Industrial Automation Magazine India

ASME announces launch of Idea Lab, Celebrates award winners at Fifth Annual Impact.Engineered Event

Published on : Monday 06-12-2021

Impact.Engineered Awards recognise innovators and influencers in the sustainable development ecosystem who are helping to improve life in underserved communities.

New York (December 2021) – The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME)'s Engineering for Change (E4C) recently hosted its fifth annual Impact.Engineered, a celebration of the sustainable development ecosystem that convenes leading engineers, philanthropists, scholars, and social entrepreneurs who are working to achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030 and improve the quality of life globally. Event highlights included the launch of the Idea Lab incubator, extending the reach of the ASME Innovation Showcase (ISHOW) hardware accelerator platform, and the announcement of the winners of the 2021 Impact.Engineered Awards.

With the addition of the Idea Lab incubator, ASME moves "upstream" to aid budding social entrepreneurs in developing and implementing their social impact hardware concepts from the pre-prototype stage and filling the pipeline for future ISHOW participants. The prestigious ISHOW international accelerator of hardware-led social innovation has enabled over 180 startups from more than 30 countries to solve critical quality-of-life challenges for underserved communities worldwide. The 2021 ISHOW cohort exhibited their innovations in the event's virtual Tech Gallery.

Keith Roe, former president of ASME and current chair of the philanthropy committee, made the Idea Lab announcement and, with his wife Elizabeth "Brownie" Roe, donated $100,000 to help launch the program. They invite others to join them in investing in Idea Lab, "so life changing innovations don't get stalled on the drawing board." Applications will open in April 2022 and interested individuals and teams, as well as potential partners and mentors, can learn more at https://thisishardware.org/ideas.

Kara Miller, The Boston Globe columnist and former host of public radio's "Innovation Hub," emceed the Impact.Engineered virtual awards ceremony featuring the "best of the best" in five categories. This year's winners are:

For the Ecosystem Builder award:

Bahaa Eddine Sarroukh, healthcare innovation lead at the Philips Foundation and senior advisor on innovation and technology to the UN Development Programme in Kenya
 

For the Woman Champion: Powering Impact award:

Carol Dahl, former executive director of The Lemelson Foundation – whose mission is to use the power of invention to improve lives.

For the Academic Ally award:

The Pennsylvania State University College of Engineering – an acknowledgment of the important role that partnerships play in the future of engineering and the next generation of leaders and the visionary academic institutions like Penn State that are pushing the boundaries of pedagogy and research.
 

For the Impact Driver award:

The Autodesk Foundation – supporting the innovators and entrepreneurs tackling the world's most pressing challenges through design and engineering.

For the Change Maker award (nominated and selected by online vote of event participants):

Curabit – a startup company leveraging technology to change the way mental health is addressed in India, providing exposure therapy via virtual reality to those affected by mental health disorders under the supervision of mental health professionals.

 
Impact.Engineered is made possible by sponsors and partners including The ASME Foundation, The Resolution Project, Siemens Stiftung, and Wingu.