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IIT's Tech Leadership Grows Again
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IIT's plans to build a $40-million center for high-tech innovation will strengthen Chicago's role as a hub for entrepreneurial growth, says Mayor Rahm Emanuel.
The Ed Kaplan Family Institute for Innovation and Tech Entrepreneurship - to be built on IIT's South Side campus -- "will help today's students become the innovators of tomorrow and provide businesses with a pipeline of new products, processes and talented graduates to hire," Emanuel said at a March 7 meeting announcing that John Ronan Architects will spearhead the building's design.
When completed, the 100,000-square-foot facility will house IIT student programs such as the Idea Shop, now located at UTP.
IIT alum and longtime Board of Trustees member Ed Kaplan (above) and his wife, Carol, issued a $10 million challenge grant to gather financial support as part of the university's larger Fueling Innovation campaign. Officials hope to break ground as early as summer 2015. Kaplan is the founder of Zebra Technologies, a global leader in barcode printing and RTLS technology.
The institute will greatly expand IIT's ability to find and nurture the brightest entrepreneurial minds, says Vice President of External Affairs David Baker, who serves as UTP's executive director. "UTP companies will benefit from everything the new facility will offer, including some of the best-trained and most innovative student workers to be found anywhere."
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UTP Companies Move Forward
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Advanced Cooling Therapy, LLC is celebrating the receipt of its CE mark from European regulators. With the mark in place, ACT can pursue sales of its revolutionary medical device in Europe, says CEO Erik Kulstad, MD, MS. ACT's device is a single-use, fully enclosed triple lumen system that is inserted into the esophagus to modulate and control patient temperature when clinically indicated. ACT will also take part in the Mid-America Healthcare Venture Forum on April 22-23 in Chicago and recently presented at the Life Sciences Track at Invest Midwest in St. Louis.
"We are growing in work, people, space and
Director of Operations and Technology Michael Scholle, MS, MBA. The 7-member SAMDI staff, who provide innovative label-free assay solutions for a growing roster of clients, have added a mass spectrometer to the state-of-the art equipment supporting their expanded operations at UTP. This January, Scholle and colleagues exhibited at the Society for Laboratory Automation and Screening 2014 Conference in San Diego. SmarterShade, creators of a film-based system that darkens windows, doors or skylights at the flip of a switch, are moving toward commercialization of their concept, says co-founder Mike Stacey. "We have finalized details of the products we hope to launch in the U.K later this year," he reports, "and, based on  great feedback received at the International Builders Show this February, we've attracted the interest of new partners."
Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel (left) recently learned more about the company's energy-saving products during a recent visit to IIT's Idea Shop.
SiNode Systems joined the State of Illinois trade delegation at the 2014 Mobile World Congress, the mobile phone industry's largest global gathering, held in Barcelona last month.  CEO Samir Mayekar (right) and CTO Cary Hayner took full advantage of the conference to meet with potential strategic partners and customers. The company is working on new technologies that will greatly expand the storage capacity of lithium ion batteries. |
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We are now home to
We've helped 30 graduate companies make their start
Together, UTP enterprises have captured over $200 million in angel and VC funds and $8 million in federal funds
Learn more on our
fast facts page
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New Global Partners
Expand our Reach
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UTP maintains a strong network of partnerships overseas to benefit tech park companies as well as those in affiliated parks around the world. We're proud to announce that 2 new partners have joined our network: Technopolis, located in Kaunas, Lithuania and BioIndustry Park Silvano Fumero of Cavanese, Italy. Through its International Soft Landing Program, UTP "encourages and supports the North American operations of tech companies coming from our partner parks," says UTP Executive Director David Baker. "Further, we are able to contact our partners on behalf of our companies to establish facilities, marketing and sales operations and research partnerships." |
Grad Companies
in the News
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Forbes Magazine featured UTP grad Cleversafe in a piece on data storage companies serving the 100+ petabyte market. Read the full article here.
DonorPath, creator of systems to streamline fundraising operations for nonprofits, was featured in Crain's Chicago Business. Learn more about the company's growth and services in the DonorPath blog.
Agri-tech leader Chromatin Inc. recently announced the closure of its Series E financing round, expected to top $36 million. The company, which focuses on sustainable solutions based on sorghum, also announced the launch of 5 new products this February.
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