Congratulations to Our 2025 Grand Prize and First Place Winners!
Imersiv, a breakthrough technology that improves audio performance by 100X compared to today’s very best audio equipment for applications ranging from sound engineering to space missions to medical imaging, was named the $25,000 grand prize winner at a live finalist round held November 7 in New York. Click here for the full list of winners. Also see the Top 100 highest scoring entries. Special thanks to our esteemed panel of judges.
Help build a better tomorrow
Since Tech Briefs magazine launched the Create the Future Design contest in 2002 to recognize and reward engineering innovation, over 16,000 design ideas have been submitted by engineers, students, and entrepreneurs in more than 100 countries. Join the innovators who dared to dream big by entering your ideas in our 2026 contest opening March 1.
Read About All the 2024 Winning Inventions
Special Report spotlights the eight amazing winners in 2024 as well as honorable mentions in each category, plus the top ten most popular entries as voted by our community.
Click here to read moreA ‘Create the Future’ Winner Featured on ‘Here’s an Idea’
Spinal cord injury affects 17,000 Americans and 700,000 people worldwide each year. A research team at NeuroPair, Inc. won the Grand Prize in the 2023 Create the Future Design Contest for a revolutionary approach to spinal cord repair. In this Here’s an Idea podcast episode, Dr. Johannes Dapprich, NeuroPair’s CEO and founder, discusses their groundbreaking approach that addresses a critical need in the medical field, offering a fast and minimally invasive solution to a long-standing problem.
Listen nowThank you from our Sponsors
“At COMSOL, we are very excited to recognize innovators and their important work this year. We are grateful for the opportunity to support the Create the Future Design Contest, which is an excellent platform for designers to showcase their ideas and products in front of a worldwide audience. Best of luck to all participants!”
— Bernt Nilsson, Senior Vice President of Marketing, COMSOL, Inc.
“From our beginnings, Mouser has supported engineers, innovators and students. We are proud of our longstanding support for the Create the Future Design Contest and the many innovations it has inspired.”
— Kevin Hess, Senior Vice President of Marketing, Mouser Electronics
contest
Contest
GRAND PRIZE WINNER
HI-LIGHT - Solar Thermal Chemical Reactor Technology for Converting CO2 to Hydrocarbons
Xiangkun (Elvis) Cao, Jessica Akemi Cimada da Silva, David Erickson, and Tobias Hanrath, Cornell University; Jason Salfi and Clayton Poppe, Dimensional Energy, Ithaca, NY, USA
AEROSPACE & DEFENSE CATEGORY WINNER
Airfoil Performance Monitor (APM)
John Maris, Puthy Soupin, Ludovic Laberge, and Marie-Hélène Larose, Marinvent Corporation, Saint-Bruno, Quebec, Canada
Honorable Mention – Aerospace & Defense Category
Development of Breathing System for Divers Based Upon Separation of Dissolved Air from Water
Alan Bodner, Zichron Yaakov, Tsafon, Israel
Hybrid Miller Cycle Rotary HCCI Engine for RQ-7 Class Drones
Roderick Newstrom, Garland, TX, USA
Space Exploration for All Using FemtoSats
Jekan Thangavelautham, Aman Chandra, Mercedes Herreras-Martinez, Andrew Warren, and Erik Asphaug, Arizona State University – SpaceTREx, Tempe, AZ, USA
Ultra-High-Speed Magnetically Levitated Reaction Wheels for Small Satellites
Arda Tuysuz, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
AUTOMOTIVE/TRANSPORTATION CATEGORY WINNER
Heavy Duty Aftermarket Super Truck
George Sturmon, Edward Murray, Susan Schmidt, Joshua Medling, and Glenn Harris, Enviro-Cool, Sullivan, MO, USA
Honorable Mention – Automotive/Transportation Category
SHOT - Lightweight Engine Starting System Without Battery/Starter
Michel Bernier, BRP, Quebec, Canada/Ski-Doo Engineering Team – USA, Canada and Austria
Plasma Deposition of Metal in Composite Panels
Erik Weiser, Roberto Cano, Brian Jensen, and Stephen Hales, NASA Langley Research Center; Joel Alexa, Lockheed Martin, Hampton, VA USA
Lightweight, Wear Resistant Metal Matrix Composite Brake Rotors
Lori Bracamonte and James Withers, ATS-MER, LLC, Tucson, AZ, USA
