Comsol brought together the winners of the 2017 Create the Future Design Contest at a reception in New York City last Friday. Comsol has been a sponsor of the Design the Future contest for the past 12 years.
“We congratulate this year’s winners and commend all of the entrants for their participation and efforts,” said Bernt Nilsson, senior vice president of marketing for Comsol. “The Create the Future Design Contest inspires innovators to bring their products to market and gain recognition worldwide. This year’s entries continued to push the limits of technology."
Together with Mouser and Tech Briefs Media Group, Comsol awarded the $20,000 grand prize to a team from Cornell University and Dimensional Energy of Ithaca, N.Y., for developing “HI-Light” Solar Thermal Chemical Reactor, which uses proprietary nanotechnology in a process that mimics plant photosynthesis, which is said to cost-efficiently convert waste carbon dioxide into a valuable, clean liquid fuel. The design team includes Xiangkun (Elvis) Cao, Jessica Akemi Cimada da Silva, David Erickson, Tobias Hanrath, Jason Salfi and Clayton Poppe.
HI-Light was among 1,150 new product ideas submitted in the 15th annual design contest, which was established in 2002 to recognize and reward engineering innovations that benefit humanity, the environment, and the economy.
According to Comsol, the Create the Future Design Contest brings attention to product designs that enhance quality of life, improve the efficiency and quality of healthcare, and help to reduce dependence on nonrenewable energy sources. Finalists in seven categories receive a computer and recognition in Tech Briefs magazine's November 2017 issue.
