McKelvey Engineering well-represented at Innovation & Entrepreneurship Awards
Students, faculty and alumni honored across multiple programs at Skandalaris Center event
McKelvey School of Engineering students, faculty and alumni were among the winners at the Spring 2026 WashU Innovation & Entrepreneurship Awards presented by the Skandalaris Center for Interdisciplinary Innovation & Entrepreneurship April 15.
The ceremony included honors across multiple programs.
Global Impact Award
The Global Impact Award supports the vision and passion of WashU students, postdoctoral researchers and recent alumni who are creating ventures that are scalable, sustainable, for profit and quick-to-market with proof of concept for a broad and lasting impact on society. One or more winners receive the $75,000 award.
- NeuroFore has developed a patent pending machine learning algorithm that analyzes non-motor symptoms to detect and diagnose Parkinson’s disease earlier than has ever been possible. Members Hamasa Ebadi (PhD ‘28), Joe Hess (BU/EN ‘27) and Evan Tan (GB ‘25) were awarded $25,000.
- uFab builds etchant-free, laser-based circuit board printing systems that compress a whole circuit-board factory line into a single machine, enabling ultra-fast, onshore hardware manufacturing that can finally compete with overseas fabs on price. Founder Tyler Richards (EN ’22) was awarded $50,000.
WashU Venture Network Follow-On Investment
A joint effort between Skandalaris and In St. Louis, For St. Louis, the WashU Venture Network Follow-On Investment program awards up to $150,000 per year to startups with WashU ties that have previously received Arch Grants funding and are likely to remain in St. Louis after the grant period ends.
- SentiAR is creating a wearable AR command center that unifies procedural data for cardiac ablations. Jon Silva, professor of biomedical engineering (PhD ‘08), Jennifer Silva, MD, professor of pediatrics at WashU Medicine, and Michael Southworth were awarded $75,000.
- GenAssist is developing a regenerative scaffold designed to restore functional muscle after severe trauma. Joe Beggs (EN ‘20) and Gabe Haas were awarded $25,000.
Mayfield AI Garage
The Mayfield AI Garage @WashU connects emerging AI founders with Mayfield’s expertise, resources and network to help turn breakthrough ideas into scalable ventures.
- NeuroMap helps neurosurgeons access millions of research findings in the context of their patient’s specific surgical target, bringing the best available evidence to the point of care. The startup, founded by Eli Abdou (MD ‘29) and Jeffrey Chen (EN ‘27), was named the first Mayfield AI Garage @WashU recipient.
