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Student inventors to compete during Innovation Days

February 7, 2005

Undergraduate student inventors will display medical devices, collapsing stools, water filters, a fishing lure, a device to walk on water and more inspired ideas in the Engineering Centers Building during the annual Innovation Days competition scheduled for Thursday-Friday, Feb. 10-11.

The students will compete for more than $24,000 in prizes in the Schoofs Prize for Creativity and the Tong Prototype Prize competitions. In its 11th year, the contest awards cash prizes to those teams whose ideas and inventions are judged the most innovative and most likely to succeed in the marketplace. This year, judges will award new prizes for Best Ideas Notebook and Best Presentation.

The event, which includes presentation judging and prototype viewing, is free and open to the public. UW–Madison students can collect a door-prize ticket for each invention presentation they attend; prizes include computer electronics, merchandise from area businesses and Babcock ice cream.

Winners will be announced at the competition’s close on Friday, Feb. 11.

The Schoofs Prize for Creativity is sponsored by UW–Madison chemical engineering alumnus Richard J. Schoofs; the Tong Prototype Prizes and grants are funded by the Tong Family Foundation, including electrical and computer engineering alumnus Peter P. Tong.

The Engineering Centers Building is located at 1550 Engineering Drive. Limited public parking is available in the adjacent ramp. Visitors should use the east ramp entrance.

Schedule of Events

Thursday, Feb. 10

  • 9 a.m.-2:35 p.m.: Invention presentations in the Tong Auditorium, Engineering Centers Building. All prototypes and student posters will be available for viewing in the building’s atrium on this day only.
  • 3 p.m.: Celebration of Thomas Edison’s birthday, Engineering Hall west wing lobby. The event includes a visit from Edison and powering of one of his original 1880s generators.

Friday, Feb. 11

  • 8 a.m.-9:15 p.m.: Invention presentations in the Tong Auditorium, Engineering Centers Building.
  • Noon: Awards ceremony and door-prize drawing, Tong Auditorium, Engineering Centers Building.

Presentation Times

Thursday, Feb. 10

  • 9-9:15 a.m.: Bill Brower and Sam Strom, The Silent Cellular Alert, a device that alerts cell phone users of incoming calls by direct skin contact.
  • 9:20-9:35 a.m.: Ling Jun Wong, The Duo Winds, a multifeatured designer desk fan with a built-in lamp and stationery holder.
  • 9:40-9:55 a.m.: Sean McHone, RoboMouse, a fishing lure that replicates the appearance and movements of a live animal in the water.
  • 10-10:15 a.m.: Augie Salick, Mark Street, Jonathan McCabe, Justin Biesboer and Trenton Kirchdoerfer, Aqua Skimmers, a human-powered recreational device used to walk on water.
  • 10:20-10:35: Austin Lemke, Dong-hwan Park, Koichiro Ishihara and Pornsak Srisungsitthissunti, The Convenient Cooker, a rotating cooking appliance designed as an alternative to slow cookers, frying pans and woks.
  • 11-11:15 a.m.: Mark Osbeck, Scott Haman, Kyle Larson and Anders Brown, PortagePro, a device designed to allow travelers on a portage to transfer the load of the canoe to most backpacks.
  • 11:20-11:35 a.m.: Kurt Poorman, Hot Blade, a combination paint scraper and heat gun designed to more effectively remove paint from wood.
  • 11:40-11:55 a.m.: Tom Bartlett, Tim Bartelt, Jenny Mason and Alex Salter, Freebind, a binding system for snowboarders allowing for more freedom in positioning.
  • 1-1:15 p.m.: Derek Christianson, Mechanic’s Creeper Head and Neck Support, a mechanic’s creeper designed to reduce injury through an adjustable head and neck support.
  • 1:20-1:35 p.m.: Mozart Chan, Peter Ma, Eugene Chan, Starpunch, a device that uses the action of a hole puncher to achieve the function of a stapler.
  • 1:40-1:55 p.m.: Brian McCall and Elizabeth Surfus, The EroDynamic, a device designed to expedite the installation of erosion-control blankets.
  • 2-2:15 p.m.: Nick O’Brien, Chandler Nault and Mitch Nick, The FireSite, a transmitter/receiver system designed to guide firefighters out of smoke-filled buildings.
  • 2:20-2:35 p.m.: Tara Jo Schiltz, Interlocking Bowl and Tray, a system for use with a baby’s high chair that locks the bowl in the tray, preventing the child from throwing the bowl to the floor.

Friday, Feb. 11

  • 8-8:15 a.m.: Christine Weisshaar, Elese Hanson, Andrew Wentland and Jeffrey DeLorme, Automated Syringe Dosing, a syringe loading, dosing and injection apparatus that enables a person with a loss of vision and/or fine motor control to accurately set dosage on a disposable syringe.
  • 8:20-8:35 a.m.: Ryan Abler, Dan Wick, Kristen Terry, Kate Christianson and Jacek Kawecki, Lift Buddy, a device designed to eliminate physical strain and potential injury in lifting objects of up to 100 pounds.
  • 8:40-8:55 a.m.: Paul Fraser, Valerie Bauza, Ryu Suzuki, Niklas Schmidt and Katharine Mulligan, Faucet Filter, an affordable and sustainable valve for water conservation efforts around the world.
  • 9-9:15 a.m.: Ben Jaeger, Natalie Meagher, Mark Webb, Lynn
    Daul, Dominic Kasten, Baseboard Booster, a collapsing stool that fits in the space behind the baseboard of a cabinet.