U of I Approves $5 Million Matching Grant for New Illinois Manufacturing Lab

Deborah Bayliss | As of Wednesday, January 15, 2014

Phyllis Wise, Chancellor, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Phyllis Wise, Chancellor, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Story Correction: In a story reported by the Chicago Citizen Newspaper in its Chicago Weekend Jan. 1 edition, entitled UIC Approves $5 Million Matching Grant for New Illinois Manufacturing Lab, the title should have read U of I Approves $5 Million Matching Grant for New Illinois Manufacturing Lab. Additionally, references made in the story attributing the grant to UIC (University of Illinois at Chicago) should have been attributed to U of I (University of Illinois). A reprinted corrected story follows:

Trustees at the University of Illinois recently approved a $5 million grant to support a new manufacturing initiative that hopefully will advance economic development throughout Illinois.

Gov. Pat Quinn reportedly promised $5 million in state support for the Illinois Manufacturing Lab, to be matched by other sources.

The U of I grant — from institutional dollars funded by university administration — matches the startup funding for the Illinois Manufacturing Lab, the first program within UI LABS, an independent, nonprofit research technology center that the university helped launch earlier this year.

“The Illinois Manufacturing Lab is going to help our state remain a national leader in making quality products and creating good jobs,” Quinn said in a released statement. “The Illinois Manufacturing Lab will be a marquee attraction for companies around the globe to come to Illinois so they can work with cutting-edge techniques and technologies to drive our economy forward.”

The Illinois Manufacturing Lab will partner with UI LABS, which is modeled after pioneering research and development centers such as Bell Labs that developed the transistor and cellular phone technology.

“Public-private partnerships like the Illinois Manufacturing Lab are the key to progress and economic growth, forging collaboration that harnesses the university’s research power to help solve real-world challenges,” U of I President Robert Easter said. “The University of Illinois is proud to be a partner.”

UI LABS will provide an opportunity for industry leaders and university scholars to collaborate to drive the state’s economy, create jobs and position Illinois — and Chicago, in particular — as a global technology hub, said Caralynn Nowinski, interim executive director and chief operating officer of UI LABS.

“Industry needs new innovation,” said Nowinski, who also serves as the University’s associate vice president for innovation and economic development. “UI LABS seeks to create a destination for global tech talent in the city of Chicago.”

Lawrence Schook, the University’s vice president for research, said, “The University already stimulates development for the state.”

In 2013, university researchers received 378 patents for new technologies, began 11 startup companies, and received $25.4 million in royalties.

The U of I added economic development as part of its mission in 2000. Since then, it has poured money into the state’s economy through initiatives such as the UI Research Park on the Urbana-Champaign campus, which has a $175 million annual economic impact and employs 1,400 people at 90 companies.

“The University of Illinois has always been a powerful force for economic development for our state, nation and world,” Urbana Chancellor Phyllis Wise said. “We are a powerhouse for products, innovation and ideas. The UI LABS’ initiative will help the state become a global leader in technology. We are truly standing at the cusp of the industrial revolution of this century.”

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