A place to start: Indiana's certified technology parks provide an environment for new ventures and college graduates.

• Author: Kronemyer, Bob
• Position: TECHNOLOGY

THE HOOSIER STATE IS becoming an increasingly inviting environment for high-tech and biomedical firms to originate, expand and relocate, thanks in large part to the state certified technology parks. Now 18 in number, these parks can be found in such flagship locations as West Lafayette and Indianapolis, as well as in less densely populated areas such as Crane and Scottsburg.

Intelliplex, Shelbyville. "As we create new technologies at our research universities, those technologies will evolve into viable businesses located at these technology parks," said Robert Carmony, director of marketing for Intelliplex, a fiber-optic technology park in Shelbyville that opened in fall 2004. "These parks also provide a reason for people with a higher education to stay in Indiana upon graduation."

Currently, there are only a handful of entities at the park: Indiana Wesleyan University (a satellite campus that offers undergraduate and postgraduate courses to the community), Benesse Oncology Center, and Makuta Technics (a life-sciences firm that micromolds parts for medical diagnostic devices). Intelliplex will soon open a public videoconferencing center. "We are also sponsored by Purdue University through the Technical Assistance Program (TAP)," Carmony says. The park's proximity to both Cincinnati and Indianapolis is an advantage, too.

All amenities at Intelliplex have already been installed, including the fiber-optic system, the streets, the walking trials, the retention ponds and the irrigation system. "We also have a Nortel telecommunications system in place for future tenants to use," Carmony states.

Ameriplex at the Crossroads, Merrillville. Ameriplex at the Crossroads in Merrillville is a joint venture between the Purdue Research Foundation and Holladay Properties "to implement a mixed-usage development of corporate offices, industrial facilities, retail and educational buildings," says Kathy DeGuilio-Fox, business development manager of the park, which received certification status in January.

"I'm most excited about the development of potential new industry, new jobs, new technology and new opportunities for professionals and graduates to work for these companies," says DeGuilioFox, who is affiliated with the park's incubator, Purdue Technology Center. "These parks should increasingly add to the economy of Indiana." Among the cutting-edge businesses located at Ameriplex at the Crossroads are HealthCall (which develops automated patient-response information technology for the healthcare industry) and Brogan Pharmaceuticals (which is focused on the development and commercialization of pharmaceutical and biological products for treating and diagnosing disease).

Currently, there are 17 technology-based companies in the park. "We are also the first satellite of the Purdue Technology Center, which has been in operation in West Lafayette since the 1960s," DeGuilio-Fox notes. Some of the companies in the park have been linked to Indiana University (both the Bloomington and Gary campuses) and the University of Notre Dame. "We've also had student interns from Purdue in West Lafayette and Calumet, and from Valparaiso University," DeGuilio-Fox says. There are also a number of faculty affiliations from schools around the state.

Northeast Indiana Innovation Center, Fort Wayne. "Many of the other certified technology parks use existing space as their park. But in our case, we are primarily building a park from scratch," says Karl LaPan, president and CEO of Northeast Indiana Innovation Center in Fort Wayne. The 55-acre technology park is adjacent to Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne and an Ivy Tech Community College campus.

Within the park is the first building, which opened a year ago September and acts as a business incubator focused on both the biosciences and diversified technologies. The incubator also has an approved quality management standard of ISO 9001:2000. "I don't think there is another park in the country that has the...