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
VP, Automotive and Military - Maxim Integrated Products
Sunnyvale, CA
Kenneth J. Huening
Current Position: Vice President, Maxim Integrated Products
Responsibilities: Automotive Business Group, Strategic Accounts, Customer Service, Samples, Ecommerce, Distribution, Military Business Group
Tenure at Maxim: 28 yrs..employee number 37
Age: 50
Career Highlights
Automotive and Military Business Unit (2002 to Present)
- Developed the Business Plan for $700M incremental increase in Revenue in Automotive by FY12. Current revenue is $104M/yr for Automotive and $32M/yr for Military.
- Defined the significant (highest GM) markets to participate in with the intersection of our technologies and application opportunities.
- Coordinating the other legacy Business Unit offerings ensuring redundancy is limited, and conflicts minimized.
- Completed TS16949 Quality Certification for Automotive.
- Developed Strategic Relationships with Automotive Accounts, penetrating the Supplier Barrier.
- Implemented Logistic Replenishment Systems (VMI, SMI, Consignment, Schedule Sharing)
- Developed Manufacturing Capacity Reservation Systems for Strategic Accounts.
- Implemented Prototype Order Replenishment Systems that Deliver >95% to Customer Request +7 days.
- Helped build the Product Definition Team that distills the ideas to make the FY12 plan, with good return on Design Time and meeting planned margins.
- Building the Automotive Design Team to focus on specific processes necessary to solve this Markets Application Problems. Current design staff for Automotive is 20. Established Design Centers in US (3) and Europe (2).
- Helped establish a focused QA group to serve the special needs (PPAP, AECQ100, PSW, FMEA, FA turn time) of the Automotive Market Strategic Accounts (1993 to 2006).
- Helped create the concept of a specific group to handle Strategic Account Special needs to become their partner. 60% of the companies revenue is drawn from these accounts.
- Participated in the development of the logistic programs necessary to serve the simple Direct Procurement to more complicated Price Masking/Vendor Managed Inventory/Multiple CM/Multiple Forecast Models.
- Created Strategic Personal Relationships to help guide our direction and provide real time risk assessments for the supply chain (Customer Upside vs. Inventory Risk).
- Led the Lead-Free Conversion initiative, which is finally coming to closure.
Quality Assurance (1983 to 2002)
- Personally started Maxim's Quality, Failure Analysis, Document Control and Reliability Program, as there were only 37 other people in the company.
- Qualified Maxim to the Mil standards of the day (45208, 9858, 45662 and Mil Para 1.2.1a)
- Hired a successful QA group. The group now consists of over 400 at 5 manufacturing locations and 2 continents for QFE's.
- Handed Corporate QA to my cultivated and very capable successor to take on the Automotive Initiative, but kept Automotive QA.
- Expanded the FA group into the Philippines to provide manufacturing with immediate feedback on out of bounds conditions and serve our Asian customersextremely important for Japan.
- Wrote the companies Quality Policy (Customers Require Quality and Quality Improves Profitability).
- Led the team that achieved ISO9000 in November, 1993 (one of the first companies to do so).
- Wrote the EDN Article of the Month in 1995. (How to survive an ISO Audit).
- Installed a strong Reliability team which identified many Foundry problems (Phosphorus Contamination, Thin Passivation, Contaminated Metal), when Maxim was fabless. Note: Even the best fabs have problems.
- Reliability Consisted of Fast Reaction Monitors, and Long Term Monitor Tests.
- Developed a strong internal and key supplier Auditing team.
- Initiated the Electronic Document Control system now deployed to all sites.
Management of Information System (MIS)(1997-2000)
- Implemented a reliable Email and EDI capability. Installed network standard.
- Hired a cohesive Network team to undertake this effort.
- Implemented a network and PC help desk as well as a PC standard for Purchasing.
- Implemented reliable WAN to all remote locations.
- Established remote office LAN and WAN standards for speed and uptime.
- Transferred Responsibility to Dallas VP after the 2000 acquisition.
Shipping (1997 to 2002)
- Managed the implementation of a more fully Automated Inventory Management System (AIM's) that tracks and prioritizes the stock by date codes, customer specials, FIFO, Inventory location, and now terminal finish.
- Converted from DOS to UNIX.
- Integrated with Dallas's system in 3 months after acquisition.
- Reduced cost ($400K/quarter) by transferring it to the Philippines and now Thailand.
- Managed many end of quarter closures.
- The group proposed and implemented in-house Tape and Reel capability saving the company $2M/qtr and reduced turn time by 70%.
- Implemented this packaging technique for RF and high power CMOS and small form factor products.
Chip Scale Packaging (CSP)..(2000-2002)
- Qualified the process to standard JEDEC tests.passing OEM qualifications (Ericsson and Motorola).
- Transferred responsibility to FAB VP when the Automotive Initiative Started.
Distribution/Samples/Customer Service (1993 to 2006)
- Managed the US and Asian Franchised Distribution
- Implement Maxim/Dallas Direct (Maxim's own competitive Distribution channel).
- Launched the Ecommerce site, first in 2000 and then just recently after a major revision.
