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Princeton University opens new innovation center in Plainsboro

(l-r) Susan Chase, Anne-Marie Maman, Andrew Zwicker, Peter Cantu, Christopher L. Eisgruber, Johannes Fruehauf, Deborah Prentice, Paul LaMarche, Nishta Rao and Sam Rozycki.

Officials celebrated the opening of the Princeton Innovation Center BioLabs incubator on May 17.

More than 100 representatives from Princeton University, the town of Plainsboro, local industries and the center’s first tenant companies attended the event at the Forrestal Center in Plainsboro.

Princeton Innovation Center BioLabs offers co-working lab and office space for high-tech startup companies formed by Princeton University faculty, students and alumni, as well as members of the wider New Jersey community.

“This dynamic incubator space for high-potential startups and new ventures pursues a vision shared by members of our campus community and others in the surrounding municipalities,” said Princeton President Christopher Eisgruber.

“Increasingly, our students, faculty and researchers seek to make a difference in the world through innovative entrepreneurial ventures that address societal needs,” Eisgruber said. “Our best scholars are finding that collaborations with partners outside academia can assist both applied and basic research by helping them to identify interesting questions that matter to our society.”

Princeton Innovation Center BioLabs is one of several initiatives designed to strengthen the innovation ecosystem in central New Jersey and expand the impact of Princeton’s teaching and research, Eisgruber said. “We hope that continued partnerships will foster an innovation community that has the potential to catalyze path-breaking discoveries, contribute to the regional economy, and make central New Jersey an increasingly vibrant and attractive place for all who live and work here,” he said.

The facility is designed to encourage collaboration. The space features shared work areas and meeting spaces where scientists and entrepreneurs can share ideas. The 31,000-square-foot entrepreneurial hub includes work spaces for biology, chemistry and engineering companies, with 68 lab benches, private offices and shared desks for more than 200 scientists and entrepreneurs. When full, Princeton Innovation Center BioLabs will house 25 or more small companies, most with only a handful of employees.

 

Located three miles from the Princeton University campus, the new center is designed to support a wide range of research and entrepreneurial activities.Two businesses have already started working there, and two more will start June 1, university officials said.