The Rist Family donation is a significant step forward in the development and growth of the DifferenceMaker® Program. Through the Rist DifferenceMaker® Institute, we will increase the participation and recognition of UMass Lowell student innovation and creativity across the northeast and the country. We are very grateful to Kim and Brian Rist ’77, Manning School of Business, for this generous contribution, and for their past support of the program.
Kim and Brian Rist ’77, Manning School of Business
Thank you to Kim and Brian Rist for supporting the DifferenceMaker® Program and UMass Lowell
students in the following ways:
Establishment of the Rist DifferenceMaker® Graduate student fellowship.
Funding to support DifferenceMaker® student team participation in regional and
national competitions.
Naming of the Rist Campus-wide DifferenceMaker® award.
Support of the Rist DifferenceMaker® co-op student award.
Brian Rist ’77, Manning School of Business, being recognized at the 2019 $50,000 Idea Challenge.
Brian Rist is the Founder, President, and CEO of
Storm Smart Industries. He is also
the President & CEO of Storm Smart’s parent company The Smart Companies.
Brian Rist is considered an expert in the field
of innovative hurricane protection.
Since founding Storm Smart in 1996, Brian has
dedicated his energies to customer service, product development, company growth
and sustainability.
A Massachusetts native, he had the idea for
hurricane protection after Hurricane Andrew in 1992 revealed how garage-door
failures destroyed homes. Initially focused on helping homeowners protect their
homes from storms, Storm Smart’s business jumped more than 300% after Hurricane
Charley struck the Gulf Coast in 2004.
On Wednesday, April 24, from 5 p.m. – 8:30 p.m., we held our
7th annual $50,000 Idea Challenge in Moloney Hall, University
Crossing. As people began to arrive they
had a chance to vote for one of our nine semi-finalist teams to win the Fan
Favorite award. There was great turnout
of faculty, professors, students, and others to see our ten finalist teams
pitch-off for a chance to win a piece of the $50,000!
Congratulations to all of our winning teams!
Fan Favorite –
$1,000
Bar Scene- Thomas
Kiley, Senior, Computer Science; Hannah Wright, Alumni, Marketing and
Entrepreneurship; & Owen Hunter, Senior, Finance.
“The Bar Scene app
will act as a one-stop shop for nightlife information in Lowell, including
prices, events, and how crowded each bar is in real time.”
Honorable Mentions
– $2,000
EV Smart (EV 2 EV)-
Omkar Bhandakkar, Alumni, Energy Engineering; Hamza Ehsan, Junior, Computer
Science; & Rajvi Shah, Senior, Computer Science.
“We want to solve the
problem of EV owners worrying about range and charging. By creating an app to
connect nearby EV owners with people in need of charging we solve exactly that.
With the hardware in place for Vehicle-2-vehicle communications as well we can
have short range and long range communications either between mobile phones and
users or cars between cars.”
“As a scuba diver here
in New England it is always a challenge to haul your gear over the extremely
uneven terrain that is associated with the best dive sites. This also keeps a
lot of disabled divers from being able to enjoy a sport that they love. For a
disabled scuba diver, this terrain makes it even more of a challenge. I have
developed a device that would either assist the diver by moving the diver’s
gear to the water or even move a disabled diver to the water or even into the
water.”
Projected Pin/ ATM
Fast App- Conrad Nelson, Junior, Chemical Engineering; Jenna Olander,
Senior, Art (BFA); Tatiana Tompkins, Sophomore, Business; & Mohammad
Musawear, Freshman, Computer Engineering.
“A faster and safer
method to withdraw from an ATM that will save Americans and ATM companies
millions of dollars per year. Our method
requires a minor integration to the ATM user interface that will help prevent
potentially all card skimming and PIN theft that occurs at ATMs.”
RE-VIVE (NextStep)- Nicholas
Lydon, Senior, Chemical Engineering (BSE); Allison Michell, Senior, Chemical
Engineering (BSE); & Derek Jamieson, Freshman, Undeclared.
“This project aims to
address the opioid epidemic by preventing fatal overdose. The project consists
of a wearable auto-injection system to administer Naloxone to those suffering
from a drug overdose. This will help decrease the number of fatal overdoses
that tragically occur, and hopefully combat the overall epidemic.”
The CAT Mat (Outside
In – An outdoor simulation mat)- Michelle Mailloux, Graduate, Physical
Therapy; & Katherine Muise, Graduate, Physical Therapy.
