When Nebraska’s Steve Taylor founded the Food Allergy Research and Resource Program nearly 25 years ago — with the support of seven companies — he couldn’t have anticipated what came next.
Virtual Incision Corporation (VIC), founded on the collaborative efforts of two professors in the University of Nebraska ecosystem, has once again secured additional funding for its in vivo surgical robotics platform.
When Nebraska Innovation Studio opened in 2015, it was a pre-eminent makerspace unlike anything else in the state — and it’s only getting better.
By the end of 2019, NIS will boast a metal shop, larger instant prototyping inventory and larger woodshop, among other improvements.
A new classroom for groups has been completed. NIS Director David Martin said the classroom opened in May and has welcomed school groups, a Solid Works hobby group and the Native Youth Summer Academy.
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The idea came to John Ingram when he gathered with his family around their dining room table, but he didn’t know it yet.
This was a couple of months ago, when Nebraska’s rising rivers were forcing people from their homes.
“We were talking about how terrible the floods were, and how sad it was that people were losing everything — and they weren’t able to have a dinner like we’re having,” he said this week. “We were talking about how we could help. That’s what we do as neighbors, as Nebraskans. We help.”
Scientific instrument manufacturer, MatMaCorp has developed a system that enables veterinary clinics to conduct inhouse genetic testing for their clients rather than outsourcing to larger high-tech labs.
Back in 2012, Beatrice Public Library leaders and stakeholders had an eye toward the future as they drew up plans for a building renovation. Among the ideas was an area to house a makerspace.
“Some in the public hadn’t heard of this concept, so we ended up not having the full space,” library director Laureen Riedesel said. “We do have a 3-D printer and computers set up there, and our idea is to let it evolve and as people become aware of what we have, they’d ask for machines that we could add.”
Since opening in 2015, Nebraska Innovation Studio has been a boon to Nebraskans looking to create new businesses, products and ideas.
The 3D printers – one of the most popular tools for innovators – are nearly constantly running.
“I call it instant prototyping,” Chris Rhodes, NIS member and entrepreneur, said. “(3D printers) are super beneficial because your turnover time is a lot faster and the cost is considerably cheaper than finding a company or purchasing a printer.”
Shaun Ilahi is not like most people. As a lawyer in the general counsel in Omaha for Habitat for Humanities, he helps with affordable housing construction and provides support and services to underserved areas. But Ilahi is also a budding artist, striving to redefine what society defines as beauty.
The Wisconsin native completed his undergraduate degree in Brooklyn, New York, and discovered his love for travel and finding beauty in things around him that others don’t see.
A mosaic of framed photos depicting great American innovators and explorers -- the Wright brothers, Amelia Earhart, Nikola Tesla -- are a constant reminder of Virtual Incision's central ethos.
"We do things, we build things here," said Shane Farritor, the chief technology officer of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln spinoff that designs and manufactures small, lightweight surgical robots.
