A
startup
company
with
deep
roots
at
the
University
of Waterloo won
the
top
prize
in
a
pitch
contest
focused
on
the
use
of
nanomaterials
to
create
or
improve
commercial
products.
AquaSensing,
which
designs
battery-free
water
leak
detection
systems
for
healthcare
and
industrial
applications, took
home
$10,000,
plus
a
spot
in
a
virtual
incubator,
in
the
Nanomaterials
Virtual
Pitch
Contest
staged
by
not-for-profit
NanoOntario
and
CMC
Microsystems,
a
not-for-profit managing
Canada’s
National
Design
Network®.
One
of
the
first
commercial
products
by
AquaSensing
is
an
extremely
low-cost,
battery-free
water
leak
sensor
for
use
in homes
and
condominium
buildings.
The
technology
was
developed
by professors George
Shaker and Norman
Zhou (a
WIN
member),
and
is
being
commercialized
by
a
number
of
Waterloo mechanical
and
mechatronics
engineering
alumni
and
graduate
students
–
Nathan
Johnston,
Nimesh
Kotak,
Ming
Xiao,
Connor
Al-Joundi,
Kushant
Patel,
Mohammad
Rouhi,
Kamalpreet
Kaur and
Simran
Chathanat
–
as
well
as fourth-year
engineering
student
Erin
Roulston.