“Our product is a mat
that will allow physical therapists to treat their patients’ deficits
throughout the body, from the musculoskeletal system to sensory systems. It
will simulate walking outdoors to help patients prepare for community
ambulation. Our mat will have a sturdy structure underneath that allows it to
be slip-free and be buildable. The pieces will be sized so that they can fit in
parallel bars, making them usable to even the most dependent of patients. It
will be a great alternative to walking outside when an outdoor environment is
not suitable for a patient.”
Contribution to a
Healthier Lifestyle – $4,500
ECG for Me (Electro
Cardio Athletic Patch)- Rachel Harrington, Graduate, Biotechnology; Taylor
Mellen, Graduate, Biotechnology; & William Bizilj, Graduate,
Biotechnology.
“Design wireless
electro cardio patches that work with the Apple Series 4 watch to display an
ECG capable of detecting underlying heart conditions.”
Jack. M. Wilson
First Product to Market Award – $4,500
Jamfuze (Music Web
Platform)- Stephen Wahome, Alumni, MBA; Christopher Sinclair, Junior, BBA;
Michael Adrien, Senior, Sound Recording Technology (BM).
“We are aiming to
create a music website/market place connects local artist with the services
they need to build and accelerate their music careers. These services will
range from finding local studios, engineers, videographers, beats, and much
more. The key is eliminating the search cost for these artists by providing a
one stop shop platform.”
USe Cart- Max
Ushakov, Graduate, Electrical Engineering; Daniel Falcone, Senior, Business;
Moya Alhayek, Junior, Electrical Engineering; & Shanice Kelly, Junior,
Mechanical Engineering.
“The future shopping
cart that makes the shopping faster, easier for customers, pushing the
self-checking to the new level. The smart shopping cart will create the better
experience of doing your grocery, and it will reduce the time that you spend in
a store. Technology inside will help a customer to navigate through the piles
and have a shopping list on a screen connected to theirs accounts. Let’s make the future of shopping enjoyable.”
Significant Social
Impact – $4,500
VotED- from
Middlesex Community College: Michael Dignan, Sophomore, Business
Administration; Gillian Inglis, Sophomore, Business Administration; &
Olivia Reposa, Sophomore, Business Administration.
“A voting education app. It
informs voters about what is on their ballot in the upcoming election and will
notify them when there is an upcoming election.
They can also decide if they want to learn about town meeting and other
political events in their town.”
Rist Campus-wide
DifferenceMaker – $6,000
Benji Ball- Benjamin
McEvoy, Sophomore, Business; Gavin Donohue, Sophomore, Engineering; Tristan
Naboicheck, Freshman, English; & Edward Morante, Sophomore, Education.
“This is a Baseball
training tool that will be composed of a bat and ball with the ball having multiple
sides, each side showing the different outcome of an at bat. The bat has a
bigger barrel since this game/training tool is designed for children and
special needs kids to be able to learn the game of baseball in a fun and
simplistic way. I already have the first prototype made from a manufacturer in
China.”
We would like to extend a special thanks to all of our
judges for doing an amazing job!
Jim Barry ’88, Kennedy College of Sciences,
President and CEO of InspireMD, Inc.
Lorna Boucher ’86, Manning School of Business,
Chief Marketing Officer of Instinet
Mary Burns ’84, College of Fine Arts, Humanities
& Social Sciences, Principal of Splash Media Group Boston, LLC
Jim Regan ’88, Manning School of Business,
President and CEO of Digital Federal Credit Union
Brian Rist ’77, Manning School of Business,
President and CEO of The Smart Companies
Mark Saab ’81, ’13 (H), Francis College of
Engineering, Chief Technology Officer of Vention Medical
Jack M. Wilson, President Emeritus UMass System and Distinguished Professor of Higher
Education, Emerging Technologies, and Innovation at UMass Lowell
Also, a huge thank you to all of our sponsors for supporting
the DifferenceMaker program over the years and helping us get to where we are
today!
Circle
Health
Jim
Dandeneau ‘80
Joseph
C. Day Chancellors’ Fund
Digital
Federal Credit Union
Foley
and Lardner, LLP
Joseph
P. Donahue ‘13 (H) Charitable Foundation
Nancy
L. Donahue Endowed Fellowship in Values and Ethics
Enterprise
Bank
Mitchell
Kertzman ‘96 (H) Endowed Discretionary Fund
Robert
J. Manning ‘84 Endowment Fund (Robert and Donna Manning)
Francis
L. McKone ‘56 ‘00 (H) Chancellor’s Discretionary Endowment Fund
Glenn
Morgan ‘86
Pernick
Chancellor’s Endowed Discretionary Fund
James
Regan ‘88
Brian
Rist ‘77, Manning School of Business
Spinola
Angel Investment Fund for Entrepreneurship
Andrew
Sutherland ’94
Jack
Wilson Endowed Presidential Entrepreneurship Award Fund
On Wednesday, April 10, we held our 2019 DifferenceMaker
Preliminary Pitch-off at O’Leary Library on South Campus. This year 33 student teams got the
opportunity to pitch their ideas to our panels of guest judges. To end our event, the ten finalist teams were
announced and will be competing on April 24th in our 2019 Idea
Challenge for a chance to win $50,000!
