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The Hard Part of Innovation: Celebrating Engineering Excellence
If you are brave enough to venture into the world of physical product development, you’ll certainly hear its rallying cry: “Hardware is hard.”
Some of the world’s toughest challenges—climate resilience, clean energy, and food security—are being addressed by hardware innovations. This work takes years, sometimes decades, of iteration, deep technical expertise, complex supply chains, and patient investors to get from idea to a commercialized solution. Yet hardware rarely carries the same clout as software.
We want to change that.
The HardTech Awards are recognizing the founders, engineering veeps and CTOs who are quietly shaping our future with cutting-edge technology. In this post, we talk to some of the HardTech Awards judges and past winners about why celebrating engineering excellence is essential to continued progress.
Cutting-edge drone technology is just one of the ways hardware is tackling tough global challenges.
Building community to help accelerate new ideas
Linda Megerdichian, a prominent digital hardware engineer at Extron Electronics, has served as a HardTech Awards judge every year since its inception in 2022 (then known as the Misties Awards). For her, the platform is about more than just recognition—it’s about fostering personal growth and empowering future contributions to the field.
“We’re shining a light on those who are pushing hardware forward,” says Linda, who previously led the Armenian Engineers and Scientists of America (AESA), and is currently chairing the IEEE Women in Engineering (WIE) San Fernando Valley chapter. Her dedication to amplifying underrepresented voices in engineering is why she continues to judge the HardTech Awards. “By bringing visibility to these projects and individuals, we’re building a community that helps accelerate new ideas.”
Linda Megerdichian has been volunteering with the HardTech Awards since 2022
As an undergraduate, Linda developed a microcontroller-based system to enhance echocardiogram images—an experience that showed her firsthand how engineering can improve lives.
“These products are solving real-world problems,” she says of the HardTech Awards. “They’re creating opportunities for others.” Case in point? Laurent Pelissier, founder of Clarius Mobile Health and a 2024 HardTech Awards winner. With nearly two-thirds of the world lacking access to diagnostic imaging, Clarius is making medical imaging more accessible with handheld ultrasound devices.
For Linda, impact matters more than hype. In 2025, she’ll bring that mindset to IEEE SusTech as chair of the Sustainability Forum, where experts in policy, leadership, and technology will tackle the future of clean energy.
Clarius OB AI for Handheld Ultrasound. Source: Clarius Mobile Health
No single innovation or expert can solve these challenges alone
Jim Coates grew up in the wilds of northern Canada, where he has witnessed firsthand how shifting weather patterns are reshaping the landscape. Now the founder of Kryotek and a 2024 HardTech Awards winner, he develops technology to track landslides and permafrost thaw—vital measures for understanding and mitigating climate change.
“It’s all about finding better ways to understand what’s going on with our planet,” Jim says. To monitor flood erosion and support mineral exploration, his projects leverage technologies like satellite sensor communications, electromagnetic earth imaging systems, and 3D drone LiDAR—fields which are being pioneered by past HardTech Awards winners.
Kryotek utilizes machine vision technology to detect wildfires. Source: Kryotek Systems
For example, Nader Elm, CEO of Exyn Technologies, is developing advanced autonomous aerial scanning systems, while Doug Schouten, co-founder of Ideon Technologies, led the first commercial use of muon tomography to map beneath the Earth’s surface.
“No single innovation or expert can solve these challenges alone,” Jim adds. “Collaboration is key to making meaningful progress. You need the right people, the right funding, and the right technology all working together.”
Ideon Technologies is enabling more accurate mining practices through muon tomography. Source: Ideon
Great products start with solving real problems
Eric Migicovsky is the founder of Pebble—what was once the most funded project in Kickstarter history—and a believer that some of the best ideas come from solving your own problems first. “Odds are, you’re not a unique butterfly,” he says. “If you build something for yourself and you’re honest about it, you’ll likely find others who want it too.”
While traditional startup wisdom emphasizes finding product-market fit first, Eric sees both approaches as valid—and as a HardTech Awards judge, he looks for stories of people building a product for themselves first. Eric applied this philosophy himself when, frustrated by too many messaging apps on his phone, he co-founded the cross-platform messaging app Beeper, which was acquired by Automattic in April 2024.
For Eric, reviewing nominations feels a lot like reading Y Combinator submissions, where he spent four years as a partner selecting top startups to invest in. He is always looking for remarkable candidates—people who decided against an easier, more comfortable career working for someone else, but rather decided to build something new and interesting.
Two new PebbleOS watches for 2025. Source: Eric Migicovsky
A Call to Celebrate Engineering Excellence
Software alone won’t solve climate change. However, unlike software startups that can pivot quickly, hardware companies face long development cycles and high upfront costs. Pushing through these long and expensive cycles takes dedication and commitment from all sides.
The HardTech Awards exist because progress doesn’t happen in isolation. The dedicated leaders who are bringing novel technologies to market need the support of a network that is committed to fostering growth and advancement.
But equally important, these individuals deserve to have their achievements recognized and amplified—and you can help make that happen.
If you know a brilliant, behind-the-scenes brain pushing the boundaries of novel technologies, nominate them for the 2025 HardTech Awards—submissions are open until April 6.
