Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey

Gonzalo Irving Barrera Hernández, Dona Belen Ayala Larrea, Juan Pablo Reyes Valdez, María Soledad Chancay Atiaga

The project uses sargassum, an invasive seaweed but natural fertilizer,  in the Caribbean, as a new material for constructing planters that can be deposited directly into the soil and sold as learning kits.

Finalist Team + Community Choice Prize Winner

Eco-Gowns

“Amino Artists” – Javier Alejandro Benavides Aguilar, Cristina Romelia Gómez Mondragón, Mariana Molina Reséndiz

Eco-Gowns are a biodegradable alternative to disposable medical gowns currently used in hospitals and clinics. They are composed of Polylactic Acid fibers and a starch-based biopolymer for the buttons.

Biocolors

“Petrisigners” – Diana Paulina Vázquez Aguilar, Itzel Martínez Ayaquica, Josué Reyes Muñoz

This project aims to produce red, orange, and yellow biopigments using fungi (Monascus ruber) as alternatives to synthetic ones. The team found a strain of the fungi which provides pigment stability based on thermal treatments, sunlight, UV light and fluorescent light, pH, and organic acid preservatives.

Bottomfom

María Concepción Villaseñor, Vivian Hayde Aguilar, Carlo César Ramírez

Bottomfom is a speculative company that creates doghouses from biomaterials.

Grisel Fierros has Bachelor’s degrees in Pharmaceutical Biology and Chemistry and a Master’s degree in Experimental Biology from San Nicolas de Hidalgo University. She earned her PhD in Advanced Technology at CICATA Instituto Politecnico Nacional and was a Postdoctoral Research Scientist at Florida A&M University in 2017. Grisel is a professor at Tecnologico de Monterrey and has been the Biotechnology Program Director since 2018. Her research is focused on bacterial resistance to heavy metals and treatment of industrial waste.

Kalaumari Mayoral Peña earned his Bachelor’s degree in Biotechnology Engineering at Tecnologico de Monterrey and a Master’s degree in Food Science and Technology at the Autonomous University of Queretaro. He was professor of the Tecnologico de Monterrey from 2015 to 2017, teaching classes about biosensors, biomaterials, and biotechnology. Kalaumari has participated as mentor in the Biomolecular Design (BIOMOD) Competition since 2016. He participated on a research project about the development of a sanitary system for rural communities, financed by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and CONACYT. He was selected in 2017 as one of the "100 Young Latin American Leaders in Biotechnology" by the AllBiotech Summit. Kalaumari is currently a PhD student in Biotechnology at Tecnologico de Monterrey and a Research Trainee in Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School and MIT. His research is focused in the development of accessible devices for detection and monitoring of Cancer and Cardiovascular Disease.