CHAMPAIGN, Ill., Jan. 15 – As part of its mission to solve challenging problems through innovation, The Dow Chemical Company announced a partnership with the University of Illinois to open the Dow Innovation Center, a research facility located at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. The new Innovation Center will develop data management solutions to drive value and accelerate discovery in the Research & Development (R&D) organizations throughout Dow.

“The opening of the Dow Innovation Center continues the strong relationship between the University of Illinois and Dow,” said Chancellor Phyllis Wise. “We are pushing the edges of science and technology to explore new ideas in critical areas such as water, energy, coatings and agriculture. Solutions to increasingly complex societal challenges brought about by an expanding global population will be found in this kind of innovative partnership. The new center will draw upon the strengths in High Performance Computing (HPC), Informatics, and Computer Science at the University of Illinois to enhance technology and research within Dow.”

At the same time, Dow has entered into an industry partnership with the National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA), providing access to expertise and equipment which will accelerate Dow’s discovery processes. This partnership will enable Dow to leverage the center’s expertise and knowledge of best practices in high-performance modeling and simulation to gain a competitive edge. “We are very pleased to announce the opening of an IT development office that will build upon the University of Illinois’ tradition of groundbreaking computer science research and education,” said Roy Ladd, Director of Global Information Research at Dow. “With access to a highly passionate student body and NCSA’s valuable resources, we are confident that we can develop innovative IT solutions that will help solve some of the most pressing challenges facing our customers and society today.”

A team of sixteen students in computer science and related fields will work part-time at the new Dow Innovation Center, which opens in the spring 2013 semester. The operation is in the Research Park, which is located on campus to better connect industry with researchers and students. “This environment will provide students the opportunity to enhance their University of Illinois education with real-life experiences that impact industry and address major global product solutions,” said Lawrence Schook, University of Illinois Vice President for Research.

The new Dow office is located at 2021 S. First Street in the Research Park. Fox/Atkins Development owns the building and successfully worked on an agreement for Dow to lease space in the faciltiy and begin operations quickly. Construction was completed within a one month time period to prepare the suite and allow Dow to open the facility for the beginning of the spring semester.

The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is also part of the Strategic University Partnership launched by Dow in 2011 to focus research capabilities with 11 of the leading chemistry, materials science and chemical engineering departments in the country. Learn more at Dow.com/Innovation.

About Dow

Dow combines the power of science and technology to passionately innovate what is essential to human progress. The Company connects chemistry and innovation with the principles of sustainability to help address many of the world's most challenging problems such as the need for clean water, renewable energy generation and conservation, and increasing agricultural productivity. Dow's diversified industry-leading portfolio of specialty chemical, advanced materials, agrosciences and plastics businesses delivers a broad range of technology-based products and solutions to customers in approximately 160 countries and in high growth sectors such as electronics, water, energy, coatings and agriculture. In 2011, Dow had annual sales of $60 billion and employed approximately 52,000 people worldwide. The Company's more than 5,000 products are manufactured at 197 sites in 36 countries across the globe. References to "Dow" or the "Company" mean The Dow Chemical Company and its consolidated subsidiaries unless otherwise expressly noted.

About the University of Illinois

The University of Illinois is a world leader in research, teaching and discovery. Distinguished by the breadth of its programs, broad academic excellence, and internationally renowned faculty, the University of Illinois has a commitment of excellence in teaching, research, public service and economic development. The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign serves the state, the nation, and the world by creating knowledge, preparing students for lives of impact, and addressing critical societal needs through the transfer and application of knowledge.

About the Research Park at the University of Illinois

The Research Park at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign provides an environment where technology-based businesses can work with faculty and students at Illinois to take advantage of opportunities for collaborative research and easy access to University labs, equipment, and services. The Research Park is home to more than 90 companies and growing, employing over 1,400 people in high-technology careers. At any given time, over 400 student interns are gaining valuable work experience while making real contributions to internal corporate R&D and product development programs. Publicly-traded firms in the Research Park include: ADM, Abbott Laboratories, Caterpillar, Deere & Company, Neustar, Pearson, Raytheon, Riverbed, Sony, State Farm, and Yahoo. It was named 2011 Outstanding Research Park of the Year by the Association of University Research Parks (AURP). The Research Park has been developed through a public-private partnership between the University of Illinois and Fox/Atkins Development, LLC.

About the National Center for Supercomputing Applications

NCSA, located at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, provides powerful computers and expert support that help thousands of scientists and engineers across the country improve our world. For 25 years, NCSA has been a leader in deploying robust high-performance computing resources and in working with research communities to develop new computing and software technologies. Building on this history of leadership, NCSA and its partners are at work on the Blue Waters project, which will provide the national research community with a sustained-petaflop supercomputer.

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Source: University of Illinois