Soy-based condoms, paper products and vegan cheese are among the winners in this year’s Project SOY (Soybean Opportunities for Youth) competition.
The 22nd annual event, held March 16 at the One Stone Road Government of Ontario building, showcased 12 projects from 27 University of Guelph students from the Guelph and Ridgetown campuses.
In Project SOY, cash prizes are awarded in three categories: diploma, undergraduate and graduate. First place wins $2,500, second place receives $1,000 and third place is awarded $500.
In the diploma category, first place was awarded to John Alexiou for his range of soy-based paper products including muffin wrappers, parchment paper and wax paper. Second place went to David Weaver for BYOO Honey Caviar, a soy emulsifier to incorporate cannabis oil into honey for a natural sweetener. Third place went to Noah Weber for his soy-based biodegradable propagation trays for fruit trees and tomato plants.
Topping the undergraduate category were Chloe Quilliam and Ashley-Ann Rutherford, who created Soydoms, or soy-based condoms. Second place went to Bowen Ma, Marcos Ibrahim and Ahmad Azizov for Soytensils, or edible soy-based utensils. Third place went to Karine Jarzecki, Kate Nakamura, and Betty Zhao for biodegradable Max Golf Balls.
In the graduate category, first place went to NeoPhyto, a vegan cheese with a soy component developed by Kamil Chatila-Amos and Jane Ong. Ally Gowman and Connor Davies won second place for SOYsorb, a highly absorbent soy straw material for cleaning up chemical and oil spills.
U of G vice-president (research) Malcolm Campbell served as MC of the open house and awards ceremony.
Project SOY is sponsored by SeCan, Oilseed Innovation Partners (OIP) and the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA).
Judges for this year’s event were Tom Wright (OMAFRA) and Mike Williams (OIP).
Media contacts:
Owen Roberts, director, research communications, 519-824-4120, Ext. 58278, owen@uoguelph.ca
Robyn Ralph, student coordinator, 519-824-4120, Ext. 53511, soybeans@uoguelph.ca