NEW YORK (July 27, 2022) – The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) has announced the regional winners of the 2022 ASME Innovation Showcase ( ISHOW), the prestigious international accelerator of hardware-led social innovation. Eight finalist teams of social innovators from the U.S., Perú, and Uganda presented their design prototypes in a virtual event held June 19-27. Three entrepreneurs emerged as regional winners who will share $30,000(USD) in seed grants and receive technical support to help bring their design innovations to market. They were announced earlier today in a virtual awards ceremony that featured keynote remarks by Vidyut Mohan, co-founder and CEO of Takachar, Echoing Green Fellow, Earthshot Prize winner, and 2019 ISHOW finalist.

The 2022 ASME ISHOW USA winners are:

• GenH (Boston, Mass., U.S.) for its “Adaptive Hydro™” solution – a first-in-class, rapidly deployable, modular hydropower system designed to electrify non-powered dams and canal heads without construction or investment in fixed infrastructure
• LivingWaters Systems (Hoboken, N.J., U.S.) for “The LivingWaters System” – a portable, low-cost rainwater harvesting system to ensure refugees and off-grid families have access to renewable, clean water at their doorstep
• Wayru Perú (Lima, Perú) for its “Wayru Portable Shower” – Made for families without access to a public water network, the design functions without any electrical or pipe connection, is portable and multifunctional for washing hands, clothes, and showering with less than 10 liters.

“Social enterprises, now more than ever, need the support of the global impact community,” says Iana Aranda, director of ASME’s Engineering Global Development sector that houses ISHOW. “Social entrepreneurs around the world, including many ISHOW ventures, are on the frontlines of crisis response and the advancement of the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals. We are aggressively focused on providing these innovators with accessible platforms for capacity building, expert engagement and co-design of scaling strategies suited for today’s dynamic markets. Ensuring their success is of paramount importance.”

In addition to the three grand prize winners, the product with the most votes in social media for each regional event is named the “Fan Favorite,” and receives $1,000 (USD). This prize is made possible and in memory of Byron G. Schieber Jr. M.S., PE, Professor Emeritus QCCNY, and Ruth L. Schieber. The 2022 ISHOW USA “Fan Favorite” winner is Wayru Perú (Lima, Perú) for its “Wayru Portable Shower” solution.

More information on the ISHOW USA 2022 finalists can be found on the ASME ISHOW website. ASME hosted ISHOW India online in May and a virtual ISHOW Kenya in June. 

The prestigious ASME ISHOW hardware accelerator is open to individuals and organizations taking physical products to market that will have a positive social and/or environmental impact and that improve the quality of life around the world. To date, ISHOW has enabled over 200 startups from more than 30 countries to solve critical quality-of-life challenges for vulnerable populations worldwide. ISHOW alumni have developed affordable devices to address issues including clean combustion, crop threshing, fetal health, food waste prevention, health diagnostics, safe drinking water, and many more that address the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.

ASME ISHOW annually matches 24 carefully selected innovators with appropriate experts to ensure that the proposed hardware solutions are technologically, environmentally, culturally, and financially sustainable. ASME’s panel of judges and experts includes successful entrepreneurs, academics, engineers, designers, investors, and industry representatives from leading organizations in India, Kenya, the United States, and beyond. These subject matter experts provide technical and strategic guidance based on ISHOW’s four key pillars: customer/user knowledge, hardware validation, manufacturing optimization, and implementation strategy.

ASME is grateful to The Lemelson Foundation for its continued support of the ISHOW with a three-year strategic investment and to ISHOW implementation partners around the globe. Learn more about ISHOW’s global impact in this dynamic dashboard.

Hear from the ISHOW 2021 cohort about their experiences. Follow the journeys of ISHOW alumni including PayGo Energy, PlenOptika, Himalayan Rocket Stove, SAYeTECH and others here.

      @ASMEISHOW  #ISHOW22  #ThisIsHardware 
 

About ASME
ASME helps the global engineering community develop solutions to real world challenges. Founded in 1880 as the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, ASME is a not-for-profit professional organization that enables collaboration, knowledge sharing, and skill development across all engineering disciplines, while promoting the vital role of the engineer in society. ASME codes and standards, publications, conferences, continuing education, and professional development programs provide a foundation for advancing technical knowledge and a safer world. In 2020, ASME formed the International Society of Interdisciplinary Engineers (ISIE) LLC, a new for-profit subsidiary to house business ventures that will bring new and innovative products, services, and technologies to the engineering community, and later established the holding company, Global Knowledge Solutions LLC. In 2021, ASME launched a second for-profit subsidiary, Metrix Connect LLC, an industry events and content platform to accelerate digital transformation in the engineering community and an agent for the Mechanical Engineering® brand of media products. For more information, visit  www.asme.org. 

@ASMEdotorg 

About the ASME Foundation
The ASME Foundation is the philanthropic arm of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, supporting an array of programs in three core pillars: engineering education, career engagement, and global development. With the goal of empowering tomorrow's technical workforce, the ASME Foundation advances equitable access both to professional opportunities and to engineering innovations that improve quality of life.  For more information, visit  www.asmefoundation.org.

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