As published in 2009 April in Governor Linda Lingle's Press Release: HONOLULU – Governor Linda Lingle today named three recipients of the Governor’s Innovation Awards for their commitment to creative thinking and new ideas which result in better products, services and processes, while also improving Hawai‘i’s future.
“Through ‘disruptive ideas,’ as one of our award winners refers to innovation, this latest group of innovators is helping us all realize the importance of looking beyond what’s always been done, and striving for how we can do things better,” said Governor Lingle. “As these award winners demonstrate, innovation can be something as simple as using native plants to landscape our roadways, to more leading-edge development of new technologies that can restore people’s sight or generate valuable products from marine algae.”
The recipients of the Governor’s Innovation Award for February 2009 are as follows:
Innovation by an Individual: Hank Wuh
In 2003, Hank Wuh founded Cellular Bioengineering Inc. (CBI), a Hawai‘i-based developer of technologies with biomedical and biodefense applications. CBI searches for what Wuh calls “disruptive ideas” and “disruptive technologies” that will eventually overturn the status quo and change the future. Wuh’s company has the worldwide license for the development of a “bio-integrating polymer corneal” substitute called the EYEGENIX™ Artificial Cornea which aims to return the gift of sight to millions of people. Other products are a paint-and-peel gel that can enhance biohazard cleanup and a nanochip that can track pills to thwart counterfeited drugs. With a company motto of “Invent. Disrupt. Inspire.” Wuh and his team at CBI are ensuring that Hawai‘i remains at the forefront of innovative thinking.
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