Graduate students Aniruddha Kelkar and Anand Venkatesan, along with Carmen Valverde-Paniagua, an undergraduate student from Mechanical Engineering (Team Soytronics), won the top prize in the 2012 Indiana Soybean Alliance Innovation Competition. The Soytronics team was mentored by professor Mike Harris for the soy competition. 

They invented a soybean-based substrate that can be used to make computer circuit boards. Flexoy is a flexible, lightweight and low-cost substrate on which an electronic circuit is printed. The team said the key advancement is in replacing petroleum-derived, epoxy-based substrates currently used for making printed circuit boards. The new product is biodegradable, eco-friendly, flexible and reusable. 

Aniruddha Kelkar joined the School in August 2010 and is advised by professors David Corti and Elias Franses. Anand Venkatesan joined the school in August 2008 and is advised by professor Phil Wankat. Aniruddha graduated with a bachelor's from the Institute of Chemical Technology, Mumbai, while Anand holds a bachelor's degree from Indian Institute of Technology, Madras. 

For more details, please read the University News Service story.