Dr. Hemali Rathnayake has been honored with one of the 2022 TechConnect Innovation Awards given annually at the TechConnect World Innovation Conference and Expo, the world’s largest and longest running nanotechnology event, held on June 13-15, 2022, in Washington, DC.  Partnering with Minerva Lithium LLC, a UNCG spinoff company founded in 2020 by Dr. Rathnayake and former JSNN student (and now Dr.) Sheeba Dawood, the joint project entitled “Bio-Based Solid-State Lithium-Ion Battery Technology” was recognized as one of the top 15% technologies among submitted entries, as judged by the TechConnect Corporate & Investment Partner Committee.  The new technology aims to develop a commercially viable and eco-friendly solid-state battery to meet the demand for energy storage in the solid-state battery market.