Integrated Bioprocessing Research Laboratory

Another incredible learning experience was held in IBRL and our Food Science Pilot Plant this week. In partnership with Silgan Containers, participants spent three days learning the technicalities of Can Manufacturing and Processing. Be on the lookout for other educational opportunities through this exciting new partnership.

Earlier this year, the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity launched their Innovation Voucher program. This program could not be more perfect for IBRL clients. It is a grant opportunity for startup companies to partner with institutes of higher education (that sounds like a familiar model for IBRL!) to advance the company's technology and research. If you are a collaborator of IBRL's, and you have a presence, or are considering a presence in Illinois, we should discuss this opportunity: https://lnkd.in/gnDWFuQm

Welcome to the team, Jeremy Sechan! Jeremy started as IBRL's Office Support Associate last week. If you're in IBRL, stop by and welcome him back to campus!

We are enjoying some beautiful fall weather here in Champaign-Urbana and our Clara-200 is seeing the light while optimizing our client's DSP work flow! Our DSP bay has been exceptionally busy lately with an enormous range of technologies.

This week we are reflecting on what an excellent experience our Fall Fermentation Short Course was. With 40 participants and 10 industry speakers, not only was the course material instructional, but everyone had the opportunity to learn from each other. Thanks to the companies who help teach: Boston Bioprocess Alfa Laval Dedert Corporation Applexion R2DIO ERIDIA ADM Thanks also to our sponsor Beckman Coulter Life Sciences And of course, we could not have done it without the IBRL-FSHN staff: Marissa N., Brian Jacobson, Nancy McCrone, Hana Ostrander, Kevin Wu, Tom McKenna, Robert Crowley, Adam Davis, Hope Park, Jedi Brown, Andrew Borbely, Joe Melnyk, Amy Zaffiri Rogers, Phil Manning, Suneet Takhar, Kerri Peters If you missed this one, hold your calendars for April 15 - 17, 2025!

👀 New capability alert! We've been working with our friends at Hydrosome Labs LLC for a while now, but we're streamlining the process even further by having their skid here in IBRL. If you were considering a test with their technology, IBRL would be happy to make that happen!

Very proud of our IllinoisPSM Bioprocessing and Bioenergy students. They all did a fantastic job presenting on their internship experiences at their Poster Showcase. All are currently seeking full-time positions, and with a combination of these internships and IBRL experience, they are top-notch candidates.

NIFA Director Dr. Manjit Misra had a great visit at the University of Illinois College of ACES and was able to see first-hand the cutting-edge research and innovation happening across the university. Dr. Misra met with students and toured the Integrated Bioprocessing Research Laboratory and @AIFARMS.

Welcome to the full-time team, Nathan Schumer! Nathan has been with the IBRL team since November 2021 as a student intern, a graduate hourly, an academic hourly, and now as our newest Junior Pilot Plant Specialist! Nathan will continue to be impactful on our Downstream Processing team. We are excited to celebrate this new chapter in Nathan's career.

We work with companies from all over the world, but there is some additional pride when the partners are University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign startups. We have loved working with MicroMGx, Earnest Agriculture, and FrostDefense Envirotech Inc. All three are great examples of the complementarity of IBRL's resources and the startup support offered by the University of Illinois Research Park. Great things to come for all three of these exciting startups.