Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
Education news and issues in the Ozarks.

Innovation Center in downtown Springfield celebrates 10 years

Rachael Cohoon
/
KSMU
JVIC facility located off Boonville Ave. in downtown Springfield

The Roy Blunt Jordan Valley Innovation Center is celebrating its 10 year anniversary.  What used to be the Missouri Farmers Association milling facility in Downtown Springfield opened its doors on May 30, 2007. 

JVIC is now a seven story technology and research based facility that allows Missouri State students to have hands on experience working with faculty on new developments while also helping local businesses. 

“The concept was to have the university help increase the speed with which small companies could develop their intellectual property, and get products to market,” says Jim Baker, Vice President of Research and Economic Development.

Ten years ago the applied science and engineering center was located in Kemper Hall on MSU’s campus, and they needed to expand.

Baker says, “The old MFA building was available and so we kind of took a risk and started really looking at developing the technology accelerator on this site.”

Baker was in attendance at a 10-year celebration Wednesday at JVIC along with several others, including President of Missouri State University, Clif Smart; Chair of Missouri State University’s Board of Governors, Virginia Fry and Lieutenant Governor of Missouri, Mike Parson.

According to Smart, JVIC is committed to research in areas such as carbon based electronics, prototyping and systems fabrication, and he says there is much more to look forward to.

“As excited as we are about what’s happening now and what’s happened in the last 10 years, I’m more excited about the planning that is going to go on and that’s going to happen in the next 10 years that will truly make a difference in our community.”