Anthony Wong, a fourth-year student at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign’s Carle Illinois College of Medicine, won the Falling Walls Lab Illinois competition recently to earn the title of Illinois Young Innovator of the Year. Wong also won an all-expenses-paid trip to Berlin to compete at the global Falling Walls Lab finale on Nov. 6.
Named after the fall of the Berlin Wall, Falling Walls Lab competitions give early-stage innovators a platform to share their work and network. Falling Walls Lab Illinois is presented by the Illinois Innovation Network, a group of 15 hubs across the state that aims to boost Illinois’ economy through entrepreneurship, research and workforce development. Most of the hubs are located at public universities.
Frankie Molitor, a junior at the University of Illinois Springfield, was the competition’s runner-up and Taminul Islam, a graduate student at Southern Illinois University Carbondale, placed third.
“It was a complete surprise,” Wong said of taking the top prize. “I couldn’t have done it without my great team. They identified the problem and we all worked together on a solution. It will be an honor to represent our team in Berlin and network with young innovators from around the world.”
Wong earned the top prize with his presentation, “Breaking the Wall of Safer Childbirth,” in which he shared his team’s novel device to assist with difficult births in a way that is simpler and less risky than traditional methods. A panel of judges made up of leaders from Illinois’ public universities selected Wong’s presentation out of a field of 15 young innovators and entrepreneurs.
“Illinois has a wealth of talent throughout the state and innovative ideas that come from all corners,” said system Associate Vice President for Economic Development and Innovation and IIN Executive Director Jeannette Tamayo. “It was exciting to see students and faculty from eight of our IIN member universities present innovative ideas that have both a direct local impact and a global impact, addressing some of the more pressing scientific challenges that we face. We couldn’t be prouder of the homegrown talent that this event showcased and who will now represent IIN and UIUC in Berlin in November.”
The competition, which solicited applications from early-career researchers, entrepreneurs, and students across Illinois, had entrants from Eastern Illinois University, Illinois State University, Northeastern Illinois University, Northern Illinois University, SIUC, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, UIS and UIUC.
Falling Walls Lab is a fast-paced contest where competitors have just three minutes to propose a research-based solution to a global problem. The winners of the 82 Falling Walls Lab satellite contests will be entered into the global Falling Walls Lab finale on Nov. 6 — the week of the anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. All finalists receive a scholarship that allows them to participate in the Falling Walls conference in Berlin.
