Making a breakthrough in bricks
Engineering student impresses judges with carbon-neutral masonry units formed using bacteria
By Brian Caldwell, Faculty of Engineering
A project inspired by a co-op work term on a construction crew has put a Waterloo Engineering student in the running for an international invention prize.
Adrian Simone, who is in his fourth year of the civil engineering program, was announced today as a national runner-up in the 2022 James Dyson Award competition for a proposal to make bricks using bacteria.
Bio-Brick, the project entered by startup MicroBuild Masonry, is now up against student inventions from 28 other countries for two top prizes of US $45,000. A short list of 20 international finalists will be announced in October from an initial field of almost 1,700 entries.
