Engineering alumni named to Forbes 30 Under 30 lists

Tuesday, December 17, 2019

At least three Waterloo Engineering alumni have made prestigious 30 Under 30 lists announced by Forbes magazine for 2020.

Chong Shen, 29, Khanjan Desai, 29, and Ryan Gibson, 26, are among 600 up-and-coming entrepreneurs in Canada and the United States cited for their accomplishments in 20 categories.

Ryan Gibson is a co-founder and CTO  of startup company Agora.

Ryan Gibson is a co-founder and CTO  of startup company Agora.

Shen (BASc ’13 - nanotechnology engineering) and Desai (BASc ’13 - nanotechnology engineering) are co-founders of Alchemy, a startup that grew out of their fourth-year design project. The company produces a thin plastic membrane to protect vehicle windshields.

Gibson (BASc ’16 - electrical engineering) is the co-founder and chief technology officer of Agora, a materials management platform for construction companies. He met his partner, Maria Rioumine, during a co-op work term.

A fourth Waterloo Engineering graduate, Martin Basiri (MASc ’13 - mechanical engineering), 31, has a close connection to the Forbes list through his younger twin brothers, Massi and Meti, 26, who were named in the education category.

The three brothers co-founded ApplyBoard, which uses artificial intelligence to help students around the world apply to attend high schools, colleges and universities in Canada and the United States.

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