SI Core and Affiliate Faculty receive Accelerator Award

The Keenan Center for Entrepreneurship has bestowed its annual Accelerator Awards for 2022. Among the recipients are several Ohio State Sustainability Institute core and affiliated faculty, honored for their intensive research work.

• Judit Puskas, Department of Food, Agricultural and Biological Engineering and SI core faculty member, created the Buckeye COVID Mask, a recyclable face covering that has actually shown to function better than many current disposable ones, especially in the areas of comfort, moisture absorption, and impeded breathing. Funding will go towards the creation and testing of more prototype masks at facilities for meat processing.
• Pelagia-Irene (Perena) Gouma, Department of Materials Science & Engineering and SI affiliated faculty member, has been researching standard electrospinning, a manufacturing process on the nano level. The team will put the award toward designing and commercialization of the prototype.
• Yael Vodovotz, Department of Food Science and Technology and SI affiliated faculty member, is tackling the issue of single-use plastics. Vodovotz developed a “bio-based blend of polymers” to substitute for food wrappers and similar plastics. Funding will assist in scaling up without risk and manufacturing.
• Alper Yilmaz, Department of Civil, Environmental and Geodetic Engineering and SI affiliated faculty member, is working with the Wexner Medical Center to advance technology that detects strokes sooner and more accurately, both within and outside of hospital setting. The money received will go towards market research and establishment of a mobile app to pair with the process.

Congratulations to these and the other award winners. For the full list of Accelerator Awards, visit the Keenan Center for Entrepreneurship website.