Thanks…and Stay Tuned!
Thank you to everyone who entered and voted in this year’s contest. Watch this space for announcement of the finalists who will compete for the $25,000 Grand Prize.
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 15,000 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 today.
Read About Past Winners’ Success Stories
Special Report spotlights the eight top entries in 2023 as well as past winners whose ideas are now in the market, making a difference in the world.
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
Rowheel Wheelchair Propulsion System
Salim Nasser
A new invention could help millions of manual wheelchair users increase their mobility while decreasing upper body, repetitive stress injuries. Many who suffer from muscle pain, torn rotator cuffs, joint degeneration, and carpal tunnel syndrome due to muscle overuse will benefit from the Rowheel Wheelchair Propulsion System. This innovative design uses a pulling/rowing motion as opposed to the standard pushing motion.
Consumer Products Category
BreezeRite Air Filtration Module
Rob Luchsinger, Pipe Creek, Texas
Filter attaches to the leading edge of indoor ceiling fan blades and quickly eliminates airborne particulates, smoke, and odors.
Machinery & Equipment Category
Lift Pump
Eric Foy, Central Point, Oregon
A high-flow lift pump can be used to draw water from low lying areas and lift a few feet to fill a header tank or mobile water tender in a matter of a few minutes.
Medical Category
IDEA™ Enhanced Pulse Oximetry
Rodrigo E. Teixeira, Alton J. Reich, Stephen F. Malin, Huntsville, AL
The first noninvasive, convenient, and reliable way to measure the volume of blood pumped by the human heart -- a direct indicator of heart health.
Safety and Security Category
Digital Window Distributed Imaging Camera
Ellen Cargill, Peter Jones, Dennis Purcell, Boston, MA
The first stand-alone computational imaging system, able to stream and record in full-color high resolution throughout its 180° field of view, without fisheye distortion.
Sustainable Technology Category
Sustainable, Durable Bridges of the Future
Ibrahim Al-Khattat, Talacre, Wales, UK
A “green” technology that could revolutionize materials, design, and construction methods of bridges, this design offers a unique inherent capacity to withstand earthquakes, hurricanes, and flooding.
Transportation Category
Regenerative Braking Bike Front Wheel
David Swain, Frank Maurer, Jason Moore, Albert Shih, Ann Arbor, MI
A retrofit front-wheel for a bicycle that uses state-of-the art hydraulics to store braking energy for later release.
Read the press release announcing this year's winners.
View the top ten most popular entries.
Thanks to everyone who participated in this year's contest!
VP of Sales, NW USA
COMSOL, Inc
Palo Alto, CA
John Dunec received his PhD from Stanford University in 1983. John has over 25 years experience in product analysis, development and manufacturing, first with IBM, then with an early multiphysics startup, then running a product development consulting firm. John has experience with all phases of the development process: research, concept prototyping, formal product development, and refining a design for ease-of-manufacture. He has optimized production processes and designed mass-production tooling. John is currently VP of Sales, NW USA and Manager of COMSOL's Palo Alto office.
Manager, Product Design
Millipore
Danvers, MA
I have 13 years experience as a product designer with Millipore in the Bioscience division. We design and develop cutting edge tools and solutions for Life Science researchers. I have a BS in Physics and Mechanical Engineering with research focus on computational modeling. We have been using COMSOL for 3 years.
Engineering Project Manager
Lockheed Martin
Moorestown, NJ
BSME Worcester Polytechnic Institute
MSME University of Pennsylvania
Licensed Professional Engineer
Certified Manager
Over 24 years experience in aerospace & defense
Senior Systems Engineer I
Raytheon
Tucson, AZ
Electrical Engineer at Raytheon Company
Engineer
Solar Turbines
San Diego, CA
BS and MS Mechanical engineering San Diego State University
Professor for Mechanical Engineering SDSU, UCLA, USD
Math Prfessor SDSU, Santa Monica Cit College
Masters thesis in Biomechanical Engineering.
Currently a Industrial Gas Turbine Design Engineer, Solar Turbines Caterpillar
Past Chair ASME for San Diego 2008 and 2009
Member of ASM for San Diego
Specialize in Fatigue analysis methods and non-linear mechanics. Examples
are creep, crack growth, hyperelasticity. Also teach finite element courses
for ASME, UCLA and SDSU.
Work in material property database systems for high temperature alloys.
Work in computational analysis and modeling for mechanical design.
Judge the Greater Science and Engineering Fair for San Diego for the
past 12 years.
Senior Engineer
Whirlpool Corporation
Benton Harbor, MI
Have a Masters degree in Mechanical Engineering from the The University of Toledo, Ohio. Six years industry experience in applied thermal and fluid engineering with application in the household appliance industry and a registered Professional Engineer(PE) in the state of Michigan
Senior Principal Systems Engineer
Raytheon Technical Services Co. LLC
Zionsville, IN
I am a Chief Systems Engineer for International and Mission Systems Integration programs with 10 years of service with Raytheon. Previously I was the Manager of Systems Engineering & Integration for the J.I. Case Corp. I also worked as an Avionics Systems Engineer for Boeing Helicopters (RAH-66 Comanche and V-22 Osprey), and as an Advanced Human Factors Engineer for General Dynamics (YF-22A Raptor, NASA X-30 NASP, AFTI/CAS F-16, RF-16 and F-111 AMP). I've flow 17 types of aircraft, hold an ATP Multi-engine and Commercial Pilot Single-engine rating with 5,000 hours of flight and flight simulator experience. I'm also a rated parachutist. In 1998 I retired from the US Army Reserve with 10 yrs in the Guard & Reserve forces, and 12 years of active duty. I graduated from the US Air Force Academy with a B.S. in History in 1974, from Air Command & Staff College in 1982, and from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in 1983 with a M.S. in Aeronautical Science. My doctorate was in applied systems engineering to product development in 2001, and I was part of the first group of systems engineers to earn to INCOSE Certified Systems Engineering Professional certification in 2004, and the Expert Systems Engineering Professional certification in 2010.
Lead System Engineer
GE O&G
Florence, IT
Lead System Engineer at GE O&G for turbomachinery New Products Development.
Senior Mechanical Engineer
Siemens Energy, Inc.
Orlando, FL
Xabier Sanjuan joined Siemens Energy Inc. in 2007 as senior mechanical engineer of Generator Service Engineering in Orlando, FL. He previously worked for Parkson Corporation for two years as Engineering Manager in the Biological-Solid Liquid Separation Division in Fort Lauderdale. His current main focus is on hydrogen cooled electrical generators in design, upgrading, and modernization. Born in Caracas, Venezuela, upon completion of his undergraduate and Mechanical Engineering Master Degree at Simon Bolivar University, Xabier chose to become a College Professor of mechanical engineering, were he also tutored several Master and undergraduate Degrees.
The bulk of Xabier's professional, corporate career (12 years) was with PDVSA Intevep Oil R&D Center in Venezuela. There he was responsible for structural integrity and failure analysis of oil refinery and exploration & production equipment, as well R&D on emerging sources of energy technologies.
He has being published in structural analysis using Finite Element Analysis and more recently in Computational Fluid Dynamics.
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