Important dates
IIN Innovation Awards
Aug. 18, 2022
3 p.m.
Orr Building, Illinois State Fairgrounds
Application/Nomination deadline
Aug. 1, 2022
IIN Innovation Awards
The IIN Innovation Awards celebrate advances in research, technology commercialization and education across the IIN’s 15 hubs. Faculty awards will be presented in multiple categories, and student awards will be given in an open competition.
Applications and nominations are now open for the 2022 awards.
How to participate
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Apply for the 2022 IIN Innovation Awards -
Nominate someone who has achieved a major innovation in their field -
Register to attend the 2022 IIN Innovation Awards
Innovation Awards
The 2022 IIN Innovation Awards will be presented on Thursday, Aug. 18, at 3 p.m. on the Orr Building’s main stage at the Illinois State Fairgrounds. The event will be part of the Tech Prairie STEAM Expo being held in the Orr Building from Aug. 17-21.
All applications and nominations must be submitted by midnight on Aug. 1, 2021. Finalists will be announced on Aug. 10, 2022. Award recipients will be asked to provide a brief explanation of their innovation at the award event on Aug. 18.
Awards will be given to faculty, scientists, and staff employed by the IIN hubs in five different categories, along with an open category for IIN student innovators.
Award categories
Faculty/scientists/staff
- Computing and data
- Environment and water
- Food and agriculture
- Health and wellness
- Open
IIN member institution students
- All topics
High school students
- All topics
Judging Rubric
Submissions will be evaluated on the following criteria:
- Novelty – 30%
- Impact on society & field – 30%
- Feasibility – 30%
- Support of IIN principles – 10%
Non-confidential and public disclosure
Information provided in the application may not be held in confidence and is not protected by a confidentiality agreement. Application details will be shared with a panel of judges. Please provide only information you are comfortable sharing with the public. Further, intellectual property information provided may or may not meet public disclosure thresholds.
More about public disclosures from USPTO
Contact
Bruce Sommer
bsomm2@uis.edu
2021 IIN Innovation Award winners
Environment & Water Category
Kenneth B. Anderson, director of the Advanced Coal and Energy Research Center and professor of geochemistry, Southern Illinois University Carbondale
Food & Agriculture Category
Girish Chowdhary, director of the Distributed Autonomous Systems Laboratory and Donald Biggar Willet Faculty Fellow at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), and co-founder and chief technology officer of EarthSense
Health & Wellness Category
Aadeel Akhtar, founder of PSYONIC
Elizabeth Gaillard, professor of chemistry and biological sciences, Northern Illinois University
Teams (Other Category)
SHIELD – Target, Test, Tell, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Student Innovator of the Year
Alex Kosyakov, UIUC
Nelson Fernandes, SIUC
Learn more about all the recipients here.