The Next Generation Innovator of the Year award is open to postdocs along with undergraduate and graduate students. The award recognizes innovation and entrepreneurship that has contributed to the development or commercialization of a new technology. It may also recognize a trainee-initiated start-up company whose success is a result of entrepreneurial talent, creativity and energy. Join us in congratulating the 2020 Next Generation Innovator of the Year finalists.
Pengfei Jiang
Graduate Student
Department of Chemical Engineering
Pengfei Jiang is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Chemical Engineering. Realizing the limitations of current ocular drug delivery systems, she is dedicated to developing novel polymeric devices for improved treatment of intraocular diseases. By using these devices, she hopes to reduce the frequency of intravitreal injections patients receive monthly and improve the compliance of patients with age-related macular degeneration. Her work on the ocular drug delivery devices has received recognition from the Society for Biomaterials with a “STARs” award, and this research was recently published in the Journal of Controlled Release. The device that Jiang developed also attracted industrial attention, and the relevant patent is under negotiation with some companies. Through her research efforts, Jiang is also a co-author of four research papers and two patents.
Jiang completed her MS in Chemical Engineering from Ohio State in 2018.
Watch a video on Pengfei Jiang’s contributions to developing a device for treating age-related macular degeneration.
Andrej Simeunovic, MS
PhD Candidate
Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
Andrej Simeunovic received his BSE in mechanical engineering from Arizona State University, where he primarily researched wireless neuromodulation as a treatment for Type I Diabetes. Thereafter, he worked for six years in the medical device industry commercializing wireless neuromodulation for a variety of pain management applications as director of product development for Stimwave Technologies. Today, Simeunovic is continuing his research in medical devices by studying endoscopic surgical robotics and additive manufacturing based tissue engineering for his PhD at Ohio State. He is working to study, design, and test the world’s first endoscopic surgical robotics tool to print synthetic tissue constructs inside the body through ‘keyhole’ surgical sites using additive manufacturing techniques.
Watch a video on Andrej Simeunovic’s work on making a robotic system that allows surgeons to 3D print tissues directly inside the body.
Devin J. Swiner
PhD Candidate
Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry
Devin Swiner is a fourth year PhD candidate working under Dr. Abraham Badu-Tawiah at The Ohio State University. Her research is focused on developing a new ionization source for mass spectrometry using cellulose materials for applications in clinical diagnostics. At Ohio State, she serves as chapter president of the National Organization for the Professional Advancement of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers (NOBCChE) and as recording secretary for the Black Graduate and Professional Student Caucus. In these capacities, she is able to mentor students as they grow and develop during their programs, an effort that awarded her The Susan M. Hartmann Mentoring and Leadership Award in 2018. In her free time, she also co-runs a blog, #MacScientist, whose goal is to increase representation of black women in STEM fields.
Swiner earned her BS in chemistry from the University of Pittsburgh.
Watch a video on Devin Swiner’s development of a skin patch that can be used for Cystic Fibrosis screening.