Congratulations to our ten finalist teams!
Benji Ball- Benjamin
McEvoy, Sophomore, Business; Gavin Donohue, Sophomore, Engineering; Tristan
Naboicheck, Freshman, English; & Edward Monrante, Sophomore, Education. “This
is a Baseball training tool that will be composed of a bat and ball with the
ball having multiple sides, each side showing the different outcome of an at
bat. The bat has a bigger barrel since this game/training tool is designed for
children and special needs kids to be able to learn the game of baseball in a
fun and simplistic way. I already have the first prototype made from a
manufacturer in China.”
ECG for Me (Electro
Cardio Athletic Patch)- Rachel Harrington, Graduate, Biotechnology; Taylor
Mellen, Graduate, Biotechnology; & William Bizilj, Graduate, Biotechnology. “Design
wireless electro cardio patches that work with the Apple Series 4 watch to
display an ECG capable of detecting underlying heart conditions.”
EV Smart (EV 2 EV)-
Omkar Bhandakkar, Alumni, Energy Engineering; Hamza Ehsan, Junior, Computer
Science; & Rajvi Shah, Senior, Computer Science. “We
want to solve the problem of EV owners worrying about range and charging. By
creating an app to connect nearby EV owners with people in need of charging we
solve exactly that. With the hardware in place for Vehicle-2-vehicle
communications as well we can have short range and long range communications
either between mobile phones and users or cars between cars.”
Jamfuze (Music Web
Platform)- Stephen Wahome, Alumni, MBA; Christopher Sinclair, Junior, BBA;
Michael Adrien, Senior, Sound Recording Technology (BM). “We are
aiming to create a music website/market place connects local artist with the
services they need to build and accelerate their music careers. These services
will range from finding local studios, engineers, videographers, beats, and
much more. The key is eliminating the search cost for these artists by
providing a one stop shop platform.”
OTDSEES (Over Terrain
Tactical Scuba Personnel Delivery Device)- Ian Ramsdell, Senior, BA. “As a
scuba diver here in New England it is always a challenge to haul your gear over
the extremely uneven terrain that is associated with the best dive sites. This
also keeps a lot of disabled divers from being able to enjoy a sport that they
love. For a disabled scuba diver, this terrain makes it even more of a
challenge. I have developed a device that would either assist the diver by
moving the diver’s gear to the water or even move a disabled diver to the water
or even into the water.”
Projected Pin/ ATM
Fast App- Conrad Nelson, Junior, Chemical Engineering; Jenna Olander,
Senior, Art (BFA); Tatiana Tompkin, Sophomore, Business; & Mohammad
Musawear, Freshman, Computer Engineering.
“A faster and safer method to
withdraw from an ATM that will save Americans and ATM companies millions of
dollars per year. Our method requires a
minor integration to the ATM user interface that will help prevent potentially
all card skimming and PIN theft that occurs at ATMs.”
RE-VIVE (NextStep)- Nicholas
Lydon, Senior, Chemical Engineering (BSE); Allison Michell, Senior, Chemical
Engineering (BSE); & Derek Jamieson, Freshman, Undeclared. “This
project aims to address the opioid epidemic by preventing fatal overdose. The
project consists of a wearable auto-injection system to administer Naloxone to
those suffering from a drug overdose. This will help decrease the number of
fatal overdoses that tragically occur, and hopefully combat the overall
epidemic.”
The CAT Mat (Outside
In – An outdoor simulation mat)- Michelle Mailloux, Graduate, Physical
Therapy; & Katherine Muise, Graduate, Physical Therapy. “Our
product is a mat that will allow physical therapists to treat their patients’
deficits throughout the body, from the musculoskeletal system to sensory
systems. It will simulate walking outdoors to help patients prepare for
community ambulation. Our mat will have a sturdy structure underneath that
allows it to be slip-free and be buildable. The pieces will be sized so that
they can fit in parallel bars, making them usable to even the most dependent of
patients. It will be a great alternative to walking outside when an outdoor
environment is not suitable for a patient.”
