Fairfield University School of Engineering had three winners at this year’s statewide 2021 Connecticut New Product Business Competition. The first-place team — Class of 2022's Emre Aydin, Alexander Maier, Bibek Timalsina, Ky Duyen Le, and faculty advisor Isaac Macwan, PhD, assistant professor of biomedical engineering — received a $3,000 award for their product, “Nano-Material for Wound Healing."

Two additional Fairfield teams tied for second place; each received $2,000 awards. Seniors Jenna Madigan, Chloe Stokinger, Clarissa Rotonto, Stephanie Prado, along with faculty advisor and professor of the practice Susan Freudzon, PhD, won for “Robotic Surgical Training Dome.” Vincent Tiernan, Shaun Ormiston, Justin Ormiston, Michael O’Leary, Charles Lewis, Henrique Lopes, and faculty advisor Mehdi Safari, PhD, assistant professor of mechanical engineering, received the award for their product, “Solar Desalinator.”

The Connecticut New Product Business Competition is an annual event open to all Connecticut residents and students. Hosted virtually by the Inventors Association of Connecticut, competing teams had the opportunity to pitch their products for a chance to win a share of $10,000 in encouragement grants. At the pitch, competitors pitched their products during a three-minute presentation and answered questions from the judges about their products and their plans to commercialize. Judging criteria included: whether the product solved a real problem, if the product is superior or cheaper than alternatives or serves a new market niche, target market, knowledge about the industry, and funding.  

Leading the charge and encouraging School of Engineering students to participate in the competition was professor of electrical and biomedical engineering Doug Lyon, PE. Dr. Lyon is a senior project class instructor and president of the the Inventors Association of Connecticut, a non-profit organization that helps Connecticut inventors and entrepreneurs navigate commercial success for their inventions. He believes strongly in the importance of having a viable prototype and a business plan, and instills this in his students. 

In addition to Fairfield engineering students taking top prizes at this November competition, more than $35,000 was awarded in grants during 2021 to a variety of senior engineering product teams. Winners included:

• "Student Software Defined Radio": $1,000 NASA Space Grant (Principal Investigator: Associate Professor of Electrical and Biomedical Engineering Uma Balaji, PhD)
• "Solar Desalinator": $1,000 NASA Space Grant (Principal Investigator: Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering Mehdi Safari, PhD)
• “Java Application Store”: $5,000 CTNext Innovation Grant Program
• "Reticle Inspection": $5,000 CTNext Innovation Grant Program (Principal Investigator: Lecturer Andrew Judge, PhD)
• "Robotic Car": $5,000 CTNext Innovation Grant Program (Principal Investigator: Dr. Lyon)
• "Solar Desalination": $5,000 CTNext Innovation Grant Program (Principal Investigator: Dr. Safari)
• "Surgical Training Device": $5,000 CTNext Innovation Grant Program (Principal Investigator: Dr. Freudzen)
• "Bearing Lubrication": $8,000 from RBC Bearings (Principal Investigator: Professor of the Practice Mechanical Engineering Naser Haghbin, PhD)