Innovations at Research Park

Cara Bognar is the Founder of Top Tier Lessons, a sports technology platform that connects collegiate student athletes with parents looking for sports lessons for their children.  She's an athlete herself, as a former team captain for Illini Swimming & Diving, and graduated from UIUC with dual degrees in Bioengineering and Innovation Leadership and Engineering Entrepreneurship (ILEE).Cara's LinkedIn- https://www.linkedin.com/in/carabognar/Top Tier Lessons- https://www.toptierlessons.com/VISIT http://researchpark.illinois.edu/podcast/ for our entire catalog of episodes.

This is a special episode to celebrate a great year at UIRP! Research Park's very own Laura Appenzeller and Laura Bleill join the podcast to talk about startup and corporate highlights from the year, plans for 2025, industry trends, and more! VISIT researchpark.illinois.edu/podcast for the full catalog of episodes.

Jack Cui is Co-Founder and CEO of Yummy Future, a Y-Combinator backed robotic coffee shop with roots, and stores, at the University of Illinois. Yummy Future's mission is to “enhance the artistry of the human barista by the precision and efficiency of robotics.” Jack's LinkedIn- https://www.linkedin.com/in/jack-cui-5b8651b5/ Yummy Future- https://www.yummy-future.com/ VISIT http://researchpark.illinois.edu/podcast/ for our entire catalog of episodes.

Dr. David Lomiashvili is the CEO of Identomat which has created an innovative AI-powered KYC and identity verification solution. Prior to his current venture, Dr. Lomiashvili has an extensive pedigree in entrepreneurship, not to mention a PhD in Astrophysics. Tune in to hear about topics like digital identity verification, his career journey, and his outlook looking ahead. David's LinkedIn- https://www.linkedin.com/in/lomiashvili/ Identomat- https://www.identomat.com/ VISIT http://researchpark.illinois.edu/podcast/ for our entire catalog of episodes.

Matt Ahrens oversees performance and tools work for the Accelerated Big Data Platforms group at NVIDIA. He's a long-time leader in the University of Illinois  community with a story that spans the 20-year history of the Research Park.  Tune in to hear about his career journey, his perspectives learned along the way, and what he sees as the future of AI. ADDITIONAL LINKS- Matt's LinkedIn- https://www.linkedin.com/in/matt-ahrens-b62984/ NVIDIA at RP- https://researchpark.illinois.edu/tenant_directory/nvidia/ VISIT http://researchpark.illinois.edu/podcast/ for our entire catalog of episodes.

Dr. Beth Conerty helps lead business development for the Integrated Bioprocessing Research Lab at the University of Illinois. She's also the Regional Innovation Officer for the iFAB Tech Hub, an initiative created by the Biden administration to strengthen manufacturing innovation in America. Tune in to hear about the research area of bioprocessing and how it can transform the central Illinois economy! ADDITIONAL LINKS- VISIT http://researchpark.illinois.edu/podcast/ for our entire catalog of episodes.

Dr. Brad Miller is the Co-Founder and Chief Linguistic Officer of Puzzle Labs, a software platform that uses AI to make knowledge transfer easier.  Previously, he was the Site Director for P&G's Smart Lab in the Research Park, and he's also spent time traveling the world from Ecuador to India studying the impact of languages ADDITIONAL LINKS- Puzzle Labs- https://www.puzzlelabs.ai/ Brad Miller- https://www.linkedin.com/in/bradbmiller/ "Speaking Like a Brahmin: Social Aspects of a Register of Spoken Telugu"- https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/etd/3517/ VISIT http://researchpark.illinois.edu/podcast/ for our entire catalog of episodes.

This is a special episode to celebrate a great year at UIRP! Research Park's very own Laura Appenzeller and Laura Bleill join the podcast to talk about startup and corporate highlights from the year, plans for 2024, industry trends, and more! See you back in 2024 for Year 4 of the podcast! VISIT researchpark.illinois.edu/podcast for the full catalog of episodes.

Arpit Dwivedi is the Founder and CEO of Cache Energy. Cache is developing energy storage systems that can be safely installed anywhere and transported everywhere. In the past two months, Arpit and his team have raised a whopping $4.5 million which will accelerate them on their mission of decarbonizing industrial processes so that we can look forward to a cleaner and safer future for our planet. EPISODE LINKS- Arpit on Linkedin- https://www.linkedin.com/in/arpit-dwivedi-0a9970148/ Cache Energy - https://cache-energy.com/ VISIT researchpark.illinois.edu/podcast for the full catalog of episodes.

Alex Kosyakov is the Co-Founder and CEO of Natrion. Natrion is creating safe, high-performance, and highly scalable solid-state batteries with the goal of powering mass market electric vehicles and renewable energy. With more than $2 million in seed funding and the backing of giants like Mark Cuban, Alex is on a mission to create batteries without compromises. Visit researchpark.illinois.edu/podcast for the full catalog of episodes.