USe Cart- Max
Ushakov, Graduate, Electrical Engineering; Daniel Falcone, Senior, Business; Moya
Alhayek, Junior, Electrical Engineering; & Shanice Kelly, Junior,
Mechanical Engineering. “The future shopping cart that makes the
shopping faster, easier for customers, pushing the self-checking to the new
level. The smart shopping cart will create the better experience of doing your
grocery, and it will reduce the time that you spend in a store. Technology
inside will help a customer to navigate through the piles and have a shopping
list on a screen connected to theirs accounts.
Let’s make the future of shopping enjoyable.”
VotED- from
Middlesex Community College: Michael Dignan, Sophomore, Business
Administration; Gillian Inglis, Sophomore, Business Administration; &
Olivia Reposa, Sophomore, Business Administration. “A voting
education app. It informs voters about
what is on their ballot in the upcoming election and will notify them when
there is an upcoming election. They can
also decide if they want to learn about town meeting and other political events
in their town.”
We would also like to extend a special thanks to our guest
judges:
Jack Abrams ’74 Kennedy College of Sciences; Lisa Alloca ’87
’91 Manning School of Business; Janet Benvenuti ’77 ’82 Kennedy College of
Sciences; Janet Dellea ’84 Manning School of Business; Susan De Mari ’98 ’00
College of Fine Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences; Matthew Donahue; Earle
Durham; Bill Estes ’87 Francis College of Engineering; Steven Geyster ’83
Francis College of Engineering; John Grayson ’87 Francis College of Engineering;
Richard Juknavorian ’98 Zuckerberg College of Health Sciences; Sarah LaLiberte
’06 Manning School of Business; Jay Lang ’00 ’15 College of Education; Brenda
Maille ’78 ’78 Kennedy Colleges of Sciences and College of Fine Arts,
Humanities, and Social Sciences; Diane Maltais; Glenn Morgan ’86 College of
Fine Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences; Mahati Mukkamala ’09 Manning School
of Business; John Norden ’80 College of Fine Arts, Humanities, and Social
Sciences; Michael Rider ’87 Francis College of Engineering; Richard Rossetti
’83 Francis College of Engineering; Raymond Southworth ’81 College of Fine
Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences; Andrew Sutherland ’94 Manning School of
Business; Chet Szablak; Joseph Vaillancourt ’90 ’01 Manning School of Business;
Mark Yates ’80 ’81 Francis College of Engineering; and Bill Yelle ’85 Kennedy
College of Sciences.
Lastly, we would like to thank our guest speaker, Tyler Cote
from Operation250, for sharing his experiences and success since joining the
DifferenceMaker Program!
Don’t forget to stop by our 2019 $50k Idea Challenge on
April 24th from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. in Moloney Hall to see our
finalists pitch their ideas!
Workshop 4: Delivering Your Rocket Pitch was held on Wednesday, February 27th, in Lydon Library. As over 30 students arrived, they made their way over to serve themselves fresh salad and a delicious lasagna dinner.
Professor Michelle Veilleux, DifferenceMaker Faculty Fellow in Fine Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, and Professor Michael Ciuchta, Faculty Fellow in the Manning School of Business, led our fourth workshop with a focus on how teams should properly and effectively pitch their ideas to the judges at the upcoming Preliminary Pitch-off and Idea Challenge. Professor Veilleux and Professor Ciuchta emphasized the importance of clearly stating the problem, opportunity, and value of each teams’ solutions. Students were even shown videos of DifferenceMaker teams’ pitches at past years’ Idea Challenges and were able to work together to analyze what each team did well and what they could have improved on.
To end the night one brave team volunteered to practice their pitch to the rest of the audience. After the pitch, the audience was able to give valuable feedback and ask questions that may be brought up by the panel of judges!
We would like to thank all the students, faculty, and speakers who made our 2019 Workshop Series fun, engaging, and very informative! We hope that everyone learned some valuable information and advice for the upcoming Idea Plan, which is due on March 4th!
On Monday, February 25th, we held the third part of our Workshop Series, Developing Business Models. As over 45 students arrived, they made their way over to the baked potato bar to serve themselves some delicious baked potatoes with a variety of different toppings.
Innovation Initiatives Senior Director, Tom O’Donnell, and Professor Hunter Mack the DifferenceMaker® Faculty Fellow from the Francis College of Engineering, led this workshop. As they helped guide student teams through developing their business models, they often gave examples of companies whose business models failed due to their lack of research in a certain area.
