R&D World has unveiled the winners of the 2024 R&D 100 Professional Awards. A panel of 56 prestigious industry experts from around the globe selected the honorees.

The list of 2024 winners follows, along with highlights from their nomination letters.

These winners will be formally awarded at the R&D 100 Awards Banquet at the Esmeralda Resort & Spa Indian Wells in Palm Springs, California, on November 21, 2024.

We will announce the R&D 100 Winners and the Special Recognition Award recipients separately on this website.

Professional Awards: R&D Leader of the Year

Matthew Rabinowitz, Ph.D.

Founder and executive chairman, Natera

The trajectory of the life of Matthew Rabinowitz, Ph.D. changed in the early 2000s when he and his sister lost children as a result of genetic conditions that went undetected during pregnancy. Then a consulting professor at Stanford University in the department of aeronautics and astronautics, the experience inspired an interest in genetics and a desire to save others from facing the same type of trauma.

Rabinowitz, who holds a Ph.D. from Stanford University’s Department of Electrical Engineering, set about building a team to apply high-throughput data analytics and machine learning to genetics. The work led to the development of a noninvasive prenatal test (NIPT), a blood-based genetic prenatal screening test that screens for common chromosomal conditions. The test, which would eventually be known as Panorama, analyzes cell-free DNA (cfDNA) in maternal blood to detect an array of genetic conditions, including Down syndrome and microdeletions. The test would go on to be validated in more than 40 peer-reviewed publications.

Rabinowitz also led the development of Signatera, a screening test that applies cfDNA technology to detect residual cancer DNA after surgery. This innovation has led to a new field of cancer care known as molecular residual disease testing. More than 60 peer-reviewed publications have evaluated Signatera, which has received Medicare coverage in multiple cancer indications. More than 40% of U.S. oncologists use the test.

In addition to Signatera, Panorama also helped pave the way in the development of Prospera, a transplant rejection assessment test that relies on a blood draw to gauge the risk of rejection of a transplanted kidney, heart, or lung.

In addition to his work at Natera, where he served as Founder and CEO from 2005 to 2018 and currently serves as executive chairman, Rabinowitz has founded or co-founded several other companies.

Rabinowitz holds numerous patents related to genetic testing, positioning systems, and data analysis methods, and has authored or co-authored many peer-reviewed publications in prestigious journals such as Nature Medicine, JAMA Oncology, the Journal of Clinical Oncology, among others.

Prior to the recent R&D Leader of the Year award, Rabinowitz also won a string of prior awards, including the 2022 Prix Galien Award, the 2021 MedTech Breakthrough Award for Best New Technology Solution, the 2021 Fierce Innovation in Life Sciences Best Medical Device Innovation Award, multiple Edison Awards for Innovation in Healthcare (2017 and 2018), and the Frost and Sullivan Technology Leadership Award in 2016.

Professional Awards: R&D Researcher of the Year

Joshua New, Ph.D.

Distinguished R&D staff member, Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL)

Joshua New, Ph.D. a distinguished R&D staff member at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), has made contributions to building science, energy efficiency, and climate change research.

New is prolific, averaging 12.4 publications per year. He consistently secures significant research funding, averaging $9 million annually. He is also dedicated to mentoring and knowledge sharing, ensuring the next generation of researchers are prepared to address future sustainability challenges.

The nomination letter for this award explained that “Dr. New improves his performance with over 30 tracked metrics, making his methods and template documents publicly available, mentoring freely to help others be objectively more successful.”

New’s prolific research output, averaging 12.4 publications per year as a co-author, and consistent funding success, securing an average of $9 million annually as lead investigator, demonstrate his dedication to advancing the field. He developed the DOE’s “Roof Savings Calculator,” an industry web tool for estimating savings from cool roofs, which helped him win a prior R&D 100 award.

New also created the “Autotune” calibration methodology to make building energy models match measured utility data, which is approved for use in financial decisions. His Automatic Building Energy Modeling (AutoBEM) software suite led to the creation of energy models for all 125.7 million buildings in the U.S., resulting in a publicly available dataset meant to stimulate private sector emissions reduction.

New also led research to downscale IPCC scenarios of climate change and made county-specific weather files of meteorological variables publicly available for the years 1980-2100.

New graduated from The University of Tennessee at Knoxville with a Ph.D. in Computer Science in May 2009. New also graduated from Jacksonville State University, Alabama, in Spring 2001 with a double-B.S. in Mathematics and Computer Science, and again with a M.S. in Systems and Software Design in spring 2004.

Professional Awards: R&D Team of the Year

Metrology Research and Development Team, General Atomics

Led by Haibo Huang, Ph.D., director of General Atomics’ Center of Excellence for Advanced Diagnostics and Sensors

The Metrology Research and Development team at General Atomics, under the leadership of Haibo Huang, Ph.D., has made significant contributions to the field of inertial confinement fusion (ICF). Its 4Pi Integrated Metrology System helped achieve breakthroughs in fusion ignition at the National Ignition Facility (NIF).

Helping pave the way to the breakthroughs, Huang assembled a team of industry-leading scientists to tackle the complex challenges of ICF target fabrication. Huang, with more than 20 years of experience in fusion diagnostics, has led numerous projects that have advanced the field of ICF. The team includes Kurt Boehm, Ph.D. an Engineering Project Manager; Kevin Sequoia, Ph.D., a data scientist; and Pavel Lapa and Masashi Yamaguchi, Ph.D. both instrumentation physicists.

