Juliana Renert has always had a passion for art, and painting is her favorite medium. She entered the institute’s Innovation in Art competition last spring and ultimately won both first place and the people’s choice award – and $500. Her winning entry, “Ignite,” (oil on canvas) depicts her mother’s hands cupping a ball of light. "Hands are the connector for yourself and the environment, people, and the world," she explained.
This time of year is filled with opportunities—some that are exciting, some difficult to accept, some restorative, and some requiring hard work, determination, and resilience. With so many opportunities calling for attention, it can be challenging to decide where to invest your time and energy.
Tony Simon's professional journey is a testament to the transformative power of the Big Bang! Business Competition.
A Ph.D. and NIH-funded scientist with a background in cognitive neuroscience, Simon developed an innovative approach to stroke rehabilitation that uses virtual reality. But he had little experience running a business and was unsure how to enter the world of startups.
After seeing a young, vulnerable patient suffer and ultimately die due to an antibiotic-resistant infection caused by a ventilator tube, Benjamin Wang, a physician, knew a better solution was possible.
He founded NEVAP (Never Ventilator Associated Pneumonia), to create a breathing tube designed to help prevent bacterial infections in patients on mechanical ventilation. His first real business success came from winning first prize in the Big Bang! Business Competition in 2014. He credits the win for helping to launch his venture.
In 2018, Denise Bronner, Ph.D., won the Big Bang! People’s Choice award for Anu Snacks, (bite-sized snacks made from spent grains taken from small breweries). She credits the experience with launching her career and inspiring her to make a deep impact in healthcare and digital health.
This year, a team of UC Davis undergraduates took home the first prize in the annual Big Bang! Business Competition. The EpiSense team won the $25,000 award with their pitch for a wearable device that could significantly improve quality of life for patients with epilepsy.
by Kim Hostler | Administrative Deputy Director | Orange County Registrar of Voters
When I first heard of the Leadership Academy at UC Davis, I thought, Great: another conference where we hear the same textbook information on how to lead productive teams and how to work with difficult employees. I'm happy to say I was wrong.
We've all been to them, and in fairness sometimes there is a catch phrase that is new and insightful that we incorporate to our bag of tricks when working through certain situations. But something novel about the UC Leadership Academy almost immediately caught my attention, and I'm forever thankful it did!
A team of two University of California, Davis, MBA students and a senior computer science major received the $20,000 first prize for the best innovation in the 23rd annual Big Bang! Business Competition on May 23. The award's lead sponsor is business leader Lorin Johnson; DLA Piper is co-sponsor.
The 23rd annual UC Davis business competition drew students and alumni from across campus, as well as from colleges and universities throughout California.
The 2023 Big Bang Business Competition's 17 finalist teams all have a co-founder affiliated with an institution of higher education in California. This year UC Davis, UCLA, Cal Poly–San Luis Obispo and the University of Southern California are represented.
New, radical, disruptive ideas have long been considered the foundation of innovation; but, according to Professor Andrew Hargadon, ideas need a network to be successful.
The UC Davis campus is always full of fresh ideas, but innovation was at an especially high pitch last Thursday during the 22nd annual Big Bang! Business Competition awards ceremony. Held in person for the first time since 2019, the ceremony presented over $100,000 in prize money and in-kind awards to early-stage startups in the food and agriculture, health, energy/sustainability, and social enterprise sectors.
