More than ok computer

St. Louis already has an innovative biotech cluster. The region supports major companies like Monsanto and Danforth Plant Science. Science never rests, however, and IT Enterprises is looking to expand this industry by working closely with information technology and life science research entities.

ITe is a small business incubator, sponsored by the University of Missouri-St. Louis, located off of Koenig Drive near campus. A looming network of computer nodes and servers stands at the center of ITe’s facility, attracting and reaching out to a bevy of companies looking to utilize its capabilities.

“The high performance computing center provides a lot of computing power, so calculations that once took weeks can be compressed into hours or even minutes in a cluster,” William Lemon, director of scientific and computing services at ITe, said.
ITe also offers over 6,000 feet of office and laboratory space to its tenants. The capacity of ITe to allow such close proximity to the computer network is a convenience for businesses looking to utilize its computing capabilities.

Mogene, a genomics-based company, has been a tenant at ITe since May. “ITe gives us a space to fit our needs, the IT computer center helps us because we generate a lot of data, and it also gives us our own lab,” Shaukat Rangwala, Vice President of Mogene Research Operations, said.

ITe also extends its state-of-the-art research facilities to UM-St. Louis students looking to research in various areas of study, including business, chemistry and biology.
ITe houses five entrepreneurial companies in these fields at this time, and while these companies may be placed under the umbrella terms of life science and IT, they remain diverse in their own right. Companies like IT Entrepreneur Network even emulate the work of ITe in more precise terms. ITEN, much like ITe, is trying to build small business and information technology.

This layering of business and business networking allows ITe to encompass two newer goals of UM-St. Louis: outreach and economic development. By providing a convenient way for companies to do their technical work, ITe hopes to bring more and more companies to St. Louis.

“We’re trying to build the ability of the St. Louis region to do high-tech work,” Lemon said.
“IT Enterprises is really good for the economic development of the region. Two of the university’s missions are accomplished here: economic development and outreach. We do both of these with an economic development posture. Outreach activities happen when companies … want to meet with other companies, and the regional development council has a lot their meetings here,” Lemon said.

ITe offers internship opportunities for graduate students and holds a computer enterprising course at the facility. ITe is trying to organize a way to hold more classes at the facility, which could provide students with a more hands-on experience with business and life science.