The Society of Innovators at Purdue Northwest revealed the winners of its 2023 Innovators Awards.
The awards will be bestowed during the organization's annual luncheon from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. (CST) Oct. 19 at the Purdue Northwest campus in Westville.
“This year will mark the 19th annual class of innovators inducted into the Society,” said Jason Williams, assistant director of the Society of Innovators, in a press release. “We believe that anyone can be an innovator and that innovation can come from anywhere. The Class of 2023 once again exemplifies this diversity of creativity and ingenuity taking place in our Region year after year.”
To be considered, innovators had to live or work in Northwest Indiana. The innovation presented had to be a new solution, benefit society and have value that could be measured.
The Society of Innovators Class of 2023 includes:
Individual Inductee
- Alejandra Alaniz, Valparaiso — Owner, Tracktable Lifestyle
Team Inductees
- Coates Inc., Merrillville — Team members: Catisha Toney, Lolita Wilson
- Hammond Group, Hammond — Team members: Thomas Wojcinski, Gordon Beckley, Richard Botts, Gary Dean Botts II, Enqin Gao, Perry Hedge, Perry Dewayne Hedge II, Daniel Loosemore, Terry Murphy, Pete Nikoloski, Andrew Reynolds and James Shearouse
- PowderCoil Technologies, Crown Point — Team members: Robert McShane, Maggie Beauchamp, Alexander Duchak, Janice Hickey, Parakh Kantawala, Jeremy Murray and Steve Murray
Advocate for Innovation Inductee
- Northwest Indiana Forum, Portage — Team members: Heather Ennis, Don Babcock, Erika Dombey, Brian Hittinger, Kay Nelson, Pete Novak, Tony Oss and Raeann Trakas
A selection committee analyzed each individual and team nominee's responsibility for the innovations presented to determine the inductees.
The 2023 selection committee included:
- (Ken) Patrick Barry, club director, Gary, Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Northwest Indiana (2020 inductee)
- Eric Beschinski, business advisor and ecosystem navigator, Northwest Indiana SBDC
- Magesh Chandramouli, professor of computer graphics technology, Purdue Northwest (2020 inductee)
- Mont Handley, associate director, Commercialization and Manufacturing Excellence Center at Purdue Northwest
- Kay Nelson, environmental affairs director, NWI Forum (2008 Inductee)
- Dushan Nikolovski, director, Valparaiso University Innovation Hub
- Mary Perren, executive assistant, Starke County Economic Development
- Julie Rizzo, founder and CEO of Recycled Granite/Organic Granite (2011 inductee)
Registration is available for the 2023 Innovators Awards luncheon. Individual tickets are $55 and tables of 10 are $500. Contact Williams at jawilliams@pnw.edu.
The goal of the Society of Innovators at Purdue Northwest is to foster economic and community development and serve as the champion of innovation in Northwest Indiana.
Read about last year's winners here.
Caption: During the 2022 Society of Innovators luncheon, Erica Rios, center, police social worker with the Griffith Police Department, was inducted as an individual. (Provided by PNW)
