State of Innovation

Episode 4 of The State of Innovation’s Voucher Series features  David Griggs, Co-Founder & Chief Technology Officer, of Sandbox Carbon. David discusses how the Illinois Innovation Voucher Program funding provided his team with the resources and equipment needed to test their technology, validate its effectiveness, and transform their vision of a “pollution dumpster” into a tangible, operationa...

In this episode of State of Innovation, we welcome three participants from ISTC’s Mentor Matching Engine Program (MME) to discuss the ongoing value of mentorship in their lives. Recurring mentor Bella reconnects with past students, Kate and Rhia, to reflect on their experience working together. Over the span of two years, they took turns learning from one another while collaborating on high school...

Episode 3 of The Voucher Series welcomes Monica Cook, Chief Operating Officer of NET Energy. As a recipient of Illinois Innovation Voucher funding, Monica Cook shares how NET Energy’s customizable heating and cooling systems are driving greater sustainability across industries. Discover more of the Illinois Innovation Voucher Program and how it supports innovators like NET Energy: https://ilinnovo...

In episode 2, Gabe Price (Chief Science Officer at Earnest Agriculture) shares how the Illinois Innovation Voucher Program supported research and testing for his Ag-Tech company, which later opened doors for new funding opportunities. Hear how Earnest Agriculture’s team is optimizing microbiomes to strengthen Illinois agriculture and why collaboration with the University of Illinois through the Vo...

President & Co-CEO Brooke McKean of REACH Pathways joins the podcast. As a recipient of Illinois Innovation Voucher Program, an initiative supported by the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity and ISTC, Brooke shares how this support has helped advance their mission to make education more accessible for students everywhere. For more information, please visit our website: ht...

Water Week has begun and to kick the week off we sat down with Chief Executive Office and Director of Current; Alaina Harkness and Lead Water Strategist at Argonne National Laboratory; Dr. Junhong Chen. Current is a non-profit convener of scientists, corporates, academic institutions, and local governments that has a goal of turning waste into wealth through responsible stewardship of water resour...

The State of Innovation is BACK with an episode on clean tech innovations, the mode du jour for innovators and scientists working to combat climate change, and startup success stories. We were privileged to welcome the director of mHUB Chicago's Climate and Energy Tech Accelerator; Thierry Van Landegem. Tune in and hear Thierry share his advice for clean tech founders, investors, and our robust di...

On Today's episode fo the State of Innovation Podcast, we talk to Chicago Urban Historian Shermann Dilla Thomas on what it means to be an innovator from the city.    Our discussion weaved together the rich history of Chicago with Dilla's insights on the multitude of pathways the city can follow to rekindle its innovative spirit. We discussed historical achievements be Chicago leaders; Bessie Colem...

On todays episode of the State of Innovation Podcast, we talk to ISTC Education Director Becky Goldberg, Horizon Educational's Ben Giordano, and Constellation Energy Vice President of Corporate Strategy Colleen Wright. Our discussion touched on a major new event coming to Illinois; the H2 Grand Prix Series. We dive in on the sights and sounds of the first qualifying race, the passion that the 12-1...

On todays episode of the State of Innovation Podcast, we talk to IL State Representative Margaret Croke.  Our discussion touched on Rep. Croke's major milestones and journey to the House, her thoughts on the future of cryptocurrency and blockchain in IL, and the opportunities for their adoption and advancement across the state.  

On today's episode, we speak with Leslie Amonoo, the Founder and Director of Millennial Beacon. This healthcare incubator on Chicago's south side aims to diversify talent in healthcare innovation and create access to solutions that positively impact health outcomes in Black communities. We discuss narrative building and why it's important to reposition the south side as a viable area for opportuni...

During this episode, we speak with Jason Mercer, a Principal at Cleveland Avenue, a venture capital firm that invests primarily in Black and brown founders across restaurant, food tech and beverage companies in the Midwest region. With such a  major gap in the funding of Black founders, our discussion with Jason touches on the different ways to address and improve this engagement. 

On this episode, we discuss the role of downstate innovation within the future of IL with Gary Kinsel, the Vice Chancellor of Research at Southern Illinois University. Our conversation highlights SIU's Research Park and the entrepreneurial support among their student and faculty. We also dive into the wins that have come through their focus on industry relations, technology transfer programming, a...

The State of Innovation podcast is BACK with new co-hosts Oluwatobi "Tobi" Oladejo (Innovation Program Coordinator) and Austin Green (Data and Policy Intern)!  During this episode, we are joined by Colleen Egan and Nicole McCarthy (Innovation Program Manager) at World Business Chicago to discuss the launch of Venture Engine, ISTC's new corporate-startup connectivity platform. Our conversation touc...

On this episode of the State of Innovation, we talk with Mahesh Krishnamurthy, Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Academic Director of the Ed Kaplan Family Institute for Innovation and Tech Entrepreneurship at Illinois Tech. Mahesh shares his research interest in power electronics, electric machines and adjustable speed drives; where the electric vehicle market stands today; and...

On this episode of the State of Innovation, we chat with Dr. James Gillespie, Executive Director of the Prysm Institute—a business accelerator founded by Sterling Bay to provide resources to emerging and established companies specializing in life sciences, healthcare and technology. We discuss the Dr. Gillespie's career arc and interest in life sciences and technology; his leadership on diversity,...

On this episode of the State of Innovation, we chat with Yele Adelakun, Professor at DePaul University's College of Computing and Digital Media (CDM), and Founder of DePaul's iD-Lab. We discuss his journey from Nigeria to Chicago (by way of Finland); his research on IT systems and outsourcing; as well as the groundbreaking work of DePaul's iD-Lab. 

On this episode of the State of Innovation, we sit down with Rob Patino, Director of the Office of Technology Transfer at the Southern Illinois University System. We discuss his career path from chemical engineering to IP law and technology transfer; innovation going on across the SIU System; how the university connecting researchers to industry through its new Research Enabled platform; and much...

On this episode of the State of Innovation, we sit down with Bill Payne, Executive Director of Science and Technology at the Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation at the University of Chicago. We discuss his career path in engineering and telecommunications; Polsky's technology commercialization work; how the university is supporting businesses on the South Side of Chicago; and much mo...

On this episode of The State of Innovation, we sit down with Synim Rivers, Director of R&D Communication at Horizon Therapeutics. We discuss her career arc, Horizon's recent success, the R&D landscape in Illinois, and how to move forward on health equity issues.

Gail Rost and Kendra Wieneke from the University of Illinois' Siebel Center for Design join the show to discuss developments at the Siebel Center; how Design Thinking and Human-Centered Design (HCD) can shape the way we approach challenges; and much more!

On this episode of The State of Innovation, we sit down with Kate Waimey Timmerman, Executive Director of the Chicago Quantum Exchange (CQE). On the heels of a game-changing announcement for quantum research in Illinois, we discuss how CQE is bringing together universities, federal labs, industry and startups to boost innovation and create jobs. 

On this episode of The State of Innovation, we sit down with ChicagoNEXT director Abin Kuriakose to discuss his career arc; the great work going on at ChicagoNEXT; how Chicago can leverage tech to inclusively grow its economy; and much more.

ISTC's podcast is back! We're now The State of Innovation podcast. On our triumphant return, we speak to new ISTC/I CEO Colleen D. Egan about her journey and what's next for our organization.