Susan Hinrichs is Chief Scientist at Aviatrix, a cloud networking and security company based in Silicon Valley. Prior to Aviatrix, Susan held prestigious leadership roles at a number of top tech companies including Blue Ridge, Cisco, and Yahoo. She's also been a Computer Science professor at UIUC and is a strong advocate for women in tech. Visit researchpark.illinois.edu/podcast for the full catalog of episodes.

Brandon is the CEO of DeepWalk, a tech startup born and raised in Champaign. Brandon and his team are on a mission to create AI-powered solutions for the city planners and engineers that build important public infrastructure that we rely on every day. Visit researchpark.illinois.edu/podcast for our entire catalog of episodes.

Paul is the Co-Founder and CEO of Flats or Spikes. Flats or Spikes is building a "community of expertise and science in running in a brand new way". With their product, athletes of all levels can benefit from science and analytics-based expertise. Tune in to the episode to hear about Paul's successful career in agtech, his transition from academia to entrepreneurship, his pivot into a new domain, his entertaining anecdotes, and his candid advice on what it takes to be a successful entrepreneur. Visit researchpark.illinois.edu/podcast for our entire catalog of episodes.

Welcome to a new year of the Innovations at Research Park podcast! We are so excited to continue bringing you new conversations, new insights, and new perspectives from the Research Park community.  This episode highlights conversations held on-location with several panelists from the Research Park's 8th annual AgTech Summit held on March 7, 2023: Kim Kidwell - Associate Chancellor for Strategic Partnerships and Initiatives at UIUC. Discusses UIUC's continued presence in agtech innovation, among other topics. Brad Arnold- SVP, General Manager Precision, AGCO Corporation. Discusses trends in precision ag and data management among other topics. Michael Tai- Co-founder & CEO, Boston Bioprocess. Discusses importance of bioprocessing techniques for agricultural and non-food products such as alternative proteins, among other topics. Eric Barnard- Co-Founder and CTO at Farmers Risk. Discusses farmer risk management through advanced analytics, among other topics. Dennis Beard- Managing Partner & Tim Hoerr - CEO, Serra Ventures. Discusses venture capital investment in agtech space, among other topics. Nick Reinke- CEO, HabiTerre. Discusses quantifying agricultural outcomes, among other topics.

As 2022 wraps up, we'd like to highlight the outstanding students that made this another great year for Research Park. Tune in to hear from David An and Natalie Xiong, two winners of this year's Research Park Intern Awards. They discuss their perceptions of RP, memorable moments, skills gained, and advice for students listening who are curious about what Research Park has to offer. From the team behind the pod and host Tanmay Shah, thank you to our listeners for continuing to support this podcast series! Happy Holidays, and we'll see you in 2023.

Jack is the Managing Director of the Illinois AgTech Accelerator, a 12-week program designed for early-stage agtech startups to gain traction and improve business models. Tune in to hear Jack share fascinating success stories, the importance of AgTech innovation, how you can get involved as a student founder, and more! Visit researchpark.illinois.edu/podcast for other podcast episodes.

This is a very special episode of the series, and a bit different than our usual podcasts. The Cozad New Venture Competition is an annual event at University of Illinois which attracts student teams looking to get funding and support for their innovative ideas. There were some incredible winners this year, and this episode profiles the 3 top place finishers-- all who received thousands of dollars in funding from the Research Park and other UIUC entities. Tune in to hear from Jonathan Politzki (Nephra), Jeffrey Lu (Ferritiva), and Namin Shah (Haylon Technologies) as they talk about about their ventures, Cozad journeys, and tips for aspiring student entrepreneurs. Visit researchpark.illinois.edu/podcast for other podcast episodes.

Chinmay is Co-Founder and CEO of EarthSense, an agricultural robotics and AI company that is developing a technology platform to support the next generation of sustainable and large-scale agriculture. Tune in to hear the fascinating origin story of his company, his perspective on agtech trends, and more! Visit researchpark.illinois.edu/podcast for other podcast episodes.

Dr. Mani Golparvar, Co-Founder, and Scotty Greenburg, Head of Marketing, join the podcast to share how their company Reconstruct is using AI to revolutionize construction planning & management for thousands of projects around the world. Reconstruct is a tech company founded in Champaign and now based in Menlo Park, California. Their AI powered Visual Command Center has revolutionized monitoring of large scale construction projects, and Reconstruct is now the industry "leader in remote quality control and progress monitoring". Learn more at https://reconstructinc.com. Visit researchpark.illinois.edu for job postings, other podcast episodes, and more.