RADIALcvt (Continuously Variable Transmission)
Jan Naude, Varibox CVT Technologies, Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa
CONSUMER PRODUCTS CATEGORY WINNER
Conformal Battery
Russell Kittel, Krista Smith, Kathryn Chamberlain, Steve Risser, Christopher Jackson, and Megan Moore, Battelle, Columbus, OH, USA
Honorable Mention – Consumer Products Category
GAIA
Brent Chase, GAIA, Columbia, MD, USA
IAGIES - Impact Absorbing Gel Infused Exoskeleton
Melissa Chavez, Justin McGinnity, Cody Piercey, and Tanil Ozkan, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA
SignAloud
Thomas Pryor, SignAloud, Seattle, WA, USA
SkyRunner
Stewart Hamel, SkyRunner, LLC, Shreveport, LA, USA
ELECTRONICS/SENSORS/IoT CATEGORY WINNER
Integrated Multi-Color Light Emitting Device Made with Hybrid Crystal Structure
Yeonjoon Park, National Institute of Aerospace (NIA), and Sang Choi, NASA Langley Research Center, Hampton, VA, USA
Honorable Mention – Electronics/Sensors/IoT Category
World’s First Cost-effective Multispectral Sensor-on-Chip Solutions
Tom Griffiths, ams AG, Austin, TX, USA
Portable Rapid Sensor for Detection of E. Coli in Water
Parmiss Mojir Shaibani and Amirreza Sohrabi, Roshan Water Solutions, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Hearo - Internet of Sound
Hakan Lidbo and Max Bjorverud, Libido Music AB, Stockholm, Sweden
Environmental Sensing in the IoT with BME680: Unlimited Applications Become Possible
Silvia Mayer and Thomas Block, Bosch Sensortec, Reutlingen, Land Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany
MACHINERY/AUTOMATION/ROBOTICS CATEGORY WINNER
EJBot: Versatile Climbing Robot for Industrial Vessel Inspection
Mohamed Gouda Alkalla and Mohamed Fanni, Mansoura University, Mansoura, Ad-daqahliyah, Egypt
Honorable Mention – Machinery/Automation/Robotics Category
Synchronous Reluctance Machine
Douglas Richard, DDU Magnetics, Lynwood, IL, USA
Orbitless Drive
Leo Stocco, Orbitless Drives Inc., Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Development of Multi-Material 3D Printer Using Fused Deposition Modeling
Tey Jing Yuen and Yogeswaran a/l Mohan, University Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR), Cheras, Selangor, Malaysia
Single Sleeve Mounting Pulleys, Gears, Sprockets on Keyless Shaft
Tad Staniszewski, Asymmetric Fasteners Inc., Hackettstown, NJ, USA
MEDICAL CATEGORY WINNER
Arterial Everter
Jeffrey Plott, Adeyiza Momoh, Ian Sando, Brendan McCracken, Mohammed Tiba, Kevin Ward, Jeffrey Kozlow, and Paul Cederna, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
Honorable Mention – Medical Category
Electroactive Material for Wound Healing
NASA Langley Research Center’s Technology Gateway, Hampton, VA, USA
Kaleyedos Imaging Device: A Telemedicine Solution to Retinopathy of Prematurity
Erica Schwarz, Sami Messai, Becca Miller, Seony Han, Richard Chen, Aditya Murali, and Prerna Singh, Kaleyedos, San Francisco, CA, USA
High Visibility Biopsy Needles
Muhammad Sadiq, Ian Quirk, and Mike Irvine, Active Needle Technology, Abingdon, Oxford, UK
Quartet H2O LDD Actively Cooled Lateral Surgical Fiber Optic
Stephen Griffin, InnovaQuartz LLC, Phoenix, AZ, USA
SUSTAINABLE TECHNOLOGIES CATEGORY WINNER
Energy Saving Filter for Removal of Heavy Metals from Water
Volodymyr Khranovskyy, R. Yakimova, Ivan Shtepliuk, P. Lima de Carvalho, and A. Pinto, Talent Molecule LDA, Braga, Portugal
Honorable Mention – Sustainable Technologies Category
Pollution-Free Paper (Self-erasing Ink Enables Reuse)
Carl Yee, Blue Planet Ink, San Diego, CA, USA
ecoSPEARS - A Non-invasive True Solution to PCB Pollution in Contaminated Waterways
Samuel Johnson, Sergie Albino, and Ian Doromal, ecoSPEARS, Winter Springs, FL, USA
MicroEVAP™ Water Purification System
Karen Sorber, Micronic Technologies, Wise, VA, USA
SPIRP - Solar Powered Irrigation Resonance Pump
Sue Becconsall and Alec Becconsall, Longcroft Engineering; John Allport, Simon Malins, and Goodarz Khodabakhsi, University of Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, UK
TOP TEN MOST POPULAR ENTRIES
VSSUT Student Satellite
