Sustainable Practice Impact Award Winners

The VentureWell Sustainable Practice Impact Award honors companies that develop clean technologies or implement sustainable practices, or faculty who provide exceptional educational opportunities to university students.

2024 Winner: ReJoule

ReJoule, co-founded by Zora and Steven Chung, won our 2024 Sustainable Practice Impact Award for its circular economy for lithium-ion electric vehicle (EV) batteries.

2023 Winner: Sylvia Robles

Dr. Sylvia Robles, Assistant Professor of Practice at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, was honored for her program model empowering students from underrepresented backgrounds in their pursuit of entrepreneurship.

2022 Winner: Danielle Boyer

Danielle Boyer, founder and CEO of The Steam Connection, was honored for her remarkable work increasing access to STEM and robotics education opportunities for minority students, particularly Indigenous girls.

2021 Winner: Jeremy Faludi

Dr. Jeremy Faludi, Assistant Professor at Delft University of Technology (TU Delft), was honored for his notable work expanding and amplifying the tenets of sustainable design through his own design work, VentureWell collaborations, and academic research and teaching.

2020 Winner: MITO Material Solutions

MITO Material Solutions was honored for developing an adhesive additive that dramatically strengthens vital composites used across manufacturing—making composites stronger, more flexible, and lighter.

2019 Winner: Hazel Technologies

Hazel Technologies was honored for its innovation that helps reduce food waste and improve efficiency in the agricultural supply chain.

2018 Winner: Professor Kiersten Muenchinger and the University of Oregon

Muenchinger, Associate Professor and Department Head of Product Design at the University of Oregon, and her team at the university were honored for their achievements in sustainability education.

2017 Winner: SiNode Systems

SiNode Systems was honored for their silicon graphene composites, which enable longer lasting, faster charging batteries for mobile devices or laptops as a replacement for today’s unsustainable demand on lithium-ion batteries.

2016 Winner: Drinkwell

Drinkwell was honored for creating a micro-franchise model to establish local water businesses in arsenic-affected areas of Cambodia, India, Bangladesh, and beyond.

2015 Winner: Promethean Power

Promethean Power was honored for inventing refrigeration systems for cold-storage applications in off-grid and partially electrified areas of developing countries.

2014 Winner: Burt Swersey

Burt Swersey, inventor, entrepreneur, and founder of Inventor’s Studio at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) was honored for his support of some of VentureWell’s E-Teams innovating in the clean and green technology sectors.

2013 Winner: Sanergy

Sanergy was honored for creating a micro-franchised network of low-cost sanitation centers designed specifically for urban slums. The waste collected is processed into organic fertilizer for agriculture.