The winners of the Lemelson-MIT Student Prize, a nationwide search for the most inventive college students, have been announced. The Lemelson-MIT Program awarded over $90,000 to college students, with $10,000 prizes for undergraduate winners and $15,000 for graduate student winners. The prize is supported by the Lemelson Foundation and serves as a catalyst for “burgeoning young inventors,” according to a press release.
The prize is divided up into four different categories: “Cure It!” which focuses on health care inventions, “Drive It!” which focuses on transportation inventions, “Eat It!” which focuses on food and agricultural inventions, and “Use It!” which focuses on consumer device inventions.
The “Cure It!” winners were graduate student Catalin Voss for the Autism Glass Project, a learning aid for children with autism based on smart glasses, and undergraduates Jason Kang, Katherine Jin and Kevin Tyan for Highlight, an additive that allows health care workers to fully cover contaminated surfaces with disinfectant solutions.
The “Drive It!” winner was graduate student Dan Dorsch for his invention of the world’s first lightweight, clutch-less transmission for high-performance hybrid vehicles.
The “Eat It!” winners were Heather Hava for her space growth chamber SmartPot, and Kale Rogers, Michael Farid, Braden Knight and Luke Schlueter for Spyce Kitchen, the world’s first automated restaurant.
The “Use It!” winners were Achuta Kadambi for his advanced camera inventions “Nanophotography” and “Polarized 3D,” and Thomas Pryor and Navid Azodi for SignAloud, gloves that can revolutionize communication for the deaf and mute.
The Lemelson-MIT program was founded by Jerome Lemelson and his wife Dorothy at MIT in 1994. The Lemelson Foundation uses the power of invention to improve lives, and to date, it has granted over $200 million.