Other Activities
- Actively participated in the Tektronix and Dallas early assessments and acquisition, then management of their related groups.
Maxim Advancement
- 1983 Joined as Failure Analysis Engineer.
- 1985 Promoted to QA Manager
- 1987 Promoted to QA Director
- 1990 Promoted to Managing Director, Quality
- 1993 Promoted to VP Quality, Customer Service and Strategic Accounts
Previous Employment
- National Semiconductor, Failure Analysis Engineer. Recruited to Mitsubishi
- Mitsubishi Semiconductor, QA Manager. Recruited to Maxim.
Education
- BSEET, DeVry Institute of Technology, Arizona. Graduated Tau Alpha Pi
- Completing MBA at Pepperdine
Patents
- 2 filed for Side Wettable QFN Packaging methods.
Principal Engineer - Stryker
Kalamazoo, MI
Parag Gupta received his BS (Honors) in Manufacturing Engineering from Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, India in 1989, MS in Mechanical Engineering from University of Manitoba Winnipeg, Canada in 1992 and PhD in Mechanical Engineering from Iowa State University (ISU), Ames, Iowa, USA in 1996. He was Fellow of Iowa Center for Emerging Manufacturing Technology at ISU. He has published several papers, technical chapters in books and holds a patent for designing a milling cutter at Kennametal which is still the fastest cutter on the planet. He has also reviewed several papers for SME and ASME transactions.
He worked for Hurco companies where he managed a team to build the first high speed machining Center which was a quantum leap for Hurco. Parag is currently working as a Principal engineer at Stryker, where he has implemented Finite Element Analysis (FEA) across 9 divisions globally and has guided FEA leaders at all divisions in implementing FEA.
Parag is also an entrepreneur. He invented the Q90 board game and is the co-founder of Spark Games LLC which manufactures and sells this board game. He is the founder & President of KhadiUSA.com which sells hand-made soaps.
Assistant Vice President - Southwest Research Institute
San Antonio, TX
Mr. Smith has accumulated significant experience in the design, development, and testing of electronic systems and in the management and development of related projects and programs.
He has had extensive experience with military, rugged commercial and commercial design requirements and in project, program, and administrative management.
His experience includes management of multi-million-dollar programs and acting as the Principal Investigator for Internal Research projects. He has managed programs involving analysis, research, development, production, testing, consulting, training, and field services, including site surveys, installation and check out, and calibration. He also led numerous QRC efforts. He is experienced with cost/schedule status control systems and other modern project management techniques involving technical performance, fiscal, schedule, personnel, documentation, logistics, reliability, maintainability, and security.
Senior Development Design Engineer - Solar Turbines Inc.
San Diego, CA
Subject Matter Expert Grounding Systems
Extra Class Ham Radio Operator
Mater Tool & Diemaker
Controls Lab Mgr.
Engineer Specialist - Caterpillar Inc.
Dunlap, Illinois
Born 05/10/58 Bucharest Romania
Master Degree in Mechanical Engineering - Automotive Engineering
27 years Mechanical Engineering in Automotive and Industrial Equipment design.
Software: ProE, ProMechanica, Maxwell 3D, StarCD, dSpace, Dynasty, 973.
Senior Engineer - Varian Ion Implant
Gloucester, MA
US Navy Fire Control missile radar systems 1977-1983
Varian Ion Implant Systems 1984-2011
Northeastern University Manufacturing engineering degree
Senior Analytical Engineer - Ferno Washington Inc.
Wilmington, OH
Sailesh Tangirala currently works as a Senior Analytical Engineer at Ferno Washington Inc. Sailesh oversees product safety analysis, material selection and product testing/certification departments at Ferno. He has a Masters in Mechanical Engineering from University of Kentucky and is currently pursing MBA at Xavier University in Cincinnati Ohio.
Doctor - Newport
Santa Clara, CA
Education:
PhD, Precision Instrument Engineering, Tianjin University, China, 1996
Professional Experience:
2010 ~ present: Staff Mechanical Engineer, Newport Corp., Santa Clara
2008 ~ 2010: Mechanical consultant on semicondut equipment R & D, Mountain View, CA
2006 ~ 2008: Mechanical Engineer, Tokyo Electron, Santa Clara, CA
2004 ~ 2006: Mechanical Engineer, Frontier Semiconductor, San Jose, CA
2000 ~ 2004: Postdoctoral Researcher, University of California, Riverside, CA
Professional Membership:
Senior Member of IEEE
6 Sigma Master Black Belt - Caterpillar Inc.
Morton, IL
Professional Engineer with BS and MS Industrial Engineering degrees as well as a MBA. Work experience of over 33 years in design, manufacture, safety and environmental needs of industries including aircraft/aerospace, engines/systems/components, and heavy construction equipment. Providing leadership, education, and training of creation and improvement methodologies for new/current products and processes through Lean and 6 Sigma tools and techniques.
