2026 Alumni Innovation Award Recipient
Joe Han
BSc ’06, Science and Business
Joe Han is an entrepreneur and investor whose career has centered on identifying emerging scientific opportunities and translating them into new technologies, companies and products. Beginning in 2011, through his involvement with multiple venture capital firms, he was an early investor in frontier-technology companies including D-Wave, General Fusion, Kindred AI, IonQ, and SEEQC. His early involvement with D-Wave led him into quantum computing and subsequently to co-found 1QBit, one of the earliest companies focused on developing software and applications for quantum computers, with work spanning finance, energy and healthcare.
In 2019, Joe brought the same science-driven approach to a very different field by founding Labudio Distillery, applying experimentation, analytical methods and product development to beverage innovation. Labudio received two Gold Awards at the 2025 International Spirits Challenge, while Joe’s work also led to research published in the Journal of Food Composition and Analysis. Across deep technology and consumer industries, Joe has consistently worked at the intersection of scientific discovery, entrepreneurship and commercialization — reflecting the interdisciplinary spirit of Waterloo’s Science and Business program.