At the eighth annual Alaska Airlines Environmental Innovation Challenge (EIC) on March 31, two teams with UW EE students received “Judges Also Really Liked” awards. Out of a total of 23 teams from seven universities throughout Washington state, six teams included UW EE students.
Held at Seattle Center, the competition encourages student teams to present business ideas that positively impact the environment. More than 150 judges, many from large corporations like Microsoft, evaluated the teams, awarding a total of $36,000 to winning teams.
The following two teams, which include UW EE students, received $1,000 “Judges Also Really Liked” awards.
Aquapel
A patented surface coating technology, Aquapel creates water and oil repellent surfaces. It also cleans away dust particles by controlling the movement of water droplets on surfaces. The Aquapel team includes EE Ph.D. student Di Sun.
Battery Informatics
Battery Informatics’ goal is to become a leader in providing systems for optimal operation of Lithium-ion batteries for electric grids and commercial buildings. The start-up was founded in December 2015 to commercialize technology that originated in the Chemical Engineering and Electrical Engineering Departments at UW. The Battery Informatics team includes Ph.D. student Mushfiqur Sarker.
Congratulations to the other four competing teams that included EE students:
• EC Meeseeks: A low-cost alternative to battery testing instrumentation. Includes EE student Chaoyi Yuan.
• Phase4: An environmentally friendly “filterless filter” for industrial filtration applications. Includes EE student Khang Lee.
• UbiEnergy: A mobile energy harvesting system for use in developing countries. Includes EE student Matthew Fife.
• WT Environtech: A small, cheap and sensitive sensor using UV absorbance and fluorescence methods for frequent online measuring water quality. Includes EE student Dan Guo.
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