Got solutions? Since 2012, the Dow Sustainability Innovation Student Challenge Award – known as Dow SISCA – has recognized and rewarded graduate students who are coming up with sustainable solutions to the world’s most pressing social, economic and environmental problems.

This year, the University of Minnesota has selected nine finalist research projects for the $10,000 prize, which is open to all graduate and professional students and made possible through Dow’s partnership with the Institute on the Environment. From a proposed mobile air-quality sensor network to sustainable polyester alternatives to commercial plastics, the common thread in all of the projects is innovation. Last year’s UMN Dow SISCA winners designed a new soap molecule made from renewable materials.

This year’s prize winners – as well as a $2,500 runner-up project – will be announced at a reception and awards ceremony at IonE on Wednesday, December 6. All are welcome. The celebration, which runs from 4 to 6 p.m., includes a poster session and brief pitches from all of the finalists.

We hope to see you there!

2017 Dow SISCA Finalists

Air Separation by Metal-Catecholates in Metal-Organic Frameworks; Samuel Stoneburner (College of Science and Engineering)

Low-Cost Solar Concentrating Windows Using Silicon Nanocrystals; Ryan Connell and Samantha Hill (College of Science and Engineering)

Microporous Nano-Iron Filter for the Rapid Removal and Recovery of Phosphorus from Water; Fatemeh Heidari and John Brockgreitens (College of Science and Engineering, College of Food, Agricultural, and Natural Resource Sciences)

Mobile Air Quality Sensor Network: Measuring Pollution on the Run; Andres Gonzalez (College of Science and Engineering)

Pyrite FeS2: A Low-Cost Earth-Abundant Solar Solution for Sustainable Power; Bryan Voigt and Jeff Walter (College of Science and Engineering)

Reclaiming Wastewater from Local Food Industries to Produce Energy and High-Value Urban Crops; Ignasi Riera Vila (College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences) and Kuang Zhu (College of Science and Engineering)

Sustainable Electronics for Electronic Skin Applications; Fazel Zare Bidoky, Boxin Tang and Scott P. White (College of Science Engineering).

Sustainable Polyester Alternatives to Commercial Plastics; Annabelle Watts and Guilhem De Hoe (College of Science and Engineering)

Understanding Wind Turbine Wakes Using Natural Snowfalls: Efficient, Economic and Environmentally Benign Super Large Scale Study; Teja Dasari (College of Science and Engineering)