The Sound of Music

The Samuel music story is really a story of family.

Lowell Samuel was a man who intended to leave a legacy. Growing up the son of a coal-miner in Southern Illinois during the depression, Mr. Samuel developed a love for music. Despite their poverty, his family somehow scraped together enough money to purchase a clarinet, and that started Lowell’s musical career.

Following his service in World War II he returned to Effingham to continue to teach, and it’s here he discovered an opportunity. With his wife Lucille by his side he decided to seize this opportunity, and borrowed $500 in order to open a music store. In those days almost every school had a band, and yet there was no convenient place to buy instruments and accessories. So in 1946, Samuel Music Company began.

With a degree in Economics and an MBA Dean Samuel taught college for eight years before joining the family business in 1984. To watch the entire TV interview with Dean Samuel click here: WATCH SAMUEL INTERVIEW

NUVIXA'S Game Changing Technology!

Nuvixa was founded in 2009 at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign by a group of faculty and students who had a common desire to make video more useful in on-line communications. They shared the technical vision of using new sensing devices, advanced algorithms, and new computing power to radically expand what is possible with video.

Nuvixa's core competence is in computer vision and video processing. Supporting our efforts we have a team of world-class researchers and engineers who understand 3D acquisition, computer vision, depth-based video, video codecs and audio processing. Our revolution is only possible because of the excellence of this team.

Sanjay Patel is CEO and co-founder of Nuvixa. Sanjay has over 18 years of experience in cutting edge technology, having designed and architected some of the highest performance chips and processors. Prior to founding Nuvixa, Sanjay was Chief Technology Officer of AGEIA Technologies, which was acquired by Nvidia in 2008. Sanjay is on the faculty of the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He is a graduate from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. To see the full TV interview with Dr. Sanjay patel click here: WATCH SANJAY PATEL INTERVIEW.

A New Generation of Leaders-Meet Laura Frerichs

Laura Frerichs is Associate Director of Research Park and Incubation Facilities. She is responsible for managing incubation services at EnterpriseWorks, marketing the Research Park and supporting the University’s economic development efforts. The EnterpriseWorks incubator has 35 startup companies and offer labs, offices, and support services for entrepreneurs. Laura manages programming of events and services to support entrepreneurs and businesses in the Research Park.

Prior to her current role, Laura was Vice President of Business Development & Marketing at Fox Development Corporation. Laura was responsible for marketing the Research Park and supervised the leasing and marketing staff. She interacted with University of Illinois faculty and administration to attract companies to the Research Park. Laura worked with company officials to finalize lease terms and establish new research and development operations within the Research Park. Her business development accomplishments in the Research Park include new offices in Champaign for Yahoo, Qualcomm, John Deere, ADM, and Abbott as examples.

Prior to working for FDC, Laura was the Senior Account Manager of the East Central Illinois Region for the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity. She worked with small businesses, local economic development organizations, and local government on increasing job opportunities in the region. Prior to joining DCEO, Laura was a Media Supervisor for five years at Starcom, a division of the Leo Burnett Company in Chicago. She was responsible for national media strategy for Allstate and Pilsbury brands while working at Starcom.

Laura is a graduate of the University of Illinois College of Communications and served as Student Body President at the Urbana-Champaign campus. Laura Frerichs was named “Woman of the Year” by Central Illinois Business Magazine for the Forty Under Forty business awards. She is active in the community and serves on the Board of Directors of the Champaign County Economic Development Corporation and Tech Advisory Board, Executive Club of Champaign County, University of Illinois Campus Alumni Advisory Board, Junior League of Champaign-Urbana, Parkland College Foundation Technology Division Head, Korean Culture Center Board of Directors, and volunteers in the community.

Laura and her husband State Senator Mike Frerichs live in Champaign, Illinois. They are proud parents of one year old daughter, Ella Frerichs. To watch the entire interview with Laura click here: WATCH LAURA'S TV INTERVIEW

Bringing His Success Home

Doug Wilson is the quintessential showman of the hit TV show Trading Spaces'. Armed with expertise gleaned from years of working with such luminary clients as Barbara Walters and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Doug's design choices purposefully push the edge of creativity. His engaging television persona has garnered Doug a place in modern media and in the hearts of fans across the country.

Despite living in New York and being on TV, Doug couldn't have come from a less show-biz background. Doug would like to say that he's from a small town in Illinois, but that's an understatement. The Wilson family resides outside the town limits of Broadlands, Illinois, population 350. Doug was raised on a farm that has been in his family for 150 years, giving him a strong foundation for his self-made success. Doug relishes his Midwest upbringing and uses the purity and serenity of his boyhood home as inspiration for his signature design style. To watch the entire interview with Doug click here WATCH DOUG WILSON INTERVIEW