Sep 1 2009
Northwest will host dedication ceremonies for its new Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship from 10-noon on Friday, Sept. 11. The event will take place at the center, which is located on the north edge of campus west of North College Drive and south of West 16th Street. University officials along with dignitaries representing government, center tenants and area economic development initiatives are expected to attend.
Northwest will dedicate its new Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at 10 a.m. Friday, Sept. 11. A combination business incubator and academic faciltiy, the CIE contains lab analysis research areas, a shared scientific instrument room, 9,000
square feet of tenant office space and more than 16,000 square feet of highly specialized teaching and research labs and offices.
The 46,679-square-foot center has two synergistic components: a mixed-use technology business incubator and an academic facility. The incubator is designed to house several start-up companies, and the academic facility has been programmed to house Northwest's new nanotechnology baccalaureate degree program, which began courses this fall.
“Northwest has the only non-engineering-based nanoscience degree program in the state and in the region,” said Dr. Charles McAdams, dean of Northwest's College of Arts and Sciences. “The academic portion of the center means that students can come to Northwest, major in nanoscale science, have hands-on experience with companies in the CIE and be prepared for either graduate school or careers in commercial laboratories.”
Nanoscience is the study of the control of matter on an atomic and molecular scale and generally deals with structures of 100 nanometers or smaller. A nanometer is a billionth of a meter.
A new on-site center tenant will be introduced during the dedication. Life sciences and health-care consultant Riley and Rabel Consulting Services, LLC, (www.rileyandrabel.com) joins Carbolytic Materials Company (www.carbolytic.com) and Practical Sustainability (www.practicalsustainability.com) as the center's newest private-sector occupant.
Established in California in 2007 by Chris Riley and Shelley Rabel, who together have more than 35 years of experience in pharmaceutical product development, the firm provides clients with a range of consulting services in product development, analytical development, regulatory strategy, compliance and organizational and managerial effectiveness.
“We are very excited about moving to the CIE because it gives us the opportunity to interact with faculty and students as well as other tenants,” said Chris Riley. “In addition, the Center contains state-of-the art laboratory facilities and equipment, which provides us with the possibility of expanding our business into laboratories services sometime in the future.”
Carbolytic Materials Company, which is also building a processing plant in Maryville, extracts carbon black, a substance with wide applications in the plastics and rubber industry, along with combustible oil and gas, from shredded automotive tires. CMC will use the center as a base for research and development operations.
Practical Sustainability is a full-service analytical consulting firm and chemical and biological laboratory specializing in expert testimony and witnessing, sustainability analyses, environmental and ecological technology, infection control, and material characterization.
The company was founded by managing partner Dr. Earl R. Beaver, chair emeritus of the Institute for Sustainability in New York and chair of the National Accounts Committee for the Global Footprint Network. Beaver is the author and holder of many publications and patents and has received the prestigious Lawrence K. Cecil Award from the Environmental Division of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers.
“We are excited to have these tenants occupying the CIE this soon after building completion,” McAdams said. “The opportunities they bring for improving the economic vitality of our region, and more specifically for partnering with students and faculty in research projects, are significant. Our students and faculty will be uniquely advantaged by the presence of these businesses and the academic and professional opportunities they will create.”
In addition to three on-site tenants, the CIE is the “virtual” home of Alyoop Inc., (www.alyoop.com) a St. Louis-based startup company seeking to provide shoppers with coupons selected to match customer-generated shopping lists and delivered via the Internet.
Northwest's ongoing role in this patented enterprise is to perform a series of developmental tasks, including systems analysis, user interface design, database design, software architecture development, software implementation and development of user documentation and test cases.
“When selecting a location to grow it was important to us to create a synergy with a university,” said Alyoop President Mark Hoeman. “Northwest Missouri State University and the CIE have a lot to offer a developing and emerging technology business. We have been greatly impressed by the delivery, professionalism and the skill levels of the students and faculty.”
The CIE incubator contains three lab analysis research areas, a shared scientific instrument room, 9,000 square feet of tenant office space, shipping/receiving (product distribution center), a staff training area, a seminar room and CIE staff offices. The academic wing embraces more than 16,000 square feet of highly specialized teaching and research labs and offices.