/ceae/ en /ceae/2024/11/20/three-department-affiliated-teams-awarded-125k-each-lab-venture-challenge <span>Three department-affiliated teams awarded $125K each in Lab Venture Challenge</span> <span><span>Susan Glairon</span></span> <span><time datetime="2024-11-20T12:57:32-07:00" title="Wednesday, November 20, 2024 - 12:57">Wed, 11/20/2024 - 12:57</time> </span> <div> <div class="imageMediaStyle focal_image_wide"> <img loading="lazy" src="/ceae/sites/default/files/styles/focal_image_wide/public/2024-11/490A75B4-B1B3-40D9-A976-DEB263F9F8DE_1_105_c%5B34%5D.jpeg?h=ddb1ad0c&amp;itok=-duLBk92" width="1200" height="800" alt="Tony. Straub and Kian Lopez hold a very large check in front of a screen that say &quot;Lab Venture Challenge"> </div> </div> <div role="contentinfo" class="container ucb-article-tags" itemprop="keywords"> <span class="visually-hidden">Tags:</span> <div class="ucb-article-tag-icon" aria-hidden="true"> <i class="fa-solid fa-tags"></i> </div> <a href="/ceae/taxonomy/term/153" hreflang="en">Gregor Henze News</a> <a href="/ceae/taxonomy/term/149" hreflang="en">Mark Hernandez News</a> <a href="/ceae/taxonomy/term/117" hreflang="en">News</a> <a href="/ceae/taxonomy/term/254" hreflang="en">anthony straub news</a> </div> <span>Susan Glairon</span> <div class="ucb-article-content ucb-striped-content"> <div class="container"> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--article-content paragraph--view-mode--default"> <div class="ucb-article-text" itemprop="articleBody"> <div><p dir="ltr"><span>Three professors from the&nbsp;</span><a href="/ceae/" rel="nofollow"><span>Department of Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering</span></a><span> were among&nbsp;</span><a href="/venturepartners/2024/10/28/internal-news/1m-awarded-university-colorado-innovators" rel="nofollow"><span>10 teams</span></a><span> of ���ϳԹ� faculty, researchers and graduate student innovators awarded $125,000 each in this year’s&nbsp;</span><a href="/venturepartners/lab-venture-challenge" rel="nofollow"><span>Lab Venture Challenge</span></a><span> (LVC).&nbsp;</span><br><br><span>This year, 14 teams of ���ϳԹ� faculty, researchers and graduate student innovators competed for a combined $1.25 million in startup funding grants. Judges from ���ϳԹ�’s entrepreneurial network heard Shark-Tank-style pitches across two nights, one for innovations in biosciences and another for physical sciences and engineering.</span></p><p dir="ltr"><span>LVC supports projects that address a commercial need, have a clear path to a compelling market and have strong scientific support. The LVC grants are funded by the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade (OEDIT) Advanced Industries Program, as well as Venture Partners at ���ϳԹ� and the Chancellor’s Innovation Fund.&nbsp;</span></p></div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="ucb-article-content ucb-striped-content"> <div class="container"> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--article-content paragraph--view-mode--default 2"> <div class="ucb-article-row-subrow row"> <div class="ucb-article-content-media ucb-article-content-media-left col-lg"> <div> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--media paragraph--view-mode--default"> <div> <div class="imageMediaStyle large_image_style"> <img loading="lazy" src="/ceae/sites/default/files/styles/large_image_style/public/2024-11/Mark%20Hernandes%20LVC.JPG?itok=GTobTg3i" width="1500" height="1000" alt="Mark Hernandez, Emmalee Biesiada and Steve Hughes hold a huge check from the Lab Venture Challenge in front of a screen that says, &quot;Congratulations!&quot;"> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="ucb-article-text col-lg d-flex align-items-center" itemprop="articleBody"> <div><p dir="ltr"><span>Professor&nbsp;</span><a href="/ceae/mark-hernandez" rel="nofollow"><span>Mark Hernandez</span></a><span>, Emmalee Biesiada, a postdoctoral associate in the&nbsp;</span><a href="/faculty/hernandez/lab-services" rel="nofollow"><span>Hernandez Aerobiology Laboratory</span></a><span>, and Steve Hughes, CEO of SteriO3, won in the biosciences division for their work on Peroxide Enhanced Germicidal Irradiation (PEGI) technology, which quickly inactivates microbial contaminants at low temperature. With LVC funding, the team plans to develop compact, portable sterilization systems for medical instruments, including those made with 3D-printed materials.</span></p><p dir="ltr"><span>“I look forward to overseeing the progression of PEGI from the laboratory into real-world applications in emergency medicine,” Biesiada said.</span></p><p dir="ltr"><span>The team envisions the portable sterilization technology being used by emergency medical technicians and paramedics, as well as by disaster response agencies like the Red Cross. Biesiada, who developed the technology during her doctoral studies at ���ϳԹ�, said the team has also been in communication with Army and Navy groups interested in using PEGI for surgical instrument sterilization in combat field medicine. </span>Additionally, the technology has potential applications in veterinary medicine for on-site treatment of animals that cannot be easily transported to a clinic, she said.&nbsp;</p></div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="ucb-article-content ucb-striped-content"> <div class="container"> <div class="paragraph paragraph--type--article-content paragraph--view-mode--default 3"> <div class="ucb-article-row-subrow row"> <div class="ucb-article-text col-lg d-flex align-items-center" itemprop="articleBody"> <div><p dir="ltr"><span>Professor&nbsp;</span><a href="/ceae/gregor-p-henze" rel="nofollow"><span>Gregor Henze</span></a><span>, along with Galen Williams and Gerry Conroy, received the award for Whisper Energy, a wireless, battery-free sensor fusion platform tailored for small to medium-sized commercial buildings. Using radio frequency identification (RFID) technology and machine learning, Whisper Energy aims to significantly reduce energy consumption by providing real-time data to optimize energy use and reduce emissions. Developed with a $2 million&nbsp;</span><a href="https://arpa-e.energy.gov/" rel="nofollow"><span>ARPA-E</span></a><span> grant, the technology promises cost-effective sensing of occupancy and indoor environmental conditions, low-cost energy and emission savings in buildings that have been historically difficult to retrofit.</span></p><p dir="ltr"><spa