After receiving a record-breaking 156 applications, Chain Reaction Innovations (CRI) evaluated 35 semifinalists during five days of semifinal pitch competition webinars. Now 15 teams of innovators will be vying for a spot in CRI’s Cohort 4 at the CRI Finals Pitch Competition, 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday, February 18, 2020 at Argonne National Laboratory.
These finalists will be presenting their science and energy innovation ideas:
Session 1: Energy Storage (9:14am-10:50am/CST)
Shun Wan | Advanced Additive Manufacturing Techniques for Fabricating Li-Ion Microbatteries
Christopher Passolano | Si-Based Rechargeable Batteries
Cesar Villa | High Energy Nanocomposite Materials for Energy Storage
Daniel Vissers | A Safe, Affordable Ultra-High-Density Battery
Session 2: Quantum Computing and Thermal Management (11:00am-12:12pm/CST)
Carol Scarlett | Chip Scale, Quantum Random Number Generator
Pranav Gokhale | Quantum Algorithms for Current-Generation Quantum Computers for Grid Optimization, Molecular Simulation and Machine Learning
Siddique Ali Khateeb Razack | Lightweight, Very High Thermal Conductivity Phase Change Composite Material for Heat Sink and Thermal Management Applications
Session 3: Sustainable Materials (1:00pm-2:36pm/CST)
Robert Gustafson | Thin-Film Tandem Solar Panels
Margaret Kocherga | Materials for Single-Layer OLEDs
Matthew Ackerman | High Operating Temperature Infrared Photodetector Array for Machine Learning
Arsheen Allam | Low-Cost Innovative Graphene Solutions
Session 4: Advanced Manufacturing and Innovative Processes (2:50pm-4:30pm)
Karin Calvinho | Waste Carbon Dioxide to Plastics
AbdulRaheem Bello | Associated Gas Power Generator
Kamran Forghani | Next-Generation GaN Electronics on Lab-Grown Diamond for Energy Efficiency and Intelligent Connectivity
Jonathan Logan | Acoustic Leak Detection Systems
This is the final round in an annual call for entries in selecting the innovators to be embedded at Argonne National Laboratory from 2020 – 2022 to develop their technologies. CRI also connects innovators with organizations throughout the Chicago energy ecosystem to mentor these innovators in entrepreneurship and business.
CRI’s Scientific Review Board have been involved with the review of applications; the finals will have a number of CRI’s Advisory Council members and other industry experts on the review panel.
The event is open to the public with advance registration required. The event can also be viewed via livestream
Chain Reaction Innovations provides innovators with the laboratory tools, seed capital, and technical, business and manufacturing expertise needed to rapidly mature their early-stage technologies to enable them to attract the long-term capital and commercial partners needed to scale and launch into the marketplace. CRI is part of the Lab-Embedded Entrepreneurship Programs supported by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE). EERE created the Lab-Embedded Entrepreneurship Programs to provide an institutional home for innovative postdoctoral researchers to build their research into products and train to be entrepreneurs. The two-year program for each innovator is funded by EERE’s Advanced Manufacturing Office (AMO).
The Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy supports early-stage research and development of energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies to strengthen U.S. economic growth, energy security, and environmental quality.
