The annual Ignition Awards honor innovative BU projects that are ready to make the move toward commercialization, from the research phase to consumer use.
Given by BU Technology Development within the University’s Office of Research, the awards come with financial backing, as well as a dedicated advisory committee to provide expertise, mentoring, and oversight to help projects navigate any commercialization challenges.
“The program highlights BU’s role as a growing innovation hub and serves as a bridge between academic discovery and real-world solutions,” says Melinda Shockley, BU’s executive director of faculty entrepreneurship. “What really excites me is seeing how the project teams bring fresh thinking from different backgrounds and departments across the University—chemistry, engineering, business, medicine, data science—to solve critical, real-world problems.”
The ENG faculty honored:
Michael Albro (ME, MSE) and Mark Grinstaff, (BME, MSE) for Engineered Cartilage and Long-Term Tissue Repair
Ayse Coskun, (ECE, SE), for Energy Efficient Data Centers
Ji-Xin Cheng, (ECE) for A New Way to View Tiny Particles
John Ngo, (BME) for Targeted mRNA Therapies
Selim Ünlü, (ECE) for More Efficient, Higher Quality Tissue Imaging
Jörg Werner, (ME, MSE) for Fast-Charging, High-Energy Batteries