CHAMPAIGN, Ill., Feb. 10, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- The
University of Illinois at
Urbana-Champaign announced today that Ameren
Corporation (NYSE: AEE), a St.
Louis-based Fortune 500 energy company, has opened an
Innovation Center on campus. Ameren is the first major energy
company to open an office at the University of
Illinois Research Park.
The Ameren Innovation Center will collaborate with university
students and faculty and other companies across multiple industries
at the Research Park. The goal is to foster an exploratory
environment that focuses on innovations to help Ameren better meet
the future needs of its customers.
"By establishing an innovative and collaborative work center at
a world-class research university with access to top students and
faculty, we can better leverage information technology to seize
business opportunities and improve our customer satisfaction," said
Mary Heger, vice president of
Information Technology and Ameren Services Center and chief
information officer, Ameren Services. "We also hope to develop a
talent pipeline to help us continue to build a skilled workforce.
This is important as we transition to smart grid technologies and
explore future new energy services that may be wanted and needed by
our customers."
The Center is hiring for several positions and eventually plans
to employ up to 12 students. Undergraduate and graduate students
across disciplines will work on a part-time basis on projects
ranging from data analytics and mobile applications to projects
that focus on the needs of the utility of the future. Some of these
projects will leverage Ameren Illinois' Technology Application
Center in Champaign, an on-grid
testing facility for smart grid technologies that opened in
August 2013. A full-time Ameren site
manager will supervise the students and serve as liaison between
the Innovation Center and the University of
Illinois.
"The Ameren Innovation Center will give our students the
opportunity to work on smart energy solutions for the Midwest and
beyond," said Chancellor Phyllis
Wise. "Such real-world experiences are examples of the
transformative educational opportunities at Illinois that grow from our leadership in
engineering, computing and energy."
The Research Park, located on the campus of the University of Illinois in Champaign, provides an
opportunity for technology-based businesses to collaborate with
students and faculty. The University of
Illinois at Urbana-Champaign's College of Engineering is
among the highest ranked in the nation, and is a highly sought
after as a partner for pursuing information security for the energy
industry.
About the Research Park at the University of Illinois
Since its founding in
1867, the University of Illinois at
Urbana-Champaign has earned a reputation as a world-class
leader in research, teaching, and public engagement. The Research
Park at the University of Illinois at
Urbana-Champaign provides an environment where
technology-based businesses can work with faculty and students at
Illinois to take advantage of
opportunities for collaborative research and easy access to
University labs, equipment, and services. The Research Park is home
to more than 90 companies and growing, employing over 1,500 people
in high-technology careers. At any given time, more than 450
student interns are gaining valuable work experience while making
real contributions to internal corporate R&D and product
development programs. Publicly-traded firms in the Research Park
include: AB InBev, AbbVie, ADM, Abbott Laboratories, Caterpillar,
Deere & Company, Dow Chemical, Littelfuse, Raytheon, Riverbed,
Citrix, State Farm, and Yahoo.
About Ameren
St.
Louis-based Ameren Corporation powers the quality of life
for 2.4 million electric customers and more than 900,000 natural
gas customers in a 64,000-square-mile area through its Ameren
Missouri and Ameren Illinois rate-regulated utility subsidiaries.
Ameren Illinois provides electric delivery and transmission service
as well as natural gas delivery service while Ameren Missouri
provides vertically integrated electric service, with generating
capacity of 10,300 megawatts, and natural gas delivery service.
Ameren Transmission Company of Illinois develops regional electric
transmission projects. Follow the company on Twitter @AmerenCorp.
For more information, visit Ameren.com.
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SOURCE Ameren Corporation