The winners have been announced for the Nice Idea and Innovation Challenge held Nov. 19. The Innovation Day competition is sponsored by the Nice Center at NDSU and the Research and Technology Park.
Teams pitched during the inaugural ND Innovation Day, a celebration of North Dakotans who are putting innovation to work in their classroom, communities and businesses.
A project called “Orion” was the top finisher in the Graduate Student category. Orion is a toolbox for improving lung cancer therapy.
Team members include:
• Harshit Shah, NDSU pharmaceutical sciences graduate student from India
• Mahek Sadiq, NDSU biomedical engineering graduate student from Bangladesh
• Lizhi Pang, NDSU pharmaceutical sciences graduate student from China
“Cardiopulmonary Biosensor” took top honors in the Undergraduate Student category. The project uses biosensors to identify cardiopulmonary disease.
Team members include:
• Rachel Wright, NDSU electrical engineering major from Otsego, Minnesota
• Toan Le, NDSU biomedical engineering major from Vietnam
• Kaitlyn Van Auken, NDSU biomedical engineering major from Maple Grove, Minnesota
• Mackenzie Ostlie, NDSU electrical engineering major from Vergas, Minnesota
• Anna Schornack, NDSU electrical engineering major from Rochester, Minnesota
• Jacob Enochson, NDSU electrical engineering major from Wahpeton, North Dakota
• Julia Gibbs, NDSU electrical engineering major from Woodbury, Minnesota
• Kiersten Evenson, NDSU electrical engineering major from Moose Lake, Minnesota
• Nischal Khanal, University of North Dakota student from Colombia, Missouri
• Christopher Wu, Biola University student from Rowland Heights, California
• Isaac Gilchrist, NDSU electrical engineering major from Cloquet, Minnesota
The winner of the Social Innovators category was a project titled “On the Up and Up Cycle” that creates fashion products with upcycled plastic materials.
Current team members include:
• Melissa Zimmermann, NDSU business administration and global business major from Sauk Centre, Minnesota
Each winning project received a $1,500 award.
The People’s Choice Award went to “Find a Friend,” a pen-pal matching service for elderly patients living alone.
Team members include:
• Gabriel Thomas, NDSU management information systems and accounting major from Fargo
• Jediah Thomas, Concordia College finance major from Fargo
Innovation Challenge is a national idea competition hosted by NDSU. It helps students learn essential skills of creativity, problem solving, public speaking, and collaboration.
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