TEC - News

The TEC and EnterpriseWorks Collaborate to Expand SELL	November 9, 2007

By Dean Hopkins This October the Technology Entrepreneur Center expanded its Student Entrepreneur Learning Lab (SELL) by opening a branch in EnterpriseWorks (EW), in Research Park at the University of Illinois. The new “SELL-South” facility is a more advanced laboratory than the original SELL, which is located at the TEC. SELL-South is a wet lab, meaning experiments that require water or direct ventilation to eliminate chemical fumes can be conducted there. According to Brian Lilly, a professor in the TEC, the space gives students the option to work on various types of projects. In addition to his teaching responsibilities, Lilly also serves as a mentor for students at the TEC. In fact, one of these projects is the reason TEC decided to open the new lab facility. Chris Roney, a senior majoring in Speech Communication, is currently trying to create a specialty ice cream product with nutritional benefits. Because the SELL was not an appropriate space for Roney to conduct this experiment or store food products, TEC faculty and staff decide to pursue another location that Roney and other students like him could utilize. “The lab in EnterpriseWorks is clean and a nice environment to work in.” Lilly said. “We are thrilled that they’ve allowed us to move into this facility, and look forward to continuing the partnership.” EnterpriseWorks is a startup business incubator that has a variety of resources available to individuals launching new companies. These resources include furnished office space, conference rooms, high speed wireless internet, and the full wet labs mentioned as being utilized by the TEC students. While most tenants have to complete an application process and pay fees to use space at EW, Scott Pickard, the director at EnterpriseWorks, is allowing the Illinois students to take advantage of open space at the facility for free. Pickard said that part of EW’s mission is to provide startup companies with assistance in order to become successful organizations. EW also aims to get involved with students at Illinois and support them with their career development. “There is no greater way to learn than experience,” Pickard said. He hopes that the student teams working at EW will eventually become companies, and possibly tenants. In addition to Chris Roney’s, there are two other projects being conducted at SELL-South. Ryan Mulligan, Noah Cohen, Marc Morin, and Derek Klein are a group of students that have entered the Innovate or Die Pedal-Powered Machine Contest sponsored by Specialized and Google. The contest requires contestants to take advantage of human pedal power and invent a device that will be useful to the world. The winner of the competition will receive a Specialized Globe bike and $5,000. The team is currently working at SELL-South to develop a machine that grows food in areas with bad soil, such as third world countries. The device will be a human-powered water pump that will spray plants with nutrient enriched water, allowing the plants to grow aeroponically (without soil). Christian Douglass, a student in Lilly’s Entrepreneurial Approach to Green Engineering class, is currently in the process of developing a business to sell paints and stains. Instead of using chemicals that are harmful to the earth’s environment, Douglass has created paints with all-natural ingredients. He is currently running tests at SELL-South on the paints to determine how they stand up to the different elements of the weather. Lilly received a $14,500 grant from the National Collegiate Inventors and Innovators Alliance (NCIIA) to assist the students with their projects. Lilly uses this money to help the students with their business ideas and to buy supplies that they need. He would like to get more students involved with the TEC from other disciplines outside of Engineering. He is willing to help others who are seriously interested in starting careers in entrepreneurship. Lilly believes students have several advantages when working in the EnterpriseWorks building. “There are innovative people in the same room, and they can learn from one another. The students receive an out-of-book learning experience,” Lilly said. For more information about TEC programs, contact Rhiannon Clifton (rclifton@uiuc.edu). For more information on working in SELL-South, contact Brian Lilly (lilly@uiuc.edu).