On Wednesday, April 15th, the 2015 Idea Challenge event was held in Moloney Hall at University Crossing. Ten teams pitched to win a portion of $35,000 and preliminary teams who didn’t make it to finals stood by their posters to share their ideas for the chance to win Fan Favorite. Thank you to all of our sponsors, judges, participants, and attendees. Below are the 2015 Idea Challenge winners!

Campus-Wide DifferenceMaker

Hydraulic Walker – $5,000: A walker that utilizes hydraulics, allowing for the legs to be quickly adjusted, so that it can be used on stairs.

• Ryan Andrews, Graduate, Physical Therapy
• Peter Klausmeyer, Graduate, Physical Therapy

Significant Social Impact

1st Place – $4,000
Love of the Game: A community outreach program aiming to integrate universities and people with physical and cognitive disabilities through sports.

• Jessica Dion, Junior, Exercise Physiology
• Dylan Doucette, Junior, Exercise Physiology
• Lucas Parsons, Junior, Exercise Physiology
• Rachel Silk, Junior, Business, Marketing
• Daniel Schmith, Freshman, Business, Entrepreneurship

2nd Place – $2,500
Buddies without Borders: A project aimed to bridge the gap between domestic students and international students starting with an in-person pair up then followed by a comprehensive website that allows members to define their profiles and micro-blog by text, photo, and video sharing.

• Tugba Arsava, Graduate, Community Social Psychology
• Burhan Colak, Graduate, Civil Engineering
• Katherine Cox, Freshman, Psychology
• Madeline Ormazza, Sophomore, Business
• Shashank Raghuveer, Graduate, Computer Science
• Fang Zhang, Graduate, Chemistry

Contribution to a Healthier Lifestyle

1st Place – $4,000
Playable Therapy: A platform of exercises and games, that, with Microsoft Kinect, will allow for motion tracking of a physical therapy (PT) patient during their exercise routine at home.

• Suhaib Alfageeh, Junior, Computer Science
• Lucas Brown, Junior, English and Math
• Chelsea Hayes, Junior, Business
• Damir Ismagilove, Junior, Math
• Anthony Pitaro, Senior, Exercise Physiology
• Mark Mcgrotty, Junior, Computer Science

2nd Place – $2,500

Solar Electric Vehicles: A series of low speedy and high efficiency commuter vehicles that utilize hub motor technology to allow people to travel using purelthe energy of the sun.

• Chukwuma Azubuine, Graduate, Entrepreneurship
• Richard Asirifi, Junior, Electrical Engineering
• Anas Dahany, Senior, Electrical Engineering
• David Jenkins, Senior, Mechanical Engineering
• Oliver Kayego, Sophomore, Electrical Engineering
• Chris Leger, Senior, Electrical Engineering
• Jared Mrvos, Sophomore, Computer Engineering
• Charles Reid, Senior, Mechanical Engineering
• Kenneth Sanders, Freshman, Computer Science
• Mukhammaddin Zinaddinov, Freshman, Electrical Engineering

Innovative Technology Solution

1st Place – $4,000
Masela Dentures: A fully 3D printable denture system as an alternative solution to expensive dentures manufactured using traditional casting and milling methods.

• Cormac Hondros-McCarthy, Senior, Plastics Engineering
• Casey McRae, Senior, Plastics Engineering

2nd Place – $2,500
KEnDERS Athletic Body Armor:A novel design for sports equipment using shear-thickening fluids.

• Elizabeth Kender, Junior Plastics Engineering
• Laura Kender, Junior, Plastics Engineering
• Stephen Kender, Freshman, Mechanical Engineering

First to Market

1st Place – $4,000
Mayday: A wearable device connected via Bluetooth technology to a mobile phone, that, when activated, sends emergency alert signals to a list of emergency contacts.

• Alessandro Agnello, PhD, Computer Science
• Cibhi SelVen, Graduate, MBA

2nd Place – $2,500
Wordbuilder: An interactive toy designed to help children build the foundations of reading at an early age.

• Sergio Coronado, Junior, Computer Engineering
• Ian Copithorne, Junior, Computer Engineering

Honorable Mention – $1,500
Low Income Community Homework Center: A homework center opened in Lawrence, MA to help high school students graduate and move onto college.

• Arnaldo Rivera, Senior, Psychology
• Hector Rivera, Senior, Psychology

Fan Favorite – $2,500
Indoor Hydroponic System: A hydroponic garden that is equipped with an environment monitoring system that ensures optimal growing conditions for plants and requires little to no maintenance.

• Rapheeporn Aungaphinant, Graduate, MBA
• Katherine Cain, Graduate, MBA
• Tucker Holladay, Graduate, MBA
• Shu-Wei Hsu, Graduate, MBA
• Alima Shamuratova, Graduate, MBA

• Buddies Without Borders: A project that aims to bridge the gap between domestic students and international students by starting with an in-person pair up followed by a comprehensive website that allows members to define their profiles and micro-blog by text, photo, and video sharing.
• Homework Center: A homework center in a poverty stricken town/city such as Lawrence, Massachusetts.The goal is to promote a positive and encouraging environment to encourage students to continue on the educational path and to, therefore, increase the graduation rate while lowering the dropout rate.
• Hydraulic Walker: An innovative walker that utilizes hydraulics, allowing for the legs to be quickly adjusted, so that it can be used on stairs.
• Kender’s Body Armor: A project that introduces a novel design for sports equipment using shear-thickening fluids. The materials offer superior impact protection in a thinner and unobtrusive profile and create superior sports attire.
• Love of the Game: A community outreach program aiming to integrate universities and people with physical and cognitive disabilities through sports.
• Masela Dentures: A project that aims to develop a fully 3D printable denture system as an alternative solution to expensive dentures manufactured using traditional casting and milling methods.
• Mayday: This team has created a wearable device connected via Bluetooth technology to a mobile phone, that, when activated, sends emergency alert signals to a list of emergency contacts in an emergency situation.
• Playable Therapy: A platform of exercises and games that, with the Microsoft Kinect, will allow for motion tracking of a physical therapy patient during their exercise routine at home.
• Solar Electric Vehicles: A series of low speed and high efficiency commuter vehicles that utilize hub motor technology to allow people to travel using purely the energy of the sun.
• Word Builder: An interactive toy designed to help children build the foundations of reading at an early age. The toy will be an evolutionary system that will grow with the child as they develop the skills necessary to learn how to read.

A special shout out and thank you to all of the judges, faculty fellow, and staff who were incredibly engages and enthusiastic throughout the entire event. We couldn’t do this without you!