2022 INNOVATION AWARDS.

• Author: Malan, Mekenna

In partnership with Stoel Rives, the Innovation Awards pay tribute to the innovative spirit permeating Utah companies and the talented people working to alleviate complex problems with elegant solutions. Nominees in the program are evaluated by leaders within Utah's business and academic communities, who vote to select the finalists and award winners. Below are the 2022 Innovation Awards winners, finalists, and honorable mentions.

ADVANCED MANUFACTURING, CONSTRUCTION, & DESIGN

WINNER: INTERGALACTIC

in /COMPANY/AIRBORNEECS/

What is your innovation? Intergalactic's patent-pending microtube heat exchanger--specially designed and marketed as Boreas3 for aviation and BoreasX for space--is a step change innovation in aerospace thermal management. Microtube technology has been used for years in high-performance auto racing, but Intergalactic has perfected the technology for airborne applications. Intergalactic's microtube heat exchanger is the heart of the company's integrated thermal management systems, which combine proprietary hardware and software for next-level thermal regulation on the most demanding air and space missions.

What challenge or need does this innovation solve? The aerospace defense, civil aviation, and commercial space sectors are experiencing innovation pressure not seen since the original Space Race. This urgency to innovate puts increased thermal demands on every program, as mechanical, computational, and avionics systems are all increasing centers of temperature extremes. In addition, the prospects of supersonic flight, permanent lunar bases, and advanced comms satellites imply operation in more extreme physical environments. At the same time, everything in air and space must get smaller, lighter, and more robust. Intergalactic's microtube heat exchanger allows for exponentially more thermal rejection in a smaller, lighter package, which is vital as modern air and space programs have strict size and weight requirements. This innovation enables a wide array of technologies that aren't feasible with legacy thermal management solutions.

RUNNER-UP: NORTHROP GRUMMAN

in /COMPANY/NORTHROP-GRUMMAN-CORPORATION/

What is your innovation? Northrop Grumman (NG) Aerospace Structures Business Unit (ASBU) External Protection System (EPM). EPM is an elastomer-based coating designed to protect missiles (or other vehicles) traveling through adverse or hostile environments and thus increase the reliability of our nation's defense systems.

What challenge or need does this innovation solve? As the nation faces new adversaries and potential harm from existing threats, the next versions of defense missiles will be required to travel faster, higher, and through more aggressive environments than prior generation vehicles. These environments will include rain, hail, lightning, and snow. At higher speeds, they will also experience significantly higher aerothermal heating. All of these natural environments increase risk to the structural components of the missile and reduce reliability. In addition to natural threats, these missiles may be required to operate in hostile environments where conventional or nuclear detonations are present. To maintain the reliability of our nation's defense systems, it is necessary to develop new materials to protect these missiles. The NG ASBU EPM is a new material system specifically designed to enable a flight vehicle to be launched at any time under any condition. It has multiple layers to address the various types of environments. The NG ASBU EPM contains new technologies developed that not only drastically improve performance from previous thermal protection systems but at a lower weight and a comparable cost.

HONORABLE MENTION: FLUID POWER TRAINING INSTITUTE

What is your innovation? MF 500 Hydraulic Training Simulator--an advanced hydraulic training simulator for teaching construction, agricultural, forestry, and mining machinery.

What challenge or need does this innovation solve? There is a critical worldwide shortage of technicians with the skill sets to safely service and repair hydraulic systems. The MF500 is a solution.

COMMERCIAL SOFTWARE

WINNER: CONVERUS

in /COMPANY/CONVERUS

What is your innovation? EyeDetect+, the world's first automated polygraph. It makes the testing process impartial, accurate, and less intrusive. It detects deception by monitoring and recording ocular activity plus physiological activity.

What challenge or need does this innovation solve? Being the world's first automated polygraph, EyeDetect+ fills a vital niche in the credibility assessment industry (lie...