Photonic Innovations Among Lockheed Contest Winners

Among the five winners of Lockheed Martin’s Innovate the Future challenge are two photonic innovations: an idea for enhancing solar cell efficiency, and a photonic sensor that detect tumors in the body.

The contest, which had thousands of entrants from more than 130 countries, encourages participants to develop ideas on how to enable a more secure future for the planet.

“We believe in the power of science and technology to make positive changes in areas of common need,” said Dr. Ray O. Johnson, senior vice president and chief technology officer. “Through this challenge and online forum, we are able to stimulate discussion on critical issues among a diverse community and identify potential solutions to wide-ranging issues.”

Moble Benedict, an assistant research scientist in aerospace engineering at the University of Maryland, is the grand-prize winner for his concept of a highly efficient vertical-axis wind turbine design for clean energy generation in urban environments. He will receive $25,000.

The second-place, $10,000 winner is University of Delaware researcher James Mutitu for his idea for enhancing solar cell efficiency through improved light-trapping techniques.

Three third-place winners, each receiving $5,000, were also announced. They are as follows: Tamara Monti, a doctoral candidate at Italy’s Universita Politecnica delle Marche, for her novel concept of using photonic sensors to detect tumors in the body and to identify the body’s response to cancer therapies; Raymond Canzanese, a doctoral candidate at Drexel University in Pennsylvania, for a cyber security domain idea that detects malware more effectively through data fusion techniques; and Dick Dillon, representing Innovaision LLC of New York state, for the concept of using online avatars to provide counseling services.

In addition to the cash prizes, all winners will receive assistance in validating and developing their idea through incubation services from the Maryland Technology Enterprise Institute at the University of Maryland’s Clark School of Engineering.

For more information, visit: www.lockheedmartin.com