Graphene Challenge victory with filtration device

Nadia Ayad (pictured) from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, submitted the idea of using graphene for a filtration device and system for desalinisation that would provide drinkable water to households and won. Her idea would significantly reduce energy costs and strain on current water supplies by recycling water.                    

As part of her prize, Nadia, a bachelor student in materials engineering at the Military Institute of Engineering (Instituto Militar de Engenharia – IME) will be invited to Sandvik Coromant’s headquarters in Sandviken, Sweden to meet with industry professionals and visit the Graphene Centre at Chalmers University.

Nadia Ayad, winner of the Graphene Challenge commented: "I am absolutely thrilled to have been selected as the winner of the Graphene Challenge. I am really fascinated with the study and applications of advanced materials so the opportunity to travel to Sweden to meet with leading researchers is one that I am really looking forward to."

Chosen from ten top finalists by a distinguished panel of judges including David Goulbourne, Product Unit Manager at Sandvik Coromant; Marco Zwinkels, R&D Director, Technology Platforms at Sandvik Coromant; and Patrik Carlsson, Director for the Graphene Centre at Chalmers University. The top ten submissions were evaluated based on innovation, feasibility and design.

“We are very pleased with the quality of submissions we received from all over the world so it was not easy to select just one winner,” said David Goulbourne, Senior Product Unit Manager at Sandvik Coromant. “We were very impressed by how well researched Nadia’s submission was and how well she was able to conceptualise her idea.”

Director for the Graphene Centre at Chalmers University, Patrik Carlsson commented: “Graphene is a material with high potential for innovation in many areas.”

Carlsson added: “The Graphene Challenge and the very interesting and wide ranging set of proposals we reviewed is a manifestation of this potential. It is also clear that graphene has the potential for disruptive technologies and innovations that do not fit within the present business models of existing companies. The Challenge was a good way to think outside of these business models.”