Falling Walls Lab Armenia 2023 Winners Announced

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YEREVAN, Armenia — On July 23, the American University of Armenia (AUA) hosted an award ceremony to announce the winners of the Falling Walls Lab Armenia 2023 competition. 

The event commenced with opening remarks by AUA Interim President Dr. Armen Der Kiureghian, who reiterated the University’s unwavering commitment to drive and support scientific research and innovation in Armenia. 

Organized by AUA, in collaboration with the Falling Walls Foundation in Germany, the event featured five finalists competing for the top three honors. The participants attempted to captivate the audience and make a good impression on the distinguished panel of judges with three-minute pitches of their groundbreaking ideas, gathering points for novelty, impact, feasibility, and articulation.

The jury comprised Dr. Aram Hajian, dean of AUA’s Akian College of Science and Engineering; Prof. David Blaschke, vice director for Science at the Institute of Theoretical Physics of the University of Wrocław, Poland; Mihran Aroian, assistant professor at the University of Texas at Austin and principal and co-founder of Science Partners, LLC., New York; Dr. Varduhi Yeghiazaryan, assistant professor at AUA; and Dr. Armen Kherlopian, founding partner of BAJ Accelerator and Scientific Advisory Board Member of NASA TRISH.

Taking first place at the Falling Walls Lab Armenia 2023 competition was Meri Iskandaryan from Yerevan State University’s Microbial Biotechnologies and Biofuel Innovation Center with her“ Breaking the Wall of Global Energy Consumption” project. In second place was Hovhannes Dashtoyan from AUA and Wigmore Clinic Yerevan with his innovation “Breaking the Wall of Walking Disorders.” And winning third prize was Hasmik Khachatryan from the Scientific and Technological Center of Organic and Pharmaceutical Chemistry of the National Academy of Sciences for her project “Breaking the Wall of Cleaning Water.” 

AUA will fund the top winner’s travel to Berlin, Germany, this November, where she will present her idea at the Falling Walls Lab Global Competition. On the global stage, Meri Iskandaryan will pitch to an international audience and compete for attractive cash prizes and research funding.

The Falling Walls Global Call is an international competition format that brings together science enthusiasts from diverse backgrounds. Falling Walls Lab provides a platform for candidates from all academic disciplines to present their research work, business model, innovative project, or transformative idea before an international audience of peers and a distinguished jury from academia and business.

Founded in 1991, the American University of Armenia (AUA) is a private, independent university located in Yerevan, Armenia, affiliated with the University of California, and accredited by the WASC Senior College and University Commission in the United States. AUA provides local and international students with Western-style education through top-quality undergraduate and graduate degree and certificate programs, promotes research and innovation, encourages civic engagement and community service, and fosters democratic values.