Apurwa Masook, Bodhisattwa Sanghapriya, Jaswasi Sahoo, Sovan Panda, Sudarshan Samal, and Tatwamsiddha Nanda, Idea Innovation Cell, Sambalpur, Odisha, India
Hoisting Device Combined with the Hydraulic Dump System of Pick-up Bed
Shailesh Parkhe, Shahnavaz Abdulla Shah, Sandip Bhausaheb, Lokhande Ganesh, and Jamnadas Ghule, Chandwad, Maharashtra, India
MEDDIAR - A Medical Diary
Mayank Talwar, Nayan Sharma, and Jatin Rana, Dronacharya College of Engineering, Gurgaon, Haryana, India
Future Dustbin
Nilaabh Vinay, Gugale Arjun, and Vikram Soni, Creative Minds, Pune, Maharashtra, India
Netmory
Mikhael Lerman, Manestate, San Jose, CA, USA
Space Gravity Suit
Georgios Profitiliotis, Elena Veli Giorgos, Ntalis Vasilapostolos Ouranis, and Vicky Stefanouli, NTUA, Athens, Greece
Chassis System That Reduces Hill Accidents
Manoj Sharma, Pantnagar, Uttarakhand, India
From Solar Thermal to Electrical Energy (24/7)
Marwan Sallouta, Abu Dhabi, Abu Zabi, United Arab Emirates
Groundnut Decorticator and Separator
Rahulkanth Sh, Saran R, Santhosh B, Raghul A, Easwari Engineering College, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
Advanced Space Debris Disposal System
Ritesh Deokar, Anish Gorantiwar, Kunal Nalamwar, Krishna Hundekari, Rohit Gujarathi, and Akashay Verma, MIT Pune, Pune, Maharashtra, India
{ctf_votes:2017}
{ctf_profile:list:2017}
2017 Entries
>> All
>> Aerospace & Defense
>> Automotive/Transportation
>> Consumer Products
>> Electronics/Sensors/IoT
>> Machinery/Automation/Robotics
>> Medical
>> Sustainable Technologies
2017 Participants
2017 Results
| Malath Arar Staff Engineer General Electric Company Lynn, MA |
Piero Aversa Chief Engineer - Global Powertrain NVH Ford Motor Company Dearborn, MI |
Dean Barker R&D Manager Fisher and Paykel Healthcare Auckland, New Zealand |
| Pierluigi Benedini Senior Technical Engineer Aptuit Verona, Italy |
John Bennett Senior Manager, Fuels Afton Chemical Limited Bracknell, Berkshire, UK |
Richard Berger Senior CAE Engineer PTC - Performance Cars General Motors Corp. Warren, MI |
| Tathagata Bhattacharya Senior Research Engineer ArcelorMittal (Global R&D) East Chicago, IN |
Laxmidhar Biswal Chief Expert BOSCH Bangalore, Karnataka, India |
Doug Bradley Advanced Development Engineering Manager Plasan Wixom, MI |
| Xinjin Cao Senior Research Officer National Research Council Canada Montreal, Quebec, Canada |
Sabin Carpiuc Software Engineer The MathWorks Ltd Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, UK |
Miguel Castillo VP Technology Development Aernnova Madrid, Spain |
| Anne Coleman Marketing Manager US Digital Vancouver, WA |
Chris Cook Product Development Engineer Dana, Inc. Paris, TN |
Jeff Crompton Principal AltaSim Technologies Columbus, OH |
| Bryn Dixon Studio Design Engineer GM Cadillac Design Warren, MI |
Francesco Ferretti Product Design Engineer Apple Inc. Cupertino, CA |
Jon Fifield Chief Engineer Astronics AES Kirkland, WA |
| Mitch Finne Engineering Manager Medtronic Plymouth, MN |
Brian Gleason Chief Engineer Southwest Airlines Co. Dallas, TX |
Clint Hamre Sr. Manager Toyota Motor North America Wittmann AZ |
| Roger Harmon Member of the Technical Staff Motorola Mobility LLC - Lenovo Chicago, IL |
Jim Hathaway Manager, Production Programs Northrop Grumman Aerospace Redondo Beach, CA |
Robert Holzhauer Electrical Cost Engineer FCA Northville, MI |
| Dave Hosey Engineering Manager Midmark Corporation Versailles, OH |
Abhinav Jain Program Engineering Lead BorgWarner Auburn Hills, MI |
Joshua Johnson Chief Engineer - Chassis Design Honda R&D Americas, Inc. Raymond, OH |
| Bharath Konda Research Engineer ArcelorMittal East Chicago, IN |
Belal Krad Mechanical Component Engineer General Electric Houston, TX |
Deepak Kulkarni Horiba India Ltd Pune, Maharashtra, India |
| Pravin Kulkarni Manager-Design Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd Nashik, MH, India |
Jacque La valle Senior Electrical Engineer Naval Air Systems Command Patuxent River, MD |
Dzung Le Reliability Metier Manager Schlumberger Jurong, Singapore |
| Sean League Director of Spacecraft Engineering SpaceFab.US Laguna Niguel, CA |
Joseph Lipman Director of Device Development Hospital for Special Surgery New York, NY |
