The Discovery Partners Institute, a network of research and innovation hubs in the South Loop, has awarded more than $1 million in research and development grants to innovators at local universities, who are working on everything from developing autonomous tech to tracing Covid-19.
The grants are being given to eight teams out of the 55 that applied to participate in a new DPI program, which aims to help entrepreneurs bring their tech ideas to life. Each team is receiving $125,000, as well as administrative and grant-writing support, and access to DPI’s corporate partners and its downtown office.
The teams are compiled of students and faculty from Chicago research universities, as well as community entrepreneurs. Teams have to be led by a University of Illinois faculty member and include scientists from at least one other partner university, including Argonne National Laboratory; Hebrew University; Illinois Institute of Technology; Northwestern University; University of Chicago and Tel Aviv University.
“This is just the beginning of our efforts to put already strong industries in the region on the very cutting edge,” said DPI’s Executive Director Bill Jackson in a statement. “And we’re doing so by leveraging the most ambitious talent the region has to offer and enticing them to team up, rather than operate in silos. Such teamwork is going to generate exactly what this region and state needs: More federal R&D funding and more jobs.”
Meet each team below. (Team descriptions provided by DPI.)
- The Center for Research on Autonomous Farming Technologies (CRAFT): This team will develop and test autonomous robots that will weed and spray corn and soybean crops; work in urban food gardens; and care for berry and nut orchards. Lead Primary Investigator (PI): Girish Chowdhary, The Grainger College of Engineering and College of Agricultural, Consumer, and Environmental Sciences (ACES), UIUC. Team: UIUC, University of Chicago, Argonne National Laboratory.
- Institute for Artificial Intelligence in Construction: With more than 40 partners lined up from the architecture, engineering and construction industries, this team will identify key areas for the highest impact of AI in the industry, and bring new AI tools to bring to market. Lead PI: Mani Golparvar Fard, The Grainger College of Engineering, UIUC. Team: UIUC and 40+ industry partners.
- CREATE WISDOM: This initiative will use data from Chicago hospitals to develop artificial intelligence technologies to improve patient outcomes, starting with cancer treatment among underserved populations. Lead PI: Karl Kochendorfer, UIC Hospital & Health Sciences System. Team: UIC, UIUC, Rush, Mayo, Northwestern, DuPage Medical.
- I-BRAIN: An expanded data repository for brain research. This team will bring together advanced datasets and experts on human brain disorders to support the development of new treatments for brain-related illnesses. Lead PI: Jeffrey Loeb, UIC College of Medicine. Team: UIC, UIUC, University of Chicago, Illinois Institute of Technology and industry.
- The Center for Autonomous Construction, Agriculture and Manufacturing at Scale (CEACAMS): The goal of this team is to commercialize new technology that helps companies operate construction and industrial equipment remotely or without human intervention at all. Lead PI: William Norris,The Grainger College of Engineering, UIUC . Team: UIUC, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and eight industry partners.
- Trustworthy and ethical artificial intelligence systems: This team will work to train people on how to build safe and unbiased algorithms. Lead PI: Madhusudan Parthasarathy, The Grainger College of Engineering, UIUC. Team: UIUC, UIC, University of Chicago, Tel Aviv University and Hebrew University.
- Wastewater-based epidemiology to track SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater: This team will develop surveillance methods in the Chicago area and work with public health departments to develop a system for early warnings of outbreaks. Lead PI: Rachel Poretsky, UIC Biological Sciences. Team: UIC, Northwestern University, Argonne National Laboratory.
- Privacy in the era of big data: This team will create a platform that will enforce strict privacy policies in sectors such as health care, and develop tools and methods for making the best tradeoffs between privacy and utility. Lead PI: Lenore Zuck, UIC Department of Computer Science. Team: UIC, UIUC, University of Chicago, University of Pittsburgh.
