The James Dyson Foundation has, for the third year in a row, recognized the problem-solving skills of Waterloo Nanotechnology Engineering (NE) graduates. This year, three Waterloo companies were selected in the first stage of the James Dyson Award competition judging process. Two of them, Medella Health and Arylla, were founded by NE graduates.
Congratulations to Medella Health, co-founded by NE graduate Huayi Gao, Waterloo Science graduate Maarij Baig, and former Science and Business student Harry Gandhi, for winning the 2016 National James Dyson Award for Canada. This award, for developing a contact lens that will revolutionize how diabetics monitor their blood sugar, put them in competition with 109 other finalists for the International James Dyson Award, including these Waterloo start-ups:
- Arylla, a Velocity Science company founded by NE graduates Perry Everett, Benjamin Rasera and Graham Thomas. Arylla was recognized for its anti-counterfeit technology that can be used in the battle against food fraud. It includes a biocompatible ink that the seller can use to mark their goods and a mobile app that consumers can use to validate the authenticity of goods before purchase.
- Penta Medical, founded by Waterloo Biomedical Sciences student Alexa Roeper. Penta Medical was honoured for its athletic technology, which provides non-invasive treatment for musculoskeletal injuries and conditions.
In the second stage of the judging process, Medella Health was identified as one of the International Top 20 entries and shortlisted for the International James Dyson Award. Dyson will announce the International award winner later this month.
The James Dyson Award is an international student design competition. Entrants must submit a product or concept that solves a problem and works better than available solutions. Dyson recognizes significant, practical and environmentally responsible inventions that have the potential to be commercially viable.
Companies formed by Nanotechnology Engineering grads have had good success in recent Dyson award competitions:
In 2015, Voltera was the first Canadian company to win the top award. Voltera invented a custom circuit board printer that enables rapid prototyping and dramatically reduces delays by using conductible inks.
In 2014, Waterloo startup Suncayr was the first Canadian team to be shortlisted for the International prize. The Suncayr team developed a sunscreen marker that changes colour to indicate when sunscreen needs to be reapplied.
Read the full story about this year’s winners.