Pascal Martinez Manager, Extremely Large Telescope Dome and Main Structure European Southern Observatory Garching bei Muenchen, Bavaria, Germany |
| Lauralyn McDaniel Industry Manager SME Dearborn, MI |
Paul Menig CEO Tech-I-M Sherwood, OR |
Kevin Moore Sr.Principal Engineer Barrios Technology Houston, TX |
| Viviane Morais Innovation Team Leader MAHLE Engine Components Farmington Hills, MI |
Christa Myers Chemical Process Engineer CRB Consulting Engineers Cary, NC |
Adrian Nastase Chief Electronics Engineer MKS Instruments/Newport Corporation Irvine, CA |
| Paul Nussbaum Asst. Dean Engineering Tech. ECPI University Richmond, VA |
Bernard Ordy Aircraft Operability Expert for Systems Airbus SAS Blagnac, France |
Stephen Osborne Lead Project Engineer Stanley Black & Decker Towson, MD |
| Gustavo Palacio Supply Chain Director Andean Region Kimberly Clark Co. Bogota, Cundinamarca, Colombia |
Jayesh Patel Director of Engineering Services Robert Bosch Battery Systems LLC Orion, MI |
Rupali Patil Lead Engineer John Deere Pune, Maharashtra, India |
| Samuel Phillips Consulting Engineer Samuel R. Phillips, Consulting Engineer GRASS VALLEY, California |
Marek Piechocinski Design Engineer Cirrus Logic Edinburgh, UK |
Ron Pietrowski Technical Expert Con Edison New York, NY |
| Constantin Puiu Project Engineer General Motors Pontiac, MI |
Atul Puranik Product Engineer Eaton Corporation Pune, Maharashtra, India |
Jeffery Puschell Principal Engineering Fellow Raytheon El Segundo, CA |
| Antonio Quintieri Principal Engineer Procter & Gamble Waterloo, Belgium |
Niat Rahman Senior CAE Engineer General Motors Warren, MI |
Samson Rajakumar Senior Manager, Transmission Systems Tatamotors ltd Pune, Maharastra, India |
| Mario Rogers Product Engineer Sears Seating Mfg. Davenport, IA |
Joe Salerno Senior Drafter ENengineering Warrenville, IL |
Alex Selvarathinam Aeronautical Engineer Sr Staff Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Fort Worth, TX |
| Archisman Sen Renault Nissan Alliance Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India |
Gary Sera CEO and Director TEEX Iola, TX |
Kuldip Singh Systems Engineer Harris Corporation VAN NUYS, CA |
| Mary Ann Smith Regulatory Policy Head, Digital Medicines and Devices Novartis San Carlos, CA |
Mike Stokes Principal Design Engineer Ethicon Endo-Surgery Cincinnati, OH |
Ed Tan Senior R&D Electrical Engineer Novasentis Incorporated Berkeley, CA |
| Robert Taylor Technology Manager, Lubricants Shell Global Solutions UK Manchester, Greater Manchester, UK |
Petrica Tudosa R&D Engineer/IRT&NDT Specialist Alstom CH Rieden, Aargau, Switzerland |
Adnan Turkey Senior Professor, College of Engineering and Inform DeVry College of New York New York, NY |
| Rafael Vieira R&D Engineer DENSO Santa Barbara dOeste, Sao Paulo, Brazil |
Torbjorn Virdung Technical Expert, Complete Vehicle CFD Volvo Car Corporation Gothenburg, Sweden |
Adam Wolf Manager Technology Development and ECU Hardware John Deere Power Systems Cedar Falls, IA |
| Bruce Woollard Engineering Fellow Raytheon Tucson, AZ |
Puck Yan Principal Professional Staff Johns Hopkins University Laural, MD |
Richard Yen SVP, Automotive and Global Markets Team Altair Engineering, Inc. Troy, MI |
| Yanchai Zhang Engineer Specialist Caterpillar Dunlap, IL |
2018 Entries
>> All
>> Aerospace &Defense
>> Automotive/Transportation
>> Consumer Products
>> Electronics/Sensors/IoT
>> Robotics/Automation/Manufacturing
>> Medical
>> Sustainable Technologies
2018 Participants
2018 Results
{ctf_profile:list:2018}
{ctf_votes:2018}
The population of planet Earth stands at 7.4 billion and is projected to break the nine billion mark by 2040. As concerns about the dwindling resources on our planet continue to escalate, it has become clear that we will need to develop ways in the near future to produce more energy, food and water with less resources.
GSM-based calling system is basically a project for the coal mine workers who put their lives at risk when they enter the mines for work. Mines are deep down beneath the Earth where there is no signal for making even an emergency call and hence once the mine worker enters the mine,
Page 481 of 1029
