The organizers behind the Collegiate Inventors Competition recently announced the finalists who will compete against one another during Global Entrepreneurship Week. The finalists--individuals or teams--in Graduate and Undergraduate Divisions receive an all-expenses paid trip to present their work to a panel of expert judges in Washington D.C. 

One undergraduate winner or team will receive $12,500, with second and third place winners receiving $10,000 and $7,500. The top graduate winner will receive $15,000, with second and third place winners receiving $12,500 and $10,000.

2012 Collegiate Inventors Competition Finalists

Undergraduate Finalists

Fadi Azer, Jessica Campos, Matthew Getzin, Jeffrey Savin
Vanderbilt University
Lacertus Delivery System for Peripheral Nerve Repair
Advisor: Wesley Thayer

The Lacertus Delivery System subcutaneously delivers a hydrophilic polymer to injured or severed peripheral nerves. The biocompatible, minimally invasive, and easily operated device will help to prevent amputations in both civilians and soldiers as the treatment is in experimental trials to validate its facilitation of nerve growth and regeneration.

Elizabeth Chang, Amanda Christian, Christopher Ng
Dartmouth College
Expandable Hydrogel Sphere for Orbital Implantation
Advisor: Douglas Van Citters

This invention is an expandable hydrogel sphere designed for orbital tissue expansion in patients with anophthalmia and microphthalmia, the conditions of lacking an eyeball or having a small eyeball.

Alexander Cooper, Elizabeth Flanagan, Shawna Hagen, Jacob Thompson
Georgia Institute of Technology
MAID: Magnet-Assisted Intubation Device
Advisor: L. Franklin Bost

MAID (Magnet-Assisted Intubation Device) seeks to make intubation a safer, faster, and easier procedure by using a system of magnets to guide the endotracheal tube into the trachea, eliminating the need for a laryngoscope.

Riley Csernica, Meredith Donaldson, Chelsea Ex-Lubeskie, Kaitlin Grove
Clemson University
Hi-Impact Shoulder Stabilization Brace
Advisor: John DesJardins

The Hi-Impact Shoulder Stabilization Brace is a self-applicable, low-profile brace designed for athletes who have experienced an anterior shoulder dislocation. The brace provides compressive support to the glenohumeral joint during activity to aid in prevention of secondary dislocations while still allowing athletes to perform at a high level. 

Henry Li, Andrew Parmar, Maksim Ratner
San Jose State University
Spherical Drive System
Advisor: Winncy Du

The spherical drive system (SDS) is an electric motorcycle that maneuvers on spheres instead of traditional wheels. It couples MEMS gyroscopic sensors, accelerometers, and a computer control system to achieve stability and omnidirectional maneuverability absent in traditional motorcycles.

Leslie Myint, Daniel Peng, Andy Tu, Stephen Van Kooten
Johns Hopkins University
FastStitch
Advisor: Robert Allen

The FastStitch is a plier-like device that can drive and transfer a needle across its jaw, intended to provide improved fascia closure during abdominal surgery. With this device, surgeons will be able to close fascia more easily, safely, and consistently.

Eric Ronning
University of Wisconsin
ReHand
Advisor: T.R. Mackie

The ReHand uses CT scanning and 3D printing technologies to replicate an amputee's lost hand. Through a number of inventions, the prosthetic is not just innovative aesthetically, but innovative functionally and financially as well.

Graduate Finalists

Tamer Badawy
Wayne State University
Autonomous Operation of Internal Combustion Engines on a Multitude of Fuels
Advisor: Naeim Henein

This invention enables electronically controlled internal combustion engines to operate effectively on fuels of different physical and chemical properties. The state of the art technology autonomously readjusts engine systems based on a combustion sensor to achieve goals in power, fuel economy, and reduced emission.

Jerome Bonnet, Pakpoom Subsoontorn
Stanford University
Reliably Rewritable Nonvolatile Biological Bits
Advisor: Drew Endy

This invention is a rewritable and non-volatile data-storage device operating in living cells. The invention uses enzymes called recombinases to flip specific sequences of DNA back and forth at will.

Luo Gu
University of California, San Diego
In Vivo Time-Gated Fluorescence Imaging with Biodegradable Luminescent Porous Silicon Nanoparticles
Advisor: Michael Sailor

This invention is a nanoparticle-based fluorescent probe that can significantly improve sensitivity in detecting diseased tissues in vivo, using a time-gated fluorescence imaging technique.

Carol Jurchenko, Daniel R. Stabley
Emory University
Fluorescence Force Meter for Molecular Imaging of Live Cells
Advisor: Khalid Salaita

This biosensor measures the force that cells exert on their environment through specific chemical interactions. This tool allows the rapid imaging of force dynamics across entire cells and will be useful both for investigating how mechanical forces influence cell behavior as well as detecting abnormal cells, as in the case of cancer.

Chad Mourning, Scott Nykl
Ohio University
A Wake-Turbulence Aware Altimeter
Advisor: David Chelberg

An aircraft disturbs the local atmosphere through which it flies creating a turbulent vortex at each wing tip known as a wake vortex; these vortices are essentially invisible horizontal tornadoes and are a grave threat to smaller aircraft, especially during landing and takeoff. This prototype of a novel, flight tested instrument dynamically tracks potential wake vortices and presents this information to the pilot in real time.  

Inanc Ortac
University of California, San Diego
Nano-Wiffle-Balls for Cancer Therapy
Advisor: Sadik Esener

Nano-wiffle-balls offer a versatile therapeutic strategy based on hiding and protecting otherwise immunogenic non-human enzymes from the immune system and their delivery to the target. This simple yet effective approach can potentially be applied to the majority of cancers including blood cancers, solid tumors, and metastatic lesions with application-specific modifications.

Brett Walker
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Reactive Silver Inks
Advisor: Jennifer Lewis

Silver-based inks are the heart of the printed electronics industry but they are difficult and expensive to manufacture.  Reactive silver inks are particle-free, can be patterned through fine nozzles, and are extremely simple to make resulting in high yields and increased performance for lower cost.

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