Maria J. Londono, an ATP-Bio PhD candidate at the University of Texas at San Antonio, has won first place in the Perfect Pitch competition at the NSF Engineering Research Centers (ERC) Biennial Meeting, earning a $5,000 prize and bringing the prestigious Lynn Preston Trophy home to ATP-Bio.
Londono represented her 90-second presentation, “The Technology That Will Build the First Organ Bank.” Her research is conducted in the Medical Design Innovations Laboratory under the guidance of Dr. Lyle Hood and Dr. Robert De Lorenzo.
The Perfect Pitch competition challenges students to communicate the significance of their research in just 90 seconds. Presenters are asked to explain the real-world problem their research addresses, what is unique about their approach, and the potential impact their work could have on society and their Center’s mission.
Each NSF Engineering Research Center holds an internal competition to select one student to advance to the national finals. At the NSF ERC Biennial Meeting, those representatives compete before a panel of judges from industry and the venture capital community. Londono rose to the top of the national competition with the winning presentation.
In addition to receiving a $5,000 prize, Londono’s first-place finish brings the Lynn Preston Trophy to ATP-Bio for the next two years. The trophy recognizes not only the winning student but also the ERC that helped create an environment in which that student could excel.
The Perfect Pitch program helps emerging researchers develop the ability to communicate complex scientific and engineering work succinctly and connect their research to real-world societal needs and broader impacts.
Congratulations to Maria Jose on this outstanding national achievement and for representing ATP-Bio and its research so successfully across the NSF ERC community.
