Winners Announced for the 2025 Nanotechnology Entrepreneurship Challenge
The National Center for Earth and Environmental Nanotechnology Infrastructure (NanoEarth) hosted the tenth annual NanoTechnology Entrepreneurship Challenge (NTEC) Showcase on May 2, 2025. This year marked the program’s 11th year and the fourth year open to participation from all 16 National Nanotechnology Coordinated Infrastructure (NNCI) sites.
The NTEC program was created by Matthew Hull and launched in 2014 to encourage teams led by college students and postdoctoral scholars to translate nano-enabled solutions to address global sustainability challenges. During the seven-week virtual NTEC Accelerator Program, teams receive mentorship from nanotechnology entrepreneurs and have access to NNCI facilities and staff. They learn how to gauge customer interest in their idea, develop a business model, and create a nanotechnology-enabled minimum viable product (MVP). This year, 31 participants forming 20 teams competed from six NNCI sites.
At the end of the NTEC Accelerator Program, individual teams develop a two minute video summarizing their process and MVP. The videos were shared during the virtual NTEC Showcase, where a group of external panelists assess teams on how well they leveraged their resources to create a business model for an MVP. This year’s panelists included: Ambika Bumb, Deputy Executive Director of the Bipartisan Commission on Biodefense and NNCI External Advisory Board Member; Barry Zhang, Accelerator Founder, VC Investor, and AI Executive and Managing Director at Terravation Labs; Gregory Nichols, Health Studies Operations Manager at Oak Ridge Associated Universities; and Rochitha Nathan, Engineer at WL Gore & Associates.
After hearing from each team, panelists came together to determine the top four teams to send to the TechConnect World Innovation Conference & Expo in Austin, TX. At TechConnect, teams participated in the “2025: Future Innovators – Opportunities and Student/Postdoc Pitch Contest for Emerging Entrepreneurs” session co-organized by Hull and Jeremy Pitts, Managing Director of Activate Houston. In addition to the live pitch contest between the NTEC finalists, the well-attended session included a Future Innovators Panel chaired by Hull and featuring Pitts; Aprille Busch, Executive Director of the NSF Innovation Corps Southwest Hub at the University of Texas at Austin; Gabriel Cossio, CEO and Founder of Nanoscale Labs; Craig Lawrence, Partner at Energy Transition Ventures; and Branden Brough, Senior Advisor for Strategy at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Brough also gave a keynote presentation entitled "Entrepreneurs at DOE National Labs: A Powerful Pairing." The session concluded with a poster session featuring 18 groups of future innovators from around the country.
TechConnect photos courtesy of Alison Kabrich, TechConnect, a Division of Advanced Technology International.
NTEC Finalists and Overall Winners
Anmol L Purohit, Ji Feng, and Almond Lau from the Northwest Nanotechnology Infrastructure (NNI) at the University of Washington achieved first place for “Synthesis of Metal Organic Framework (MOF) particles for removal of short and ultra-short chain PFAS from water”. Igor Novosselov served as the team mentor. As the top team, they received a $1,000 award from Jones-Dilworth, Inc.
Alyssa Charlton, Narges Yousefpour, and Alex Parrott from the Virginia Tech National Center for Earth and Environmental Nanotechnology (NanoEarth) achieved second place for “FIB Fabrication Techniques of Polymer Fiber based Devices for Implantable, Multifunctional Neural Applications”. Jarret Wright, served as the team mentor.
Patrick Opdensteinen, Seongwon (Steve) Jung, and Kyle Lewin from the San Diego Nanotechnology Infrastructure (SDNI) at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) won third place for “Plant-made nanomedicines for accessible and affordable life-saving medication worldwide”. Yves Theriault and Nicole Steinmetz served as mentors for the team.
Gregory Roberts from the Southeastern Nanotechnology Infrastructure Corridor (SENIC) at North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University (N.C. A&T) achieved fourth place for “Light-Energized Smart Bandages for Enhanced Wound Healing”. Shyam Aravamudhan served as the team mentor.
A full list of participating teams and awards is included in the table below.
NTEC is made possible by NSF Award 2100059 for the NNCI Coordinating Office and individual support and resources available at each participating NNCI site.
Find out more about the next call for proposals on our website. If you have any questions, please reach out to Research Professor Matt Hull at mahull@vt.edu.
