Ignite Award

Deadline for SLAS2026 Innovation AveNEW Applicants — Monday, September 8

Announcement of SLAS2026 Innovation AveNEW companies — mid-October

Deadline to Opt-In for the Ignite Award — Monday, November 3

Announcement of Ignite Award finalists — early-December

Pre-judging will take place in November and December to select up to nine finalists for on-site judging for the Ignite Award.

Judging will take place during the conference in the Innovation AveNEW area of the Exhibition. A panel of judges will visit the booths and meet with each company’s representative. There must always be AT LEAST ONE person at the booth during the judging period who can discuss the company’s mission with the judges.

The competing companies will also provide a brief presentation in the Ignite Theater for inclusion in the judging.

Presentation

• Was the company representative able to speak to the product/technology comfortably and clearly?
• Was the marketing, web/social media presence clear and evident?
• Did the company have flyers, handouts?
• Could the product or service be clearly demonstrated?

Presentation (in the Ignite Theater)

• Did the company representative explain the key concept(s) well?
• Did the company representative provide the correct amount of background information so that the audience could understand the trajectory of the company from inception?

Market Impact

• Is the market potential evident (extreme niche/niche/moderate/large)?
• Does the company have a clear competitive advantage and is the product/technology significantly better than currently available or potentially competing technologies?
• Is the proposed product/technology highly innovative?
• Does the product/technology have the potential to address a currently unmet need?
• Where does next round of funding come from, or is it projected to generate income?
• Is there a plan for growth, expansion or sale?
• Is the company leadership a balance of business and science professionals?

Scoring Criteria

The judging panel’s decision will be based on a series of criteria (in no order of significance) evaluated through presentations at the company’s booth and in the Ignite Theater:

• Marketing presence
• Compelling message and market opportunity
• Impact
• Potential
• Competitive advantage
• Level of innovation
• Addresses an unmet need
• Funding sources, plan for growth
• Leadership stability and diversity

Scoring System

5-to-1 Rating Scale:

5 — Outstanding, Novel and Broad Impact for a New Product
4 — Very Good, Solid, Novel Product
3 — Some Unique New Product Qualities
2 — Needs More Proof and Development
1 — Not Substantially New or Improved

All companies who are chosen to exhibit in Innovation AveNEW are eligible to compete for the SLAS Ignite Award. Innovation AveNEW companies must align in some fashion with the area of life sciences and technology, and while it is not required, an established relationship with a university, bioscience incubator or research institution is preferable. The company’s products and/or services must be available for sale/distribution in the year of their conference participation.

Discrimination based on race, religion, gender, age, national origin, ethnicity, veteran status or disability in regard to the SLAS Ignite Award designation is prohibited. Each candidate company shall be evaluated based on the award's criteria, which are tied to SLAS's purpose of advancing science and education through technology in the laboratory.

SLAS reserves the right to select and deselect any company at any given time. All decisions are final.