Idaho Innovation Awards Announces 2021 Winners in Virtual Ceremony

Stoel Rives LLP, Trailhead and the Idaho Technology Council sponsor annual awards program to celebrate innovative professionals and companies throughout Idaho.

Boise, Idaho — Stoel Rives LLP is honored to announce the winners of the 2021 Idaho Innovation Awards, which were presented last night by Stoel Rives LLP, Trailhead and the Idaho Technology Council (ITC), with support from Deloitte. The Innovation Awards program recognizes the breakthrough creations, research and innovations that drive the state’s economy and vibrant innovation community.

As the state’s first and only business innovation awards program, the Idaho Innovation Awards recognize groundbreaking accomplishments in five categories. Five winners and 10 finalists were recognized at the virtual awards ceremony on October 21 for their impact on advancing innovation in the state.

The 2021 honorees are: ​

• Commercialized Innovation of the Year: KinExA Technology by Sapidyne Instruments, which accurately measures molecular binding interactions in the development of antibody therapeutic treatments and vaccines.
• Consumer Product of the Year: Wouche Away Prebiotic Hydrating Personal Cleanser by Glyciome LLC, a total body cleanser that supports healthy human surface tissues along with their good bacteria.
• Early-Stage Innovation of the Year: Nucleic Acid Memory (NAM) by Dr. Will Hughes – Boise State University, which codes digital information into DNA.
• Innovative Company of the Year: Natural Intelligence Systems Inc., which developed unique intellectual property in semiconductor, software and system designs to help humans better understand and have confidence in artificial intelligence systems we are reliant upon.
• Innovator of the Year: Prabhat Tripathy – Idaho National Laboratory, whose innovative research in the mining industry and electrochemistry has led to new methods of reprocessing nuclear reactor fuels and producing rare earth metals and alloys for deployment in several civilian and defense applications.

Nominations were evaluated by a selection committee consisting of leaders from Idaho’s business, technology and academic communities; their votes were tallied by accountants from Deloitte. In addition to announcing the winners, Stoel Rives honored the following finalists:

Commercialized Innovation of the Year

• HP Smart Device by HP
• Prompt Pay by In Idaho Information Consortium LLC, a Division of Tyler Technology (dba Access Idaho)

Consumer Product of the Year

• Settra Series Duffel Backpack by Monarc, Inc.
• sticNstac releasable cable/wireholder by sticNstac, LLC

Early-Stage Innovation of the Year

• Consequence-driven Cyber-informed Engineering (CCE) – Idaho National Laboratory
• GLASS – Idaho National Laboratory

Innovative Company of the Year

• Continuous Composites
• VisitPay

Innovator of the Year

• Bill Avey – HP
• Norris Krueger

About the Innovation Awards: Stoel Rives has celebrated innovative companies and their accomplishments since hosting the first Innovation Awards in Salt Lake City in 2002. Each consecutive year, the law firm has honored groundbreaking advancements from emerging to established businesses. In its commitment to foster the innovation ecosystem across its footprint, Stoel Rives has since expanded its Innovation Awards program to Boise, Idaho (2006) and Sacramento, California (2016). In 2017, the firm partnered with the Puget Sound Business Journal as a presenting sponsor of the publication’s inaugural innovation awards program in Seattle, Washington. For more information visit www.stoel.com/innovation.

About Trailhead: Trailhead helps Boiseans start and scale businesses and high-impact projects. Founded by entrepreneurs for entrepreneurs, Trailhead is the place to find resources, explore new technologies, and create something all your own. From Trailhead’s casual yet connected coworking space to high-octane workshops, it is dedicated to giving entrepreneurs access to the tools and connections they need to build something with impact. For more information visit www.trailheadboise.org.

About Idaho Technology Council: The Idaho Technology Council exists to connect, inform and promote the technology companies in Idaho and is dedicated to foster the growth of technology companies in the state, primarily in the areas of information technology, agriscience and energy. The ITC provides a valuable forum for industry, research, educators, investors and government throughout the state. The ITC advocates for creating a strong, innovative technology ecosystem and a high-quality, high-paid workforce. For more information, visit www.idahotechcouncil.org.