Two ECE Ph.D. Candidates Named Tiger Launch Chicago Regional Round Finalists

Two Armour College of Engineering students Mengmeing Zhuang (ECE Ph.D. candidate) and Zhen Bao (ECE Ph.D. candidate) were named finalists for the Chicago regional round of Tiger Launch, the largest national student-founded startup contest. The two teamed up with Yang Gao (Institute of Design MDM candidate) to create ZD Energy.

The group's product, Aiknowatt, is the "Fitbit" for home appliances. The device serves as a platform to monitor real-time energy usage for home appliances and electronics and helps customers reduce energy consumption and cut costs without deploying smart meters.