The next step for the new University-affiliated manufacturing lab Gov. Pat Quinn introduced last week is finding a location in Chicago, project leaders said.

The Illinois Manufacturing Laboratory will serve as an independent, non-profit innovation hub that will focus on manufacturing advancement and workforce development, said University spokesman Tom Hardy in an email.

Quinn announced the partnership with the University and National Center for Supercomputing Applications in his State of State address Feb. 6. In his speech, he said manufacturing has been one of Illinois’ leading growth sectors, with the creation of approximately 40,000 new jobs in the last three years; however, 140,000 job openings in Illinois remain unfilled because of a lack of skill needed for these jobs. He said the IML will help to close the “skills gap.”

“The Illinois Manufacturing Lab will make our manufacturers more competitive,” Quinn said. “Now, in our Illinois, we leave no worker behind.”

Hardy said both the Urbana and Chicago campuses will benefit from the creation of this lab. The project will utilize the center’s supercomputing resources along with the Urbana campus’ workforce development training through the College of Education. It will also involve the Chicago campus’ Electronic Visualization Laboratory, a graduate research lab with a focus on computer science and art, he said. 

“The University of Illinois will gain additional awareness of its capabilities, expertise and value to the state, as well as new revenue, by connecting even more than it does now with a key sector of the state’s economy — the 20,000 manufacturers in Illinois who compete in local, national and global markets,” Hardy said.

He said the state is investing $5 million in the project, a cost that will need to be matched by private firms and other outside sources. He said the project could come together within a year.

Merle Giles, director of the private sector program at NCSA, said the center hosts supercomputing resources and provides support for companies that specialize in manufacturing. He said the merging of classical manufacturing with more advanced digital tools will make companies more innovative and productive.

“To reach the very manufacturers who make things and struggle with access to these digital tools, we need to be where they live,” Giles said. “So we’ve proposed to take the NCSA toolset, and set up shop in Chicago where these companies are and extend the consulting engagement that we do here in Champaign today.”

But many community members have expressed discontentment with the choice of location. 

Peter Fox, founder of Fox Development Corporation, the developer of Research Park in Champaign, said he is concerned about University resources leaving the Champaign-Urbana area. He said the local economy is fragile and needs an economic development focus similar to that of Chicago.

“If we don’t create more higher-paying, technology-oriented jobs, it’s very difficult for the University to obtain and attract the best faculty and the best staff,” Fox said.

Although the specific location for the lab has not be determined, Giles said Chicago is a logical city for the lab because  of the community of large companies NCSA serves, most of them are located in the Chicago area.

“We want to accelerate innovation and use speed as an advantage,” Giles said. “In order to do that, we have to step out of our research umbrella and be more entrepreneurial. That’s the reason we need to be in Chicago.”

Lauren can be reached at [email protected].