Purdue Research Park recognizes 50 years of innovation and job creation
October 1, 2012
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Indiana
Gov. Mitch Daniels speaks during Tuesday's (June 12) 50th anniversary
celebration of the Purdue Research Park. Seated, from left, are France A. Córdova,
Purdue University president; John Dennis, West Lafayette mayor; and Joseph B.
Hornett, senior vice president, treasurer and COO of the Purdue Research
Foundation. The event capped off a yearlong celebration that began in July
2011. |
INDIANAPOLIS; WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind.; MERRILLVILLE, Ind.; and NEW ALBANY, Ind. - Purdue Research Park concluded its yearlong 50th anniversary celebration with an event that recognized the leaders and innovations that helped make the park the country's largest university-affiliated incubation complex. More than 200 people attended Tuesday's (June 12) event.
Purdue Research Park now has four locations across Indiana and 200 companies that employ more than 4,000 people. When established in 1961, the Purdue Research Park was the third such park established in the United States. Stanford Research Park was founded in 1951, and the Research Triangle Park in North Carolina followed in 1959.
As part of the 50th anniversary, Purdue Research Park had an independent study compiled by Thomas P. Miller and Associates. The study reports:
* $1.3 billion in annual impact for Indiana.
* $48 million contributed to state and local taxes.
* $49 million in federal research and development grants for small businesses brought to the state since 1987.
* High-tech, high-quality jobs paying an average annual salary of $63,000 - 65 percent higher than the Indiana average.
"Purdue University and the Purdue Research Park in particular, are huge engines for the state of Indiana," said Gov. Mitch Daniels, who spoke at the event. "First-rate research, with a goal of creating innovative goods and services, is an indispensable element of any state's economic success, and the Purdue Research Park is Indiana's flagship asset in this realm."
Through joint efforts among the Indiana Economic Development Corporation, Purdue Research Park and local officials, several companies relocated to Indiana, including Scale Computing Inc. from San Francisco, WindStream Technologies Inc. from southern California and the Dow AgroSciences Seed Quality Control Lab from Iowa.
The Purdue Research Park is a prime locator for Purdue University faculty researchers who wish to commercialize their discoveries.
"The park is a key factor in the successful commercialization of Purdue discoveries, and there are nearly 70 Purdue faculty directly involved in new companies based in the Purdue Research Park," said Purdue President France A. Córdova. "These companies' products are primarily based on Purdue discoveries, and there are countless other faculty who have licensed their discoveries to a park-based company or help park companies with research and consulting assistance."
Successful Purdue Research Park-based companies that grew from a Purdue discovery include:
* Cook Biotech Inc., a Cook Group Inc. subsidiary that manufactures BioDesign™ advanced tissue-repair products.
* Endocyte Inc., a company that is developing a drug to improve cancer treatments.
* FLIR Mass Spectrometry, a company that develops fieldable mass spectrometry systems.
* M4 Sciences Inc., a firm that improves precise drilling processes for machine tools.
* SSCI, a division of Aptuit, a company that does pharmaceutical research.
"This has been a historic year for the Purdue Research Park, and it has been a year of tremendous growth," said Joseph B. Hornett, senior vice president, treasurer and COO of the Purdue Research Foundation, which manages the park network. "We've had nearly 25 new and expanding companies join the park network in the past year from many sectors, including life sciences, agroscience, cybersecurity and manufacturing. All of these companies are doing important work that addresses the global challenges of our world."
New and expanding companies that joined the park in the 2011-12 fiscal year include Advion BioSciences, which conducts pharmaceutical research; CACI, a firm that specializes in cybersecurity for governmental agencies; Cornerstone Autism Center, a center that helps children and families dealing with autism; Dow AgroSciences Seed Quality Control Lab, a seed research facility for Dow AgroSciences Inc.
"Our community is fortunate to have the Purdue Research Park," said West Lafayette Mayor John Dennis. "The park provides a strong foundation for economic development, both in the high-tech jobs it creates within the park boundaries and throughout our entire community."
A 2011 Battelle study on university-affiliated research parks reports that every job in a park creates 2.57 jobs in its respective community.
The Purdue Research Park has been recognized by state, national and international organizations. In 2010 the National Business Incubation Association honored the Purdue Research Park Entrepreneurship Academy with the Incubator Innovation Award. In 2008 the International Economic Development Council presented three first-place awards for excellence in economic development in the areas of entrepreneurship, partnerships with educational institutions and technology-based economic development. In 2004 the Association of University Research Parks (AURP) recognized the Purdue Research Park with its top Outstanding Science and Research Park Award.
About Purdue Research Park
The Purdue Research Park has the largest university-affiliated business incubation program in the country. The park's four Indiana sites are in West Lafayette, Indianapolis, Merrillville and New Albany. The nearly 200 companies located in the park network employ about 4,000 people.
Media contact:
Cynthia Sequin, 765-588-3340, casequin@prf.org
Sources:
France A. Córdova, president@purdue.edu
Joseph B. Hornett, 765-588-1040, jbhornett@prf.org
John Dennis, 765-775-5100, mayor@city.west-lafayette.in.us