For Information Contact:
Debbie Rothwell
Director of Marketing
Tech Briefs Media Group
212-490-3999, ext.5520
www.createthefuture2011.com
October 5, 2011
Breakthrough in Preventing Food-borne Illness
Wins $20,000 Grand Prize in Global Design Contest
"Create the Future" Design Contest (www.createthefuture2011.com) sponsored by PTC® (www.ptc.com), COMSOL (www.comsol.com), and Tech Briefs Media attracts over 900 innovative product ideas from engineers and students in 50 countries.
New York, NY – A new invention could protect millions from contracting food-borne illnesses. The αScreen is a portable, rapid pathogen screener that could allow screening of up to 100% of food produced in processing plants, before it is delivered to the consumer. αScreen is highly accurate, can detect as low as a single bacteria, and is approximately 50 times less expensive than the established, currently used detection methods.
Monika Weber of New Haven, CT, a graduate student at Yale University, is the team leader on this design project. She and a select team of students at Yale University’s School of Engineering and Applied Science are responsible for the advancement of the design. Monika spent two years working on preliminary projects in bio-detection before the design for the αScreen was finalized.
After hearing the news that she was the grand prize winner of the “Create the Future” Design Contest, Ms. Weber replied, “Winning the Create the Future Design Contest was far beyond my expectations and I am really honored by receiving this award. I feel by winning this contest, it will give me the exposure needed to bring this product to market.”
The Create the Future Design Contest is sponsored by PTC (www.ptc.com), COMSOL (www.comsol.com), and Tech Briefs Media Group (www.techbriefsmedia.com). The αScreen bacteria detection device was among the more than 900 new product ideas submitted in the ninth design contest, which was established to recognize and reward engineering innovations that benefit humanity, the environment, and the economy.
In addition to the grand prize, first-place winners (of Hewlett-Packard workstations) were named in seven categories:
Consumer Products
UVA+B Sunfriend
Karin Edgett and Shahid Aslam
A wristband that provides effective and inexpensive UVA and UVB monitoring.
Electronics – sponsored by Digi-Key (www.digikey.com)
iPecs Tech
Michael Leydet, College Park Industries
A tool to accurately measure human locomotion or gait parameters on users of lower limb prostheses.
Machinery & Equipment
Hybrid Rotor Compressor for Natural Gas Extraction
Jeremy Pitts and Pedro Santos, OsComp Systems
A breakthrough natural gas compression technology that is 30% more energy-efficient than current compressors.
Medical
XVIVO Organ Perfusion System
Chris Jaynes, Tom Taccini, and Tim Klug, XVIVO Perfusion
A mobile intensive care unit that can repair damaged organs ex vivo (out of the donor's body) for successful transplantation into a waiting recipient.
Safety & Security
AquaSonus Passive-Sonar Pool Alarm
William C. Roberts, Bob Hoenig, and Paula Bailey, AquaSonus.com
State-of-the-art digital signal processor pool alarm system designed to prevent child drowning accidents.
Sustainable Technologies
TO:CMA Spherical Generator
Angel Francisco Martinez, Delia Beatriz Martinez, and Trupti Bulbule, Cornell University
A generator that creates copious amounts of clean electricity out of ocean waves at costs below all major existing renewable energy sources.
Transportation
Dynamic Aero-Shroud Oscillating Jet
Rebecca Farr, Endwell Daso, Victor Pritchett, and Ten-See Wang, NASA Marshall Space Flight Center
This technology could enable hypersonic passenger transport connecting Earth's cities, dramatically shortening travel times.
Finalists were selected by senior editors at Tech Briefs Media Group and judged by an independent panel of design engineers. Visitors to the contest Web site could vote on entries, with the 10 most popular designs awarded a SpaceNavigator 3D mouse from 3Dconnexion. Popular design winners and honorable mentions hailed from Canada, Mexico, Italy, and the Slovakia, in addition to the U.S. For more information, visit
www.createthefuture2011.com.
About COMSOL
COMSOL, Inc. (Burlington, MA) provides software solutions for multiphysics modeling and simulation. Its flagship product, COMSOL Multiphysics, lets engineers and scientists build simulations that bring their design ideas to life. COMSOL's customers apply this technology to make cars and aircraft safer and more energy efficient, enhance the reception of our cell phones, search for new energy sources, explore the universe, develop medical equipment enabling more accurate diagnoses, and educate the next generation of scientists.
www.comsol.com
About PTC
PTC (Nasdaq: PMTC), The Product Development Company(r), develops, markets and supports product development software solutions and related services that help companies achieve their product development strategies and optimize their processes. Using the company's tightly integrated CAD and enterprise PLM solutions, organizations are better able to create and manage product information throughout the lifecycle for optimal product development success. More information may be found at
www.ptc.com
About Tech Briefs Media Group
Tech Briefs Media Group is publisher of NASA Tech Briefs, the largest-circulation design-engineering magazine worldwide and Defense Tech Briefs, the largest-circulation engineering magazine for the mil/aero market. The Tech Briefs Media Group product line has grown to include print/digital advertising, email/web products, virtual events, seminars & conferences, custom media and content related advertising. Combined, these products reach over 600,000 engineers and managers worldwide.
www.techbriefsmedia.com
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