People’s Choice winner Emma at StartUpWA’s Night of Innovation: Alchemy

PhD Student Emma Paterson has won the People’s Choice Award for her 4-minute pitch for the new start-up ‘Twisted’ at StartUpWA’s Night of Innovation: Alchemy. ‘Twisted’ is commercialising devices that use specialised electromagnetic radiation to efficiently sort left- or right-handed molecular forms, enhancing chiral purification over traditional, costly methods like High-Performance Liquid Chromatography. These devices were initially invented to search for Dark Matter when the ‘Twisted’ team realised their ability to generate twisted light in a large open volume allows molecules to be manipulated in bulk quantities. This highlights how fundamental research like dark matter detection can spin out useful technologies with real-world impact. 

This instalment of Pitch Night was held at the WA Museum, Boola Bardip in Perth on Wednesday 15 May 2024. The theme of ‘Alchemy’ refers to the miraculous process when the spark of an idea turns into an actual startup that’s helping its consumers solve their problems.

The Night of Innovation, in partnership with Modern People, StartupWA, So Perth and StartupNews, is a pitch night where ten selected start-ups from WA pitch their ideas to investors, a panel and the broader innovation community.