Eight Entrepreneurs in the U.S., Perú, and Uganda Selected as Finalists for Premier Social Innovation Accelerator, Held Virtually July 19-27

Access to clean water, affordable healthcare and agricultural technology, and clean energy solutions among issues addressed by 2022 ASME ISHOW finalists
 
                                                                                                                             
NEW YORK (July 18, 2022) – The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) has announced the regional finalists of the 2022 ASME Innovation Showcase (ISHOW), the prestigious international accelerator of hardware-led social innovation. Eight teams of social innovators in the U.S., Perú, and Uganda will present their design prototypes and participate in an extensive design and engineering review in a virtual event beginning July 19. Three regional winners will be announced in a virtual awards ceremony on Wednesday, July 27 at 2 p.m. EST. Register here.
The ISHOW USA finalists, whose innovations address issues including access to clean water, affordable healthcare and agricultural technologies, and clean energy solutions, will vie for a share of $30,000 in seed grants and technical support to help bring their design innovations to market for the benefit of underserved communities. Judges and facilitators include experts in research, mechanical engineering and product design, manufacturing, software development, startup financing, supply chain, and business strategy.   
The regional finalists are:

 

• Aprovecho Research Center (Cottage Grove, Ore., U.S.) for its “Jet-Flame” technology – a forced-draft accessory for biomass cooking stoves to help families that cook with wood dramatically improve their cooking experience at a low cost by enhancing their existing stove to reduce harmful smoke up to 89%, make the fire easier to light and control, and decrease fuel use
• Gencores Inc. (Boston, Mass., U.S.) for its “Composite Metamaterials” – novel material technologies for ultra-light vehicles
• GenH (Boston, Mass., U.S.) for its “Adaptive Hydro™” solution – a first-in-class, rapidly deployable, modular hydropower system designed to electrify non-powered dams and canal heads without construction or investment in fixed infrastructure
• Hale-Link, Inc. (Lima, Perú) for its “Resp-IoT” solution – an IoT-enabled hardware system that monitors respiratory rate, heart rate and oxygen saturation of outpatients located in rural areas, providing remote surveillance over a 3G network, and alerting clinicians for a timely medical response in case of high-risk events
• LivingWaters Systems (Hoboken, N.J., U.S.) for “The LivingWaters System” – a portable, low-cost rainwater harvesting system to ensure refugees and off-grid families have access to renewable, clean water at their doorstep
• Social Impact Designs LLC (Provo, Utah, U.S.) for “The Farmer’s Peeler” – designed to peel cassava root, a staple food for 500 million people, in a safe, cost-effective, and efficient way; Up to five times faster than hand peeling, it fits within existing infrastructure and can help raise farm communities out of poverty.
• Takataka Plastics (Gulu, Uganda) for its “U-Recycle” innovation – small and medium-scale affordable plastic recycling machines made in Uganda that empower local entrepreneurs to transform plastic waste into desirable products and create jobs for vulnerable youth
• Wayru Perú (Lima, Perú) for its “Wayru Portable Shower” – Made for families without access to a public water network, the design functions without any electrical or pipe connection, is portable and multifunctional for washing hands, clothes, and showering with less than 10 liters.

 
“We are proud to offer a forum for engineering problem-solving that truly improves lives,” says ASME Executive Director/CEO Tom Costabile. “We are continually impressed by the creative talent of ASME ISHOW participants and their passion for helping underserved communities around the world.”

ASME Chief Strategy Officer Michael Johnson will welcome attendees to the ISHOW USA virtual awards ceremony on July 27.

In addition to the three regional winners, the product with the most votes in social media for each regional event will be named the “Fan Favorite,’’ and those finalists will receive $1,000 each. Follow @ASMEishow on Twitter for more details. The fan favorite prize is made possible and in memory of Byron G. Schieber Jr. M.S., PE, Professor Emeritus QCCNY, and Ruth L. Schieber. 
 

ASME hosted ISHOW India online in May and ISHOW Kenya in June. 

The prestigious ASME ISHOW hardware accelerator is open to individuals and organizations taking physical products to market that will have a positive social and/or environmental impact and that improve the quality of life around the world. To date, ISHOW has enabled over 200 startups from more than 30 countries to solve critical quality-of-life challenges for vulnerable populations worldwide. ISHOW alumni have developed affordable devices to address issues including clean combustion, crop threshing, fetal health, food waste prevention, health diagnostics, safe drinking water, and many more that address the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.

ASME ISHOW annually matches 24 carefully selected innovators with appropriate experts to ensure that the proposed hardware solutions are technologically, environmentally, culturally, and financially sustainable. ASME’s panel of judges and experts includes successful entrepreneurs, academics, engineers, designers, investors, and industry representatives from leading organizations in India, Kenya, the United States, and beyond. These subject matter experts provide technical and strategic guidance based on ISHOW’s four key pillars: customer/user knowledge, hardware validation, manufacturing optimization, and implementation strategy.

ASME is grateful to The Lemelson Foundation for its continued support of the ISHOW with a three-year strategic investment and to ISHOW implementation partners around the globe. Learn more about ISHOW’s global impact in this dynamic dashboard.

Hear from the ISHOW 2021 cohort about their experiences. Follow the journeys of ISHOW alumni including PayGo Energy, PlenOptika, Himalayan Rocket Stove, SAYeTECH and others here.
 
      @ASMEISHOW  #ISHOW22  #ThisIsHardware
 
About ASME
ASME helps the global engineering community develop solutions to real world challenges. Founded in 1880 as the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, ASME is a not-for-profit professional organization that enables collaboration, knowledge sharing, and skill development across all engineering disciplines, while promoting the vital role of the engineer in society. ASME codes and standards, publications, conferences, continuing education, and professional development programs provide a foundation for advancing technical knowledge and a safer world. In 2020, ASME formed the International Society of Interdisciplinary Engineers (ISIE) LLC, a new for-profit subsidiary to house business ventures that will bring new and innovative products, services, and technologies to the engineering community, and later established the holding company, Global Knowledge Solutions LLC. In 2021, ASME launched a second for-profit subsidiary, Metrix Connect LLC, an industry events and content platform to accelerate digital transformation in the engineering community and an agent for the Mechanical Engineering® brand of media products. For more information, visit www.asme.org.


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About the ASME Foundation
The ASME Foundation is the philanthropic arm of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, supporting an array of programs in three core pillars: engineering education, career engagement, and global development. With the goal of empowering tomorrow's technical workforce, the ASME Foundation advances equitable access both to professional opportunities and to engineering innovations that improve quality of life.  For more information, visit www.asmefoundation.org.
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