On 30 January this year, the 2nd edition of the Isorg Innovation Prize showcased the innovations developed by Grenoble INP-Pagora engineering students and honoured the creators of the BioSOUND’S biobased electric guitar.
Every year from September to January, several teams of 3rd year engineering students and apprentices take up the DEEP (Défi d‘une Équipe d‘Élèves de Pagora) innovation challenge. At the request of companies or laboratories, these teams design and manufacture prototypes objects or structures using biobased materials that may or may not be functionalized. Isorg, a company specialising in printed electronics and a partner to this highly original educational programme, created the Innovation Prize in 2019 to acknowledge the quality of a standout project and the ability of students to successfully carry out a collective undertaking of this kind.
After a talk by Xavier Vigor, Vice-President Technologies, Projects & Industrial, H2 energy initiative, at Air Liquide, on the importance of developing the use of hydrogen in the transport sector – “Hydrogen is a way of decarbonizing the energy of tomorrow. This technology is only just beginning to take off!“ – six teams of engineering students presented their projects: BioSOUND’S, G-Pack, HUB, LaCapsule, LaCo-PIN and POP.
A jury comprising Jean-Yves Gomez, CEO, and Jérôme Joimel, Technical Director (Isorg), Bernard Pineaux, Deputy Director, and Anne Blayo, Director of Industrial Partnerships (Pagora), Alexandre Etuy, Professor (Business Innovation Unit, Grenoble INP), Xavier Vigor, VP Technologies, Projects & Industrial (Air Liquide) and Caroline Hanriot-Sauveur, Director (Rhône-Alpes Innovation Agency), awarded the Innovation Prize to Simon Amigues, Marsel Agolli, Agathe Demet, Tristan Jacob, Vincent Perez and Thomas Ruppé for their BioSOUND’S project.
In conjunction with the Laboratory of Pulp and Paper Science and Graphic Arts (LGP2) and startup PaperTouch, the winning team created a customizable biobased electric guitar by combining 3D printing using a PLA biocomposite and flax fibres, with interactive paper technology, to incorporate electronic functions into the very fabric of the paper used.
“You’ve done a great job! I know how much time it takes to innovate,“ stressed Jean-Yves Gomez, who praised every group of students for the time and hard work they put into the design and innovation process.
