Shudipto Dishari wins WEPAN Core Concept Award in pitch competition

Shudipto Dishari wins WEPAN Core Concept Award in pitch competition


Shudipto Dishari, associate professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering

Oct. 6, 2022: Shudipto Dishari, associate professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering, and her venture, Innopoly, won the Core Concept Award in the Women in Engineering ProActive Network (WEPAN) Accelerator Program - an award-winning two-day workshop on STEM entrepreneurship that recognizes participants for their achievements in innovation. 

The Core Concept Award is given to an entrepreneur who makes a compelling case for the viability of their business. Dishari's InnoPoly works with polymers, or giant macromolecules, to provide innovative and effective solutions for clean energy technologies.

"I came to know about the Accelerator program through our Associate Dean for Faculty and Inclusion at UNL College of Engineering, and I wanted to learn more about entrepreneurship," Dishari said. "The systematic training was truly an enriching experience for a beginner like myself, and it was also wonderful to get connected with some inspiring female professionals. Learning from others' experience, I would say, is a privilege."

The WEPAN Accelerator Program takes an intersectional feminist approach to supporting women in engineering ventures by creating inclusive and socially equitable entrepreneurship ecosystems. The Accelerator Program is a 2021 winner of the Small Business Administration's Growth Accelerator Fund Competition, which is aimed at spurring investment in underserved communities within the innovation economy at scale. The WEPAN Accelerator Program is funded by the Henry Luce Foundation through an award to the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U).