The 15th Annual Women of Innovation Awards is taking place in Southington on March 27. The program honors women who lead Connecticut’s tech community, and two students from Greenwich High School are finalists.
These awards from the Connecticut Technology Council honor outstanding women in STEM fields from across the state.
The program celebrates women in the trenches of STEM. Finalists are the scientists, researchers, academics, manufacturers, student leaders, entrepreneurs, and technicians who create tomorrow’s advancements through their efforts in Connecticut today.
The keynote speaker will be Annie Lamont, one of the nation’s leading women in healthcare and financial technology investing and current first lady of Connecticut. She is the co-founder and managing partner of Oak HC/FT, a venture capital firm that invests in early and growth stage tech-enabled companies shaping the future of healthcare information and financial services. She has more than 30 years of experience as a venture capitalist investing in transformative companies and entrepreneurs.
Finalists include two students from Greenwich High School.
Hiba Hussain is a gifted young inventor working to make disease diagnosis and treatment more accessible. She created a non-invasive, low-cost diagnosis for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) which utilizes near-field communication technology and breath biomarkers to detect COPD in four minutes at a cost of just three dollars. Hiba has also developed a nanoparticle and smartphone-based system for the treatment of coronary artery disease.
Raina Jain’s love for STEM was ignited when she took her first science research class at Greenwich High School. There, she created two devices, one which detects arsenic contaminants in water, and another which eliminates varroa mite infestations in honeybee hives. After seeing these projects through from concept to execution of the design, she submitted to various science fairs and received a great deal recognition. Raina plans on continuing the implementation of these devices and hopes to delve deeper into the sciences.