• For the Change Maker award (nominated and selected by online vote of event participants):

Curabit – a startup company leveraging technology to change the way mental health is addressed in India, providing exposure therapy via virtual reality to those affected by mental health disorders under the supervision of mental health professionals. Their innovative use of virtual reality allows for the customization and personalization of each treatment plan, provides complete control to the therapist, and allows for interactivity with the simulation. Its cost-effective VR-based therapy can be more stimulatory than traditional therapeutic techniques and provides biomonitoring through the data generated. 

Neil Yeoh, CEO and founder of OnePointFive (opf.degree), presented the award to Rishabh Nanawati and Aman Sariya, co-founders of Curabit. 
 

The awards ceremony capped off a two-hour program that included a variety of presentations examining progress toward and opportunities for achieving the UN SDGs and “acknowledging that global challenges from climate change to COVID-19 and economic downturn require technical solutions, workforce development, resilient infrastructure, and public, private and nonprofit involvement to drive implementation,” says Iana Aranda, director of engineering global development for ASME, who hosted Impact.Engineered.

Keynote speaker Austin Alexander, vice president of sustainability and social impact for Xylem Inc., delivered remarks about the connection between water scarcity and affordability, water system resilience to climate change, and the role of engineers in Xylem’s efforts to solve global water challenges.

The Impact.Engineered 2021 program also included a session on “Engineering Global Development: Field Insights” in which E4C fellows and partners shared their experiences and lessons learned, followed by remarks from Kathleen Knight, executive director of Siegel Family Endowment, which recently pledged $100,000 to fund a cohort of five cross-sector engineering fellows in 2022 and conduct a longitudinal impact evaluation of the program.

Impact.Engineered is made possible by sponsors and partners including The ASME Foundation, The Resolution Project, Siemens Stiftung, and Wingu .