About

The passion for scientific discovery that drives the faculty and students in the Department of Chemistry at Illinois makes an impact on the world beyond academia and that impact can be seen in this list of companies that were created as result of their research. These companies were launched by current and retired faculty members in the Department of Chemistry and by previous faculty members and former students while they were at the University of Illinois. The list includes companies that are currently active or have been acquired by other companies since their founding.

  • Cooledge Lighting, former Illinois professor John Rogers — Cooledge Lighting makes flexible sheets of LED lights that are cool and can be incorporated into structural forms.
  • INI Power Systems, Inc. — Larry J. Markoski, former chemical specialist/academic professional at the Beckman Institute — INI Power Systems, Inc., produced generator and hybrid power solutions. The Dewey Electronics Corporation completed the acquisition of INI Power Systems, Inc. from Corbel Structured Equity Partners in 2020.
  • MC10, former Illinois professor John Rogers — MC10 produced thin flexible electronics that are used in a wide variety of devices for consumer, medical and industrial benefit. In October 2020, Medidata, the global leader in creating end-to-end solutions to support the entire clinical development process, acquired the digital biomarker business of MC10.
  • Obiter Research, LLC, based in Champaign, Illinois, Obiter was launched by Illinois alumnus and adjunct chemistry professor William Boulanger (Ph.D., '85, Katzenellenbogen) — Obiter Research specializes in custom contract chemical research and manufacturing of difficult or complex chemical compounds.
  • Protasis, Magnetic Resonance Microsensors, based in Marlboro, MA, and Savoy, IL, Professor Jonathan Sweedler — Protasis designs target molecule purification and analysis instruments for the structural biology and proteomics markets.
  • Radius, based in Waltham, Massachusetts, Professor John Katzenellenbogen — Radius is a biopharmaceutical company focusing on making therapeutics for patients with osteoporosis and other endocrine-mediated diseases.
  • Revolution Medicines, Inc., Redwood City, California, Professor Martin Burke — Revolution Medicines synthesizes original compounds using Burke's "chemical building blocks" process. Third Rock Ventures launches Revolution Medicines with $45 million.
  • Semprius, Inc., former Illinois professor John Rogers and research professor of chemistry Ralph Nuzzo — Semprius designed and manufactured high efficiency solar modules — concentrator photovoltaic modules for use in solar panels with the use of a micro-transfer printing process.
  • Simbiosys, Chicago, Illinois, chemistry alumnus Joseph R. Peterson (Ph.D., '17) and John A. Cole, Jr., (Ph.D., '17, physics) - Simbiosys combines the power of AI and data science to unlock spatial biophysics to individualize cancer therapy and improve overall patient care.
  • Specific Diagnostics, Professor Kenneth Suslick — Specific Diagnostics developed in vitro diagnostic systems based upon a unique, patented technology that enables rapid detection and identification of microorganisms as they grow in culture. Its first commercial application is a rapid antimicrobial susceptibility test (AST) system that delivers phenotypic AST directly from positive blood cultures. Specific Diagnostics was acquired in 2022 by bioMérieux, a world leader in the field of in vitro diagnostics.
  • Spectral Data Services, based in Champaign, Illinois, Professor Eric Oldfield — Spectral Data Services is an NMR contract testing facility, providing NMR results with GLP/GMP compliance. They prepare protocols, study reports, provide method validations, and conduct audits and inspections.
  • Spectroclick, Champaign, Illinois, Emeritus Professor Alexander Scheeline and Bùi Anh Thu′ - Spectroclick produces hand-held spectrometers.
  • Tiptek, Champaign, Illinois, Gregory Girolami, professor of chemistry; chemistry alumnus Scott Lockledge (Ph.D., '90, Klemperer), Professor Joseph W. Lyding, professor electrical and computer engineering — Tiptek is a manufacturer of ultra-hard and ultra-sharp probes for atomic force microscopy (AFM) applications.
  • Transient Electronics Inc., based in Brookline Massachusetts, former chemistry professor John Rogers — Transient Electronics is developing biodegradable electronics.
  • UT Dots, based in Champaign, Illinois, Dr. Yuri Didenko (1999-2005 Visiting Scientist with chemistry Prof. Ken Suslick) — UT Dots manufactures and sells conductive silver, gold and platinum nanoparticles for printed electronics.
  • Vanquish Oncology, based in Champaign, Illinois, Professor Paul Hergenrother — Vanquish Oncology is a drug development company that focuses on targeting unexploited molecular defects in cancer cells to create therapeutics for unmet or underserved cancer markets, including the drug candidate PAC-1 that is in the clinical trials phase.
  • X-Celeprint, Cork, Ireland, former Illinois professor John Rogers — Develops and licenses patented Micro-Transfer-Printing (µTP) technology for specific applications.