UTAR FEGT bags two gold medals and two special awards at the 6th Annual International Invention Innovation Competition, iCAN 2021

UTAR Faculty of Engineering and Green Technology (FEGT) academics, namely Prof Dr S. Sumathi, Assoc Prof Dr Mohammed J. K. Bashir, Assoc Prof Dr M. Yamuna, and Dr M. Mathialagan continued to shine by winning two globally recognised gold medals and special awards at the 6th Annual International Invention Innovation Competition, iCAN 2021.

The 6th annual edition of the International Invention Innovation Competition in Canada, iCAN 2021 was held virtually in Toronto, Canada on 28 August 2021. This was the second year in which the event progressed virtually due to the ongoing Covid-19. The competition saw two teams participating from UTAR.

The first winning team, which was comprised of Prof Sumathi, Dr Bashir and Dr Yamuna, was awarded a gold medal and an International Special Award by EUROBUSINESS-HALLER & Haller Pro Invention Foundation for their invention titled “EggSORB”. The team walked away with a gold medal, a special award medal and certificates.

When asked to describe their project, team leader Prof Sumathi explained, “Global warming and solid waste have been identified as serious threats to the global environment. EggSORB is an eco-friendly sorbent made from eggshell waste generated from the egg cracking industry. EggSORB is able to remove toxic gaseous such as sulphur dioxide, carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulphide efficiently via adsorption. These toxic gaseous are released from fossil fuel combustion or biogas. The production of EggSORB indirectly enhances recycling and reduces the land-filling of solid wastes. Production of EggSORB is simple, green and low-cost. EggSORB is biodegradable and the spent sorbent can be also utilised as fertiliser or building material. EggSORB is a sustainable and eco-friendly material.”

She also thanked UTAR and shared her joy by saying, “After a very long break, finally my team and I have received two internationally recognised awards for the inventions developed in UTAR. We are very much delighted with this achievement. These awards are very meaningful to us as the product we developed at the lab scale has received two international societies’ recognition and acceptance from scientific experts worldwide. This winning has motivated us to explore more research ideas on the reutilisation of waste. Research would always seem impossible but never give up, as one day for sure we will achieve something big.”

Meanwhile, the second team which was comprised of Dr Yamuna, Prof Sumathi and Dr Mathialagan was also awarded a gold medal and the Top 20 Best Inventions of iCAN 2021 for their project titled “ProGreenRubber”. The team leader, Dr Yamuna explained, “ProGreenRubber is reclaimed rubber from waste vulcanised products, such as latex gloves and tires. ProGreenRubber can be categorised into natural rubber, nitrile butadiene rubber and styrene butadiene rubber grades. Our reclaiming technology is greener compared to the existing technology because no solvents are used, plant-based chemicals and phthalic free plasticisers are applied and it could be done at ambient temperature. Compared to rubber powders in the market, ProGreenRubber can be compounded again like virgin rubbers with compounding ingredients such as fillers and vulcanising agents or blended with other polymers to produce products such as rubber mats, rethread tires, safety boots and O-rings.” The team received a gold medal, a plaque and certificates.

The International Invention Innovation Competition in Canada, iCAN is the premier event from Canada for inventors worldwide. iCAN has shown continuous growth and improvement since its first edition in 2016 through 2017-2019, and up until last year’s fifth anniversary in 2020, which marked the event’s highest record in terms of the number of total participants and collaborating organisations. The past five editions of iCAN from 2016-2020 featured participants from 81 different economies around the world, which redefined the event to be a true global stage for worldwide inventors in Toronto, Canada.

This competition was organised by the Toronto International Society of Innovation and Advanced Skills, TISIAS Canada, iCAN 2021.