Princeton University opens new lab led by Indian American

- ADVERTISEMENT -

The Princeton Innovation Center BioLabs, led by Indian American Nishta Rao, was inaugurated at a ribbon cutting ceremony on Thursday, May 17, which was attended by than 100 representatives from Princeton University, the town of Plainsboro, local industries and the center’s first tenant companies.

The lab 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 and the facility is designed to encourage collaboration, with shared work areas and many types of meeting spaces where scientists and entrepreneurs can share techniques and spark new ideas.

“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,” Princeton President Christopher L. Eisgruber said in a press release.

“Princeton Innovation Center BioLabs is one of several initiatives designed to strengthen the innovation ecosystem in central New Jersey and thereby expand the impact of Princeton’s teaching and research,” he continued.

“We hope that continued partnerships will foster an innovation community that has the potential to catalyze pathbreaking 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 added.

The 31,000-square-foot entrepreneurial hub is located just three miles away from the Princeton campus and includes fully equipped 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.

Two businesses have already started working there, and two more will start June 1, said Nishta Rao, director of Princeton Innovation Center BioLabs. Five more companies have had their applications accepted.