Congratulations, 2020 Big Bang! Finalists

From a field of 113, it's down to a sweet 16

News
May 01, 2020

Congratulations to the 16 finalist teams in the 20th annual Big Bang! Business Competition. 113 teams—representing 315 aspiring entrepreneurs—entered this year's competition, the greatest number in Big Bang! history. The Big Bang! is open to the public and drew teams from across UC Davis, as well as from the Sacramento region and throughout California, the U.S. and the world.

Our 20th annual Big Bang! will award $100,000 in prize money.

Join us at 6 p.m. on May 20 as we take our awards show online via Facebook Live. Register here for a reminder the day of the event—and the chance to view pitch videos from the finalist teams and cast your vote for the $10,000 People's Choice Award. (48-hour voting begins May 18 at noon.)

Two teams—noted with an asterisk following their team name—also participated in the Little Bang! Poster Competitions held in November 2019 and January of this year, applying what they learned in this entry-level event to progress in the Big Bang!

Azuza Beverage | Pomona, Calif.

Mini-Pitch: Technology removes alcohol from microbrews preserving flavor.
Team Lead: Bryan Giberson | M.S., Chemistry, Cal Poly Pomona

EdgeSense | Baltimore, Md.

Mini-Pitch: Marker to improve post-operative breast cancer care.
Team Lead: Pascal Acree | B.S. Student, Biomedical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University

HydroGene

Mini-Pitch: Driving gene delivery from pipette to patient.
Team Lead: Siddharth Arun | B.S. Student, Biomedical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University

Ithemba LLC | Baltimore, Md.

Mini-Pitch: Breast cancer diagnostic device for low-resource settings.
Team Lead: Sophia Triantis | B.S. Student, Biomedical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University

KAIROS

Mini-Pitch: Personalizing cardiac recovery with healthcare experts.
Team Lead: Yong Choi | Postdoctoral Scholar, UC Davis Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing | UC Davis Keller Pathway Fellow

Luminate

Mini-Pitch: Continuous endotracheal tube monitoring in the neonatal intensive care unit.
Team Lead: Claire State| B.S. Student, Biomedical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University

Mlezi Health | Sacramento, Calif.

Mini-Pitch: An automated personalized concierge service that delivers goods and services to seniors in their homes.
Team Lead: Kwamane Liddell | Director of Business Operations, Dignity Health | JD, MHA, BSN

NAICHA* | Sacramento, Calif.

Mini-Pitch: Creating a healthy boba milk tea alternative.
Team Lead: Wesley Lin | Founder, NAICHA |B.S., Economics 2019, UC Davis

Nebula Care | San Francisco, Calif.

Mini-Pitch: Culturally sensitive mental health care.
Team Lead: Jae Zhong | Founder, Nebula Care | B.S., Psychology, 2018, UC Davis

Nytch Inc. | Woodland, Calif.

Mini-Pitch: Connecting online shoppers to offline businesses.
Team Lead: Grant Lea|Co-Founder, Nytch Inc.

Pacific Fleet Charging LLC | Sacramento, Calif.

Mini-Pitch: We help electrify your fleet. You save.
Team Lead: William Brieger | Co-Founder, Pacific Fleet Charging LLC | Alumnus, UC Davis School of Law

Pediafeed | Baltimore, Md.

Mini-Pitch: Revolutionizing pediatric feeding for happier, healthier lives.
Team Lead: Kathy Hu | Co-Founder and CEO, Pediafeed | B.S. Student, Biomedical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University | Alumna, Davis Senior High School

PHIXED SYSTEMS* | Pleasanton, Calif.

Mini-Pitch: Advanced analytics platform technology for biomanufacturing.
Team Lead: Lisa Illes | Founder, PHIXED SYSTEMS | B.S. Student, Biological Systems Engineering, UC Davis

StarBio

Mini-Pitch: Rapid diagnostic for ischemic stroke.
Team Lead: Teri Slack | MBA Student, UC Davis Graduate School of Management | Ph.D., Organic Chemistry, UC Davis

The New Norm | Baltimore, Md.

Mini-Pitch: We transform Solo cups into wearable fabric.
Team Lead: Lauren Choi | Founder, The New Norm | B.S. Student, Material Science and Engineering, Johns Hopkins University

VHomes

Mini-Pitch: Real-estate SaaS building future of budget travel.
Team Lead: Michael Vilardo | MBA Student, UCLA