Innovista is also an urban plan to transform the area bordered by the Congaree River and Assembly, Blossom and Gervais Streets into a "vibrant place" to Live, Learn, Earn and Play in the heart of the city.
The Research University Infrastructure Act provided $58 million originally and another $14 million in additional funding to help finance the construction of the Horizon I and Discovery I buildings, and the Partners Act of 2006 assists high-tech firms and university startups find grant and seed funding.
[3][4] University of South Carolina professor Ken Reifsnider, a member of the National Academy of Engineers and the Scientific Advisory Board for the U.S. Air Force, creates high-performing, lower-cost composite alternatives for aerospace applications.
His work has helped spawn a new Lightning Response Laboratory at the SCRA USC Innovation Center, which will refine the understanding of how modern aircraft and other structures are affected by electrical storms.
With the help of Innovista and leaders from the university and the S.C. Department of Commerce, USC alums Bill and Lou Kennedy are expanding their Florida-based company, Nephron Pharmaceuticals, to the Midlands with a $313 million manufacturing plant in Lexington, South Carolina scheduled for completion in 2014.