To end the night, student teams worked together to develop their own business model by first determining many of the key factors that must be considered before finalizing any business model.
Thank you to everyone who joined us and made Workshop 3 our best turnout yet! We hope to see everyone at the final part of our Workshop Series, Delivering Your Rocket Pitch, which will be held Wednesday, February 27th, at 5:30 in Lydon Library room 110! Come hungry – dinner will be served!
The second event in our Workshop Series was held Thursday, February 21st, from 5:30PM to 7:30PM in Lydon Library Room 110. This workshop was focused on Assessing Opportunities and Value Proposition. As over 30 students arrived, some delicious fajitas were being served.
The night began with Faculty Fellow, Professor Brent Shell, from the Zuckerberg College of Health Sciences, presenting about what “Assessing Opportunities” really means. He stressed to the students that there is a market for practically everything, but the question is if there is an opportunity or a need within that market.
To finish of the night, Faculty Fellow, Professor Neil Shortland, from the College of Fine Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, presented about the importance of value in a product or service provided. Both Professors kept it a very fun and engaging night, often asking questions and opening the floor to DifferenceMaker® student teams to share how their product and service ideas can bring value to the consumer.
We would like to thank everyone who made it to Workshop 2 and we hope to see you all at our final two workshops:
Developing Business Models: Monday, Feb. 25th
Delivering Your Rocket Pitch: Wednesday, Feb. 27th
All workshops will be held in Lydon Library, Room 110, North Campus from 5:30 – 7:30PM!
Dinner is served at each workshop, so please come hungry!
We kicked-off our Workshop Series Tuesday evening, Feb. 19, 2019, in Lydon Library, Room 110 with Identifying Problems! Over 40 students and faculty arrived at 5:30PM to engage in Workshop 1. Fresh salad, pizza, chips and cookies were served. Entrepreneurial Initiatives Program Director, Holly Butler, began the night by introducing our guest speakers and giving a brief overview of the DifferenceMaker Workshop Series.
Guest speakers, Professors Iman Chahine and Mazen El Ghaziri, led the workshop and described the questions that needed to be answered in order to identify the significance of each team’s problem. After the presentation, students broke off into new or existing teams to brainstorm problems they were passionate about solving. Students were able to work together and come up with some great problems that needed to be dealt with, ranging from children with disabilities to safe medication disposal systems. By the end of the night, students had created or joined teams, found out the significance of their problem, and gained an understanding of what steps to take next in order to move on with their projects.
We want to thank everyone who came out and shared your amazing ideas with us!
We hope to see even more students at the remainder of our Workshop Series:
Assessing Opportunities and Value Proposition: Thursday, Feb. 21st
Developing Business Models: Monday, Feb. 25th
Delivering Your Rocket Pitch: Wednesday, Feb. 27th
All workshops will be held in Lydon Library, Room 110, North Campus from 5:30 – 7:30PM!
Dinner is served at each workshop, so please come hungry!
Don’t forget to keep working hard to prepare for the $50,000 Idea Challenge!
On Wednesday, January 30th, we began our spring semester with the 2019 Idea Challenge Kick-off and Idea Hack! This event was held from 5:30PM to 7PM in the Saab ETIC, Perry Atrium located on North Campus. As the students, professors, and mentors arrived, the night began with a variety of delicious foods and some networking. As over 90 students crowded into the atrium, Tom O’Donnell, Senior Director of Innovation Initiatives welcomed the audience by briefly introducing the DifferenceMaker® Program and providing his own experiences.
Shortly after, the Entrepreneurial Initiatives Program Director, Holly Butler, interviewed a panel of past DifferenceMaker Teams. The panel included Kierra Walsh from UML Green Roofs and Tyler Cote from Operation 250. They described their experiences with the DifferenceMaker Program, where it has gotten them today, and answered a few questions from the student audience.
To end the night, Ha Pho, Entrepreneurial Initiatives Program Manager led our Idea Hack Activity and Discussion. Students stood and explained their ideas for real world problems, involving Health and Wellness, Social Responsibility, and Mobile Applications. Then, others joined teams based on their interests of the ideas. Next, teams brainstormed and added to the ideas. Lastly, they presented their solutions to the audience.
We are extremely grateful for everyone who came Wednesday night to make the 2019 Idea Challenge Kick-off and Idea Hack an informative and engaging event! We hope to see many of the students pitch their ideas at our Idea Challenge event later this semester. Don’t forget, applications are due February 12th! Please apply today: www.uml.edu/differencemaker/ideachallengeapp
