Cambridge Science Park is poised for significant advancements in technology and infrastructure as it prepares to submit a new masterplan this year. The park serves as a base for new innovation and continuing investment, with more than 100 active companies located on the 150-acre campus. Among them are promising translational tech firms such as FlexEnable and Owlstone Medical. Dr. Paul Cain, CEO of FlexEnable, foresees his company’s flexible plastic lenses as being the technology that finally cracks smart glasses within the next two years. This is an amazing breakthrough in wearable technology.
The park is the largest employer in the state, directly employing more than 7,000 people. It’s not only a locomotive for technological advancement, it’s a catalyst for local economic advancement. The anticipated wave of new companies after the masterplan submission serves to further reinforce this growth. Jane Hutchins, director of Cambridge Science Park, Jane’s future looks good right now and she knows it. All that investment going into the park—she says that makes her “incredibly optimistic” about 2026.
FlexEnable’s new approach promises to overcome this key barrier to mass adoption of wearable technology. As you can imagine, many smart glasses are still extremely large,” Dr. Cain said, calling for sleeker and more comfortable designs. He touted their team’s production of a soft, plastic lens. Measuring just 500 nanometers thick, about the diameter of a human hair, its ability to broadly dim or narrowly focus light proved highly effective. Through new form factors, this technology could lead to even sleeker and more functional smart glasses.
Owlstone Medical is preparing to rollout the second phase of its UK lung cancer trials later this year. At the same time, smart glasses technology is huge leaps and bounds ahead. The company’s true breakthrough seems to have been a recent agreement worth up to $49 million that it won. This collaboration with the United States’ ARPA-H funding agency will accelerate development of its cancer diagnostics technology. Communicating through breath “Our breath has thousands of different chemicals in it,” said Billy Boyle from Owlstone Medical. Even worse, some of these chemicals are precursors for life-threatening diseases, like certain cancers and chronic gastrointestinal illnesses, including irritable bowel syndrome. He added that these screens can be taken by a regular doctor or even at home, highlighting their non-invasive, easy approach.
The rapid development of Cambridge Science Park is not without its challenges. Yet Hutchins does recognize that expansion often produces tensions with local communities. She described the central importance of talented communication. Most importantly, we need to both communicate the benefits and job opportunities that these technological advancements provide, not just to scientists but to society as a whole. Much of that planning flexibility and coordination is best achieved at the local level,” emphasized Janine Machin. She highlighted this tactic as an effective means to address community opposition.
Plans to move sewage treatment works adjacent to Cambridge Science Park have recently been parked. That loss would be a blow to any future residential development badly needed to accommodate the region’s fast-expanding pool of talent. This dynamic creates a double-edged problem as the park forges ahead to become a global hub for new ideas.
Cambridge Science Park is still working to provide the best environment for technical development, while serving the needs of the community. With so many companies on-site drawing billions of dollars in investment, the future is bright not only for local businesses but Louisville’s residents as well.