country, Barcelona
and Granada are
reviewing Memoranda of Understanding to formalize the relationship going
forward.
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Upcoming Events
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Connectiviity
Please
join the Jules F.
Knapp Entrepreneurship
Center, the University Technology
Park at IIT, and Wexford
Science + Technology for our monthly networking event on Thursday, October 30th!
Connectiviity brings together
the entrepreneurship community both within IIT and the greater Chicagoland area
and provides the opportunity to network and share experiences with
fellow entrepreneurs. Whether you are currently an entrepreneur or are
considering starting a business, this event can help you make the connections
you need to get your new venture started or grow your existing business. Come
explore what the Knapp Center, University
Technology Park,
Wexford and IIT have to offer!
Refreshments will be served. There is absolutely
no charge for this event. For more information, contact Jennifer Keplinger at keplinger@iit.edu.
Event
Info
5:00 - 7:00 p.m.
October 30, 2008
Technology Business Center
Atrium
University Technology
Park at IIT Knapp Entrepreneurship Center Lecture: How to Approach a Bank for Financing in Turbulent Times
How do banks decide who will be approved for a loan? How long does the process take? How much can I borrow? What is
going on with the financial crisis and how will it affect me?
Discover the answers to these questions and more at the Knapp Center's
November lecture. Jason Vohs, Assistant Vice President of National City Bank in the Business Banking department, will outline the basic information that banks
require to underwrite a business loan request, the criteria used in making
a credit decision, and the overall process involved. He will also discuss some of the causes of the financial crisis, outline the current
situation, and explain the recently passed Emergency Economic Stability Act.
Refreshments will be served. There is absolutely no charge for this event, but
RSVPs are required and should be made to keplinger@iit.edu.
Event Info
6:00 - 8:00 p.m. November 12, 2008 Technology Business Center Atrium University Technology Park at IIT
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