Lithuanian-American
Innovation
Award
The Lithuanian-American Innovation Award – established by the Baltic American Freedom Foundation (BAFF), the Innovation Agency - Lithuania and the U.S. Embassy in Vilnius – is granted to a Lithuanian individual, organization, university, or firm that has developed an innovation in collaboration with a U.S. partner.
The award recognizes creative solutions and developments broadly across business and commerce, academic and scientific research, medicine and health, the environment, energy, and education. Previous years’ awardees demonstrated innovation in the genetic editing, genome sequencing, and smart building sectors.
2024 Awards
𝐋𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐮𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐀𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐈𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐀𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝 were announced on February 29 during the Lithuanian American Innovation Awards ceremony unfolded at the Parliament of Republic of Lithuania. The Lithuanian American Innovation Awards are organized in partnership with the U.S. Embassy in Lithuania and Lithuanian Innovation Agency. Awards were presented by Ms. Asta Sendonaris, Member of the BAFF Board of Directors, and H.E. Kara C McDonald, the U.S. Ambassador to Lithuania.
Special Recognition from Asta Sendonaris – EKSPLA
EKSPLA received special recognition for its groundbreaking creation, the FemtoLux 30—an ultrafast laser designed to provide scientists and engineers with a reliable source for micromachining tasks. This laser offers advanced features without sacrificing simplicity or sustainability.
1st Place – Inovatyvi Medicina (Sentante).
Inovatyvi Medicina clinched first place with its revolutionary robotic system for endovascular interventions, Sentante. This smart, sensory, teleoperated robot system enables remote procedures, ensuring precision while safeguarding physicians from harmful X-rays.
2nd Place – Ligence
Ligence's innovative software, Ligence Heart (LH), secured second place with its automated heart echocardiography image analysis and reporting. LH accelerates diagnosis, reduces workload, and improves patient access to cardiovascular disease (CVD) treatment.
Impact Award – VUGENE
VUGENE's collaboration with The Epigenetic Clock Development Foundation (Clock Foundation) earned them the Impact Award for accelerating interventions aiming to prolong health and life expectancy. Together, they develop cutting-edge epigenetic aging clocks, addressing crucial health challenges of our time.
Congratulations to all award winners and all award applicants!
Photos by Dzoja Gunda Barysaite.
2022 Awards
The Lithuanian-American Innovation Award ceremony took place on October 20, 2022. The 2022 year's Lithuanian-American Innovation Award awardees were announced by Asta Sendonaris, a member of the Baltic-American Freedom Foundation’s Board of Directors, and Robert S. Gilchrist, U.S. Ambassador to Lithuania.
First prize - Diabetis JSC, for developing Feetsee, a self-monitoring device for early identification of foot ulcers, which, if left untreated, could lead to amputation.
Second prize - Precizika Metrology for creating modern technologies for optical coding and their components with a wide range of application.
Genomika, which works in the fields of synthetic biology, genetics and biotechnology, earned the commission's appreciation for its positive contribution in the field of public health. The VU Faculty of Physics and Professor Kestutis Jarasiunas, who also is BAFF alumnus, received special appreciation for scientific cooperation.
2019 Awards
The Lithuanian-American Innovation Award ceremony took place on September 18 in Vilnius. Two awardees were announced by Danguole Altman, a member of the Baltic-American Freedom Foundation’s Board of Directors.
The first prize went to CUJO AI. CUJO AI technology is based on a core set of algorithms that leverage artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) analysis. CUJO AI portfolio of products helps digitally protect people and devices, creating a smart-living experience in homes, businesses, and connected communities through advanced connected device identification, real-time network security, privacy protection, content access control, and digital monitoring. It also uses machine learning to develop algorithms that could spot cyberbullying.
The second prize went to Mantas Atutis. In collaboration with Columbia University, Mantas developed and proposed the use of a new composite material – basalt fiber reinforced polymer (BFRP) for prestressed concrete structures. This is a more sustainable, optimal, and affordable alternative to what is currently used as reinforcement material/skeleton in buildings. Additionally, BFRP minimizes the risk of corrosion, which is common for conventional reinforcement.
2018 Awards
On February 28 at the Vilnius University Rector’s Aula, the Baltic-American Freedom Foundation, in conjunction with the U.S. Embassy in Vilnius and Lithuanian-American Business Council, announced the winners of the Second Lithuanian-American Innovation Awards. The winners and the guests of the ceremony were addressed by H.E. Anne Hall, Ambassador of the U.S. to Lithuania, Mr. Linas Linkevicius, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania, Mr. Virginijus Sinkevicius, Minister of Economy of Lithuania, and Ms. Danguole Altman, Member of the BAFF Board of Directors. The first prize of €10,000 was awarded to the company “Vittamed” for Prof. Ragauskas’s invention of the non-invasive head pressure meter, and the second prize of €5,000 was awarded to the company “Deeper” for the first smart portable fish finder.
2017 Awards
Winners of the first Lithuanian-American Innovation Award were honored at a ceremony on March 1 in Vilnius. Presenters were U.S. Ambassador to Lithuania, Anne Hall, Eric Stewart, President of the American-Lithuanian Business Council, and Laura Lyons, on behalf of the BAFF Board of Directors. Milda Darguzaite, Chief of Staff of the Government of Lithuania also addressed the winners.
Linas Mazutis, PhD: inDrops was awarded top prize of €10,000.
Dr. Linas Mazutis, in collaboration with scientists from Harvard University, developed a technique for the efficient isolation and sequencing of single cells. The process opens new research avenues at a fraction of the cost of previous state-of-the-art commercial platforms.
Two runners-up will share the €5000 second prize:
Virginijus Siksnys, PhD, et al.: CRISPR-Cas9 Technology. Professor Virginijus Siksnys and his team at the Institute of Biotechnology at Vilnius University was a cornerstone for adapting CRISPR-Cas9 to one of the most powerful tools ever invented for editing genomes. Their technology patent has been licensed to DuPont Pioneer, the world’s leading developer and supplier of advanced plant genetics.
Rimas Gulbinas: Maalka Commercial Building Sustainability Platform. Maalka uses big data to streamline the management of sustainability programs that make commercial buildings more efficient, sustainable and healthier for occupants. Maalka could reduce energy-use and related emissions by more than 20% in the United States.
Honorable mention went to finalists:
Ricardas Cepas: A.Lot Parking. A.Lot is a new brand name in the U.S. for automatic license plate recognition (ALPR) software that is able to scan vehicle’s license plate in order to calculate the amount of time and money spent while parking. A connected app makes parking easier by handling payments and letting users know which lots have available spots.
Deeper, UAB: Smart Sonar. Deeper’s Fish finder was the first-ever castable sonar on the market in 2013, putting technology previously available only in expensive, boat-mounted sonar units literally into the hands of shore fishers. The fish finder required retailers to create a wholly new category. The product has made the age-old sport of angling smart and tech-friendly.
The Lithuanian-American Innovation Award highlights and promotes innovative cooperation between the Lithuania and the United States. The award was established in 2016 by BAFF, the American-Lithuanian Business Council, and the U.S. Embassy in Vilnius. Open to a Lithuanian individual, organization, university, or firm that has developed an innovation in collaboration with a U.S. partner, the top awards are designed to recognize the importance of innovation to Lithuania’s economy and carry prizes of €10,000 and €5,000 for the first and second prize winners.
Any project that demonstrates a clear Lithuanian-American link is eligible to win the Innovation Award. The core requirements are demonstration of the impact or clear potential impact of the innovation collaboration with a U.S. individual or entity.