Boehm’s background in mechanical engineering and system design was an asset in translating complex physics requirements into practical mechanical specifications for the 4Pi system so it could operate smoothly without any collisions between instruments. Drawing on his data science and physics background, Sequoia developed algorithms to process data sets for the project. Lapa and Yamaguchi’s combined experience in instrumentation physics and software integration was instrumental in refining the instrument control and ensuring seamless data acquisition.

Their creation, the 4Pi Integrated Metrology System, is a novel tool that combines up to eight instruments to examine various aspects of inertial fusion capsules on the same coordinate system. This system overcomes the limitations of manual capsule transfers between instruments, using robotics, automation, batch evaluation, and machine learning to identify the best target capsules from each production batch.

Two key components of the 4Pi system, the Digital Holographic Microscope and the Compact Fourier-Transform InfraRed (FTIR) spectroscope, were instrumental in overcoming scientific challenges at NIF and contributed directly to successful ignition results. The Digital Holographic Microscope spots defects on the surface of capsules that radiate heat away from the capsule’s “hot spot” and quench the fusion yield. The FTIR spectroscope maps variations in capsule wall thickness that can cause the hot spot to drift and deprive the yield. The system’s ability to fully measure and rank high-density carbon (HDC) spherical capsules was integral to the success of the ignition experiments.

Numerous workshops and conferences worldwide have featured the team’s work.

Professional Awards: R&D Sustainability Innovator of the Year

Zhiyu (Jerry) Hu, Ph.D.

Professor, Shanghai Jiao Tong University

Professor Zhiyu (Jerry) Hu is a prominent innovator in sustainable energy, pioneering the development of MEMS-based thermoelectric chips for efficient power generation. His research focuses on micro-thermoelectric devices (micro-TEDs) that can harness minute temperature differences — as low as 0.001 K — to generate electricity. This breakthrough has significant implications for high-temperature sensing and power generation via radiative cooling, opening new avenues for sustainable energy.

Hu’s 2023 Nano Energy paper highlighted a micro-TED operating at a 63 K temperature difference, achieving a power density of 0.5 W/cm³ and a power-to-weight ratio of 208 W/kg. His recent work, published in Advanced Functional Materials, introduces a novel method for sensing visual and auditory signals using thermal energy detection. This micro-thermoelectric generator (micro-TEG) chip acts as a hardware FFT device, demonstrating high sensitivity to the rate and intensity of input energy, enabling image and sound recognition through thermal signals. This technology holds potential applications in bionic image sensors and audio thermal monitoring.

Hu envisions a future where micro-TEDs, integrated with solar absorbers and radiative coolers, can provide continuous power generation. This approach relies on the Earth’s thermal resources, estimated at an annual average of 250 W/m², representing a substantial 3.33×10⁸ TWh per year.

Since pioneering the integration of radiative cooling with MEMS TEG chips in 2019, Hu and his team have consistently worked to advanced the field. Recent contributions include a comprehensive review in Advanced Energy Materials, a perspective article in The Innovation, and research on a bio-inspired wearable device published in Nano Energy.

Hu has penned five books, including “Infrared Radiative Cooling and Applications,” “Nanostructured Thermoelectric Films,” and the textbook “Key Issues of Carbon Neutrality and Disruptive Technologies” (Tsinghua University Press, 2022), featured at the 75th Frankfurt Book Fair in 2023.

Hu has won numerous accolades. In 2023 alone, he was named a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry and the IAAM, received a Silver Medal at the 49th Salon International des Inventions de Genève, and was awarded the IAAM Scientist Medal. Recent honors also include the SJTU First-class Undergraduate Course Award, the 2022 Chinese Ministry of Education Outstanding Teacher Award, and the 2021 Pioneer Teacher Award.

Hu’s career began at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), where he received several awards including the Federal Laboratory Consortium award with Commendation from the Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham (2004) and Excellence in Science by a Junior Staff Member (2007).

Professional Awards: R&D Technician of the Year

Howdy Goudey

Senior scientific engineer associate, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Howdy Goudey, a senior scientific engineer associate at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), has made significant contributions to building energy efficiency and sustainable technologies over his 30-year career. His expertise spans an array of areas, including window technologies, thermal performance testing, and a range of other energy-saving technologies.

Goudey’s recent work includes research on vacuum-insulated windows, thin-triple window testing, and the development of test standards that have advanced the field of energy-efficient building envelopes. His contributions to the Attachment Energy Rating Council (AERC) national rating system, including custom automation for calorimetric thermal testing, have helped establish new benchmarks for window shading systems.

Beyond his technical achievements, Goudey has demonstrated a strong commitment to mentorship and education. He has supervised and mentored numerous undergraduate students, hosted visiting researchers, and conducted hands-on laboratory work. As the designated Electrical Safety Officer for the Environmental Technologies Area, he maintains a Qualified Electrical Worker 2 certification.

Goudey’s impact extends beyond the lab. He received the Lawrence Berkeley National Lab Director’s Award for Exceptional Achievement in Societal Impact for his contributions to the “DreamWarmer” infant warming blanket in 2022. His work also includes prototype development of a novel occupant comfort thermostat using IR thermography and instrumentation design for passive radiant cooling film evaluation.

He is also dedicated to community service, with more than 1,000 hours of volunteer work in the past five years focused on environmental matters and disaster response communications. Goudey has also organized Fix-it clinics, both at LBNL and in the community, promoting education and empowerment through repair of broken items to reduce waste.