Award |
Team |
NNCI Site |
Mentor(s) |
NTEC Title |
First Place |
Anmol L Purohit, Ji Feng, Almond Lau |
Northwest Nanotechnology Infrastructure (NNI) |
Igor Novosselov |
Synthesis of Metal Organic Framework (MOF) particles for removal of short and ultra-short chain PFAS from water |
Second Place |
Alyssa Charlton, Narges Yousefpour, Alex Parrott |
Virginia Tech National Center for Earth and Environmental Nanotechnology (NanoEarth) |
Jarret Wright |
FIB Fabrication Techniques of Polymer Fiber based Devices for Implantable, Multifunctional Neural Applications |
Third Place |
Patrick Opdensteinen, Seongwon (Steve) Jung, Kyle Lewin |
San Diego Nanotechnology Infrastructure (SDNI) |
Yves Theriault, Nicole Steinmetz |
Plant-made nanomedicines for accessible and affordable life-saving medication worldwide |
Fourth Place |
Gregory Roberts |
Southeastern Nanotechnology Infrastructure Corridor (SENIC) |
Shyam Aravamudhan |
Light-Energized Smart Bandages for Enhanced Wound Healing |
1st runner up |
Riam Badr |
San Diego Nanotechnology Infrastructure (SDNI) |
Yves Theriault, Drew Hall, Eliah Aranoff Spencer |
Electrochemical Biosensor for Detection and Quantification of Infectious Diseases |
2nd runner up |
Yanan Pan, Yue Yin |
Virginia Tech National Center for Earth and Environmental Nanotechnology (NanoEarth) |
Hongyu Wang |
Sustainable and Cost-Effective Nanotechnology for Critical Mineral Extraction |
Honorable mention |
Kevin Lee, Zach Wylie |
Northwest Nanotechnology Infrastructure (NNI) |
Lilo Pozzo |
High-Power-Density Battery Electrodes for Aviation Electrification |
Honorable mention |
Anjali Kumari, Farbod Ebrahimi |
Southeastern Nanotechnology Infrastructure Corridor (SENIC) |
Kristen Dellinger |
EMBED (Evaluating and Modeling Barriers for EV Delivery) |
“Forged by Fire” |
Gregory Roberts |
Southeastern Nanotechnology Infrastructure Corridor (SENIC) |
Shyam Aravamudhan |
Light-Energized Smart Bandages for Enhanced Wound Healing |
Participant |
Suraj Pavagada |
nano@Stanford |
Gözde Durmuş |
DART-Met: Dynamic AI-Driven Raman Techniques for early detection and monitoring of metabolic liver disorders |
Participant |
Liubov Palchak |
Research Triangle Nanotechnology Network (RTNN) |
Marina Dobrovolskaia, Alexander Kabanov |
Nanolipids with reverse architecture |
Participant |
Hallie Hutsell |
Research Triangle Nanotechnology Network (RTNN) |
Alexander V. Kabanov, Marina A. Dobrovolskaia |
ROS-Responsive Poly(2-Oxazoline) Micelles for Multi-Drug Delivery |
Participant |
Einollah Sarikhani |
San Diego Nanotechnology Infrastructure (SDNI) |
Zeinab Jahed, Yves Theriault |
Targeted intranuclear delivery of genes using nanotechnology |
Participant |
Oreoluwa Alonge |
Southeastern Nanotechnology Infrastructure Corridor (SENIC) |
Sammuel Oliveira |
CardioNanoTech: Combining cardiovascular focus with nanotechnology expertise |
Participant |
Vamsi Satti, Muhammad Hassan Raza |
Southeastern Nanotechnology Infrastructure Corridor (SENIC) |
Shyam Aravamudhan |
Next-Generation Modular Microplasma Reactor for Clean Energy and Recycling |
Participant |
Maurelio Cabo Jr |
Southeastern Nanotechnology Infrastructure Corridor (SENIC) |
Dennis Lajeunesse |
Solubilizing bacterial nanocellulose in reinforced eutectic solvent as a biosemiconductor |
Participant |
Kameron Burton |
Southeastern Nanotechnology Infrastructure Corridor (SENIC) |
Kristen Dellinger |
Smart Multifunctional Designer Particles: AI-Driven, Stimuli-Responsive Nanocomplexes for Therapeutics, Agriculture, and Beyond |
Participant |
Alden Contreras* |
Southeastern Nanotechnology Infrastructure Corridor (SENIC) |
Jeffrey Alston |
Shattering Nanomaterial Synthesis Barriers with Subsurface Laser-Engraved Glass Microreactors |
Participant |
Moonwon Jeon, Jihang Chu |
Virginia Tech National Center for Earth and Environmental Nanotechnology (NanoEarth) |
Sharad Jaswandkar |
Development of Bioactive Glass Nanoparticles for Synergistic Photothermal and Chemotherapy in Cancer Treatment |
Participant |
Vera Bordah |
Virginia Tech National Center for Earth and Environmental Nanotechnology (NanoEarth) |
Bahareh Behkam |
Living Biosensor for Food Security Applications |
*The NTEC Team would like to share condolences on the passing of Alden Contreras, a Ph.D. student at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University (NCA&T) and affiliated with the Southeastern Nanotechnology Infrastructure Corridor (SENIC). Alden was an enthusiastic innovator and a member of our Spring 2025 NTEC cohort. Mentored by Jeffrey Alston, an associate professor in the Joint School of Nanoscience and Nanoengineering, Alden was committed to reliable and scalable approaches to produce nanoparticles for diverse applications in pharmaceuticals and materials science.
In addition to team awards, this year individual awards were presented to those with perfect attendance to all Innoator's Academy sessions to highlight their dedication.
Perfect Attendance in Innovator's Academy
Award |
Team Lead |
NNCI Site |
Perfect Attendance |
Farbod Ebrahimi |
Southeastern Nanotechnology Infrastructure Corridor (SENIC) |
Perfect Attendance |
Narges Yousefpour |
Virginia Tech National Center for Earth and Environmental Nanotechnology (NanoEarth) |
Perfect Attendance |
Vera Bordah |
Virginia Tech National Center for Earth and Environmental Nanotechnology (NanoEarth) |