Eli is the Co-Founder and CTO of SNOOZ, a consumer electronics company that focuses on controlling airflow and acoustics to turn a bedroom into a haven for sleep. SNOOZ's flagship product is a white noise machine and they are currently in 2000 hotel rooms around the country. Tune in to this episode to hear about Eli's journey from UIUC student to CTO, his inspiration to create this product, and what's on his roadmap for the future of the company! Visit getsnooz.com to get yours today, and visit researchpark.illinois.edu for job postings, other podcast episodes, and more.

Trevor is the Site Director for the Brunswick Corporation's Innovation center located in the Research Park, and Meghan is a Software Engineering Intern. Brunswick is an industry leader in the marine space and they manufacture recreational boats, marine engines, and other products. The Brunswick I-Jet Lab at the University of Illinois Research Park works on prototypes to modernize and improve customer experience. Tune in to this episode to hear about what Brunswick works on at the Research Park, their recent CES Show display, and the intern experience!

Dr. Deana McDonagh is a Professor of Industrial Design at the University of Illinois as well as the Designer-in-Residence at the Research Park. Dr. McDonagh is an experienced strategist who works with startups at the Research Park to help them incorporate design thinking in their development workflow in order to improve user experience and create delightful products for consumers. Tune in to the episode to hear about her journey, perspective on design in tech, and what kind of support she offers to students & faculty at Research Park. Visit researchpark.illinois.edu for job postings, social platforms, and more.

Paul is the Co-Founder & CEO of Ascent Integrated Tech, a startup company in the Research Park that is building technology to improve safety for people in hazardous environments including firefighters, industrial operators, and aviation mechanics. Paul is a seasoned entrepreneur and well-known in the student startup ecosystem on campus, having previously co-founded a technology company for solar integration for which he raised more than $2.5M in private equity funding. Tune in to the episode to hear about his journey and what invaluable advice he offers to other young entrepreneurs about going all-in and overcoming mental obstacles to achieve success. Head over to project-20.co/researchparkpodcast to leave show feedback. Visit researchpark.illinois.edu for job postings, social platforms, and more.

Dr. Aadeel Akhtar is Founder and CEO of PSYONIC, a prosthetics company on a mission to “redefine what it means to be human through advances in biointegrated technologies”. He joins the podcast to shed light on his exhilarating entrepreneurial journey, from winning startup competitions to partnering with U.S. Army sergeants to being selected as an MIT Top 35 Under 35 Innovator. He also dives into ways in which he & his team overcame significant obstacles and where he thinks the prosthetics industry is headed next. Head over to project-20.co/researchparkpodcast to leave show feedback. Visit researchpark.illinois.edu for job postings, social platforms, and more.

Dr. Gerald Wilson is President and CEO of Autonomic Materials, a homegrown U of I startup, and an Entrepreneur-in-Residence at the Research Park. He joins the show to share lessons learned on his fascinating startup journey as well as provide insight into how he helps budding entrepreneurs as an EIR. Head over to project-20.co/researchparkpodcast to leave show feedback. Visit researchpark.illinois.edu for job postings, social platforms, and more.

John Cole, Co-Founder & Chief Scientific Officer of Research Park startup SimBioSys, joins the podcast! He discusses the breakthroughs his team has created for "transforming decision making and patient experience in cancer care” through a powerful software platform. Tune in to hear more about his entrepreneurial journey, success stories & lessons learned, and partnership with the Research Park community. Head over to project-20.co/researchparkpodcast to leave show feedback. Visit researchpark.illinois.edu for job postings, social platforms, and more.

Srijith Srinath joins the podcast to share his insights on being a Research Park intern turned full-time employee at Motorola Solutions Innovation Center. Tune in to hear what kind of experiences he had as an internship applicant, what tips he offers for having a successful summer, and what takeaways he provides for anyone unsure about pursuing the internship experience. Head over to project-20.co/researchparkpodcast to leave show feedback. Visit researchpark.illinois.edu for job postings, social platforms, and more.

Laura Frerichs joins the show to discuss how the UIUC Research Park has built its brand over 20 years, highlight what impact it has made in the Champaign community, and showcase a few of the many stories of homegrown entrepreneurship & student talent. Laura is the Executive Director of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Research Park, "where she oversees operations & development, manages entrepreneurship programs, and supports the University’s economic development efforts." Head over to project-20.co/researchparkpodcast to leave show feedback. Visit researchpark.illinois.edu for job postings, social platforms, and more.

Mark Moran joins the show to discuss AgTech innovations at John Deere, fueled by student projects at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Research Park. Mark is the Site Director for the John Deere Technology Innovation Center at Research Park, as well as the Lead for John Deere’s next-generation sensing technology for their IoT devices. Head over to project-20.co/researchparkpodcast to leave show feedback. Visit researchpark.illinois.edu for job postings, social platforms, and more.