On September 15 and 16, nine teams of finalists presented their proposals for the Fish Protection Prize’s PITCH CONTEST at the American Fisheries Society Virtual Annual Meeting. Following two days of pitches, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and Bureau of Reclamation selected three prize winners.
During the PITCH CONTEST, each team presented a 10-minute pitch, followed by a 10-minute question-and-answer period—introducing their concepts, discussing the technical and market feasibility of their ideas, and presenting their overall research and development plans. The winning teams will split $700,000 in the form of cash and in-kind support to further their solutions, with expertise provided by PNNL to evolve and develop their concepts.
Congratulations to our prize-winning teams, receiving both a cash award and voucher support from PNNL:
- Grand prize: Benjamin Mater of Alden Research Laboratory and Charles Coutant, Making a Deal with the Devilfish: Biometric-Informed Screening Technology
- Second place: Nicholas and Kenneth LaBry of Prometheus Innovations, LLC, Fish Diversion Material & Inspection Improvements
- Third place: Sterling Watson and Abe Schneider of Natel Energy, The Center Sender.
And congratulations to all of our amazing finalists for their work over the past eight months, from the start of this competition through to the end. We appreciate everyone's engagement and wish you all success in moving your concepts forward!
