The current cohort of Creative Destructive Lab Oceans Stream has established a scholarship in the memory of Dr. Shimrit Perkol-Finkel, Co-Founder and CEO of ECOncrete, who died March 7.
ECOncrete, an Israeli company, was one of the international ventures going through the accelerator, the first dedicated oceantech stream offered by the pan-national accelerator CDL. The cohort met this weekend for the first time since her death, and the members saluted her by establishing the scholarship in her name to support female undergraduates in STEM studies at Dalhousie University.
“Shimrit was a passionate innovator in the Ocean Tech space and a pioneer specializing in sustainable management of urban marine habitats,” Jeff Larsen, the CDL Atlantic Site Lead, said in an email. “ECOncrete’s innovative and high-performing environmentally sensitive solutions enhance the biological and ecological environment of coastal infrastructure.”
After receiving her PhD in Marine Biology and Ecology at Tel Aviv University, Perkol-Finkel co-founded and led ECOncrete, which makes concrete products that can be used in coastal and marine locations without disrupting marine life.
While standard concrete harms marine ecosystems, the ECOncrete products encourage the growth of bio-habitats and nurture marine life. The products are price-competitive and maintain the structural properties found in conventional concrete.
Perkol-Finkel’s work was recognized with several awards and accolades, including being named to the 2019 Forbes list of “50 women-led startups who are crushing tech" and being recognized on TIME’s 100 Best Inventions of 2019 list.
Businessman and CDL Fellow John Risley said Perkol-Finkel was “smart, articulate and a very committed founder.”
Larsen said Perkol-Finkel, a wife and mother of three, was a talented scientist and brilliant entrepreneur. “She inspired people with her love of the ocean, and her vision for rescuing it,” he said.
Anyone wishing to contibute to the scholarship fund in Perkol-Finkel's memory can do so here.
