The developers of a public-private research lab involving the University of Illinois are expected to break ground on its headquarters in Chicago.
UI Labs said in a news release that officials involved with the project will break ground Thursday on the Goose Island facility.
UI Labs project is intended to link the University of Illinois, the city of Chicago and the state's government and major companies.
The headquarters and UI Labs' new Digital Manufacturing and Design Innovation Institute will include digital-manufacturing space, classrooms and meeting rooms.
The lab's planners have said they hope it becomes Chicago's version of Bell Labs, where the laser and the transistor were developed.