The NDSU Research and Technology Park is scheduled to host the Innovation Challenge awards luncheon Tuesday, April 2, from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Fargodome. There will be a short program, including a keynote from Scott Meyer, NDSU executive director of entrepreneurial initiatives, concluding with the announcement of the winners of the Innovation Challenge.
Students have been competing since January, concluding on March 28 with the final formal presentations. A list of the finalists in alphabetical order includes:
Entrepreneurship:
• Jesse Saxberg, Chase Tozer and Adam Allmer, who developed the Busy Boozy Bar app that eliminates waiting at the bar for drinks and fosters a fun, social environment.
• Grayson Klein, who developed ElboRoom, which helps remote workers find unique workspaces to pursue their business goals in a space fit for them.
• Colin Schulte, Jordan Thielman and Kyland Kielger, with Hot Bike, that helps cyclists travel more comfortably so they can ride in colder climates.
• Matthew Solem and Kristian Rue with Push Receipts, which eliminates paper receipts to prevent waste and gives control of data.
• Megan Skjonsby, Nancy Ngo, Chase Nettum, Noah Moberg and Megan Schumacher, the creators of Shark Card, a virtual stage for business cards to be organized and sustain networking connections.
Graduate Research:
• Ghazal, Vahidi, Amir, Darabi, Jamileh Shojaeiarani and Chad Rhehovsky, with Hydro-Healers, 3D printed hydrogel bandages that can be customized for individual patients.
• Velmanickam Logeeshan created Illuminate, an engineering technique to rescue cancer patients from death.
• Matthew Confeld and Babak Mamnoon with Natal Notes, which allows expecting mothers to be proactive about their newborn’s health, through genetic screening and counseling.
• Pranothi Multini, with Silk-Cath, a coating of a venous catheter tube with a unique fusion protein that can capture heparin present inside the body to provide an anti-coagulant and antimicrobial surface.
Social Impact:
• Mariah Billadeau with EcoTex, an eco-friendly outdoor recreational textile that will reduce the use of microplastics.
• Shelby Grabanski, Ninad Kashyap and Matt Hofman with Outside In, which helps people get rid of useless socks to create winterwear that will keep them and the homeless population warm.
• Ryan Morff, Charlie Carlson, Hayden Teruya and Jeffrey Ostlund created Reel, which helps young social media users connect with friends and family in an authentic way so they can feel confident and happy about themselves without fear of judgement.
• Emma Kangas and Elsie McGuigan with U-Scoop, a way to give college students the tools to earn volunteer hours by clearing snow and ice from public walkways, intersections and around cars to keep students safe, promote healthy activities and build community on campus.
• Ryder Belgrade, Myles Duval, Peyton Beehler and Sam Betty, are the Wind-Turbine Guys, creating compact omnidirectional wind turbines that can be mounted on city buildings to help reduce carbon footprints.
As a student-focused, land-grant, research university, we serve our citizens.
