Many of the companies featured in this article are residents of Northwestern's new multimillion-dollar technology accelerator, the Querrey InQbation Lab. The InQbation Lab provides a home for Northwestern's highly entrepreneurial faculty to commercialize their scientific discoveries and bring economic growth and opportunities to the Evanston and Chicago communities.
Located at 1801 Maple Avenue in downtown Evanston, the Querrey InQbation Lab opened in 2022 and was named in honor of Kimberly K. Querrey ('22, '23 P), chair of the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Committee of Northwestern's Board of Trustees.
Querrey was so committed to making the incubator a reality that she personally made a $25 million gift to Northwestern to advance innovation and entrepreneurship. The Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity provided a $3 million grant to support the first phase of renovations at the Querrey InQbation Lab. The Illinois General Assembly also appropriated $50 million for further expansion of the project as part of the state's 2022 capital budget.
In addition to space for faculty startups, the lab offers fellowships, residencies, scholar programs, a mentor network, and seminars and workshops for faculty and students.
Northwestern Engineering faculty lead eight of the InQbation Lab’s 10 resident teams.
Actinia is developing new detector materials to double the resolution of X-ray and gamma-ray imaging techniques to improve the safety, efficiency, and security of nuclear technologies used in power generation, national defense, and medical imaging.
Faculty Founder
Mercouri G. Kanatzidis
Charles E. and Emma H. Morrison Professor of Chemistry and (by courtesy) Professor of Materials Science and Engineering
HemoRhythmics provides smart solutions for implantable medical devices and human health sensors.
Faculty Founder
John Rogers
Louis Simpson and Kimberly Querrey Professor of Materials Science and Engineering, Biomedical Engineering and Neurological Surgery
Director of the Querrey Simpson Institute for Bioelectronics
MFNS Tech uses a patented nanostructured coating platform called Multi-Functional Nano Structures (MFNS) to more efficiently cleanup oil spills, pollutants, and toxins from water.
Faculty Founder
Vinayak Dravid
Abraham Harris Professor of Materials Science and Engineering
Founding Director, Northwestern University Atomic and Nanoscale Characterization (NUANCE) Center
Founding Director, Soft and Hybrid Nanotechnology Experimental (SHyNE), an NSF-NNCI Node
Opera Bioscience is developing a novel next-generation bacterial protein expression system capable of manufacturing high quality proteins without the costly and time-consuming purification steps.
Faculty Founder
Danielle Tullman-Ercek
Professor of Biological and Chemical Engineering
Co-Director, Center for Synthetic Biology
Rhaeos addresses a critical unmet need in the care of patients with hydrocephalus. They have developed a noninvasive thermal sensor for use in the monitoring of ventricular shunt function.
Faculty Founder
John Rogers
Louis Simpson and Kimberly Querrey Professor of Materials Science and Engineering, Biomedical Engineering and Neurological Surgery
Director, Querrey Simpson Institute for Bioelectronics
Stemloop is developing cell-free technology to decentralize and democratize the testing of health threats, such as lead in drinking water and pathogens in the environment.
Faculty Founders
Julius Lucks
Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering
Michael Jewett
Adjunct Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering
Syenex is developing a synthetic biology discovery platform to harness the therapeutic potential of extracellular vesicles.
Faculty Founder
Joshua Leonard
Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering
Volexion is developing advanced cathode materials for lithium ion batteries that overcome key limitations to conventional technology, primarily enhanced battery performance at low temperatures and rapid charging and discharging.
Faculty Founder
Mark C. Hersam
Walter P. Murphy Professor of Materials Science and Engineering
Director of Materials Research Science & Engineering (MRSEC)
