Science in the Midwest

The Midwest region is dominated by farming and agriculture

The Chicago Office covers the area called the "Corn belt". Midwestern economy is driven by its farming (1/3 of the American production) and food production (40% of the American DNP, with such companies as Cargill, ADM, Conagra) ; but it is also driven by metallurgy, and by the automobile, electronic and pharmaceutical industries. Many large bioscience companies are located in the Midwest: Monsanto, Pioneer, Abbott, Baxter, Lilly, etc.

In the Midwest, R&D mostly takes place in the laboratories of private companies, within public or private universities, and in national laboratories or USDA laboratories.

The Midwest boasts many universities : about 40 colleges and universities in Illinois only.

Characteristics of the Universities in the Midwest

Many are land-grant universities (ie granted with state lands at their foundation) : Iowa State University, University of Missouri at Columbia, University of Wisconsin at Madison, Purdue University, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Michigan State University,...

The quality of the universities’ schools of engineering and agriculture is world-class, as is the quality of their biotechnological centers and medical schools.

Their role in regional economic development and in technology transfer, the efficiency of each college’s "career services", and the importance of continuing and distance education attest to the universities’ close relationship with their region’s economic sector.

Research and Innovation in the Midwest