Congratulations to Our 2024 Grand Prize and First Place Winners!
NETrolyze, a novel immunotherapy for triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), was named the $25,000 grand prize winner at a live finalist round held November 15 in New York. The first-in-class therapeutic injectable gel prevents the spread of TNBC, one of the most aggressive cancer types, enabling patients to avoid toxic chemotherapy and expensive treatments – potentially transforming their lives. Click here for the full list of 2024 winners. Also see the Top 100 highest scoring entries.
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
Metallurgist
Consolidated Edison Co of New York, Inc
New York, NY
I currently serve as a senior metallurgist for the largest utility company in NYC. My background is in welding engineering and metallurgy in the offshore construction and navy nuclear industries. I am a graduate of Ferris State University in Michigan.
Lead Engineer
Johnson Controls, Inc.
Plymouth, MI
With over 20 years experience in product and manufacturing engineering, I continue to be fascinated with ideas becoming a reality that transforms society and makes people's lives better. Meeting needs and desires by creatively applying physics and new technologies to make products that people want to buy is a fun way to make a living.
Senior Engineer
Procter & Gamble
Waterloo, Belgium
My name is Antonio Quintieri, 41, I'm Italian, married and I have three beautiful kids.
I am Senior Engineer at Procter & Gamble, where I have worked for the last 16 years at R&D department, relocating several times from Italy, to US and back to Europe, in Belgium.
I have a chemical engineering background and graduated from the University of Pisa in Safety and Environmental Protection.
My work is around fluid mixing and new technologies. Reapplication is my motto, and I do not suffer from a "not invented here" syndrome.
I love spending time in the kitchen, experimenting new stuff and old recipes. Mario Batali and Emeril Lagasse are my heroes.
Director, Product Development
Cleveland Clinic
Cleveland, OH
Charles Steiner, Manager, Brain Neuromodulation Center (BNMC), started with Cleveland Clinic in the late 1980's developing surgical navigation systems for the fields of neurological and spine surgery. He holds several patents for frameless stereotactic surgery and medical data communication. As director of product development for the Minimally Invasive Surgery Center he developed a multidisciplinary surgical teaching facility replete with surgical simulators, tele-robotic systems and medical informatics resources. As manager for the BNMC he directs a multispeciality team of neurosurgeons, neurologists, neuroscientists, biomedical engineers and commercial partners to develop next generation neuromodulation technologies. Charles earned degrees in Chemistry and Computer Science from Case Western Reserve University.
Senior Achitect
UT MD Anderson Cancer Center
Houston, TX
Memberships American Institution of Architects
Texas Society of Architects
Houston AIA
National Council of Architectural Registration Boards
International Who's Who Historical Society
Madison's Who's Who Registry of Executives Woman of the Year2009
Lifetime Member University of Houston Alumni
Boy Scouts of America - Secretary
Clear Lake United Methodist Church Regent 2009
Seabrook Sailing Club Secretary 2005 - current
R&D Project Manager
Consolidated Edison Co of New York, Inc
New York, NY
Patrick M. Duggan was born in New York City on February 3, 1947. He graduated from Manhattan College in Riverdale, NY in 1968. His employment experience has been with the Consolidated Edison Company of NY, Inc. He is currently an R&D Project Manager responsible for engineering, operations and maintenance related R&D projects for various Substation, Transmission and System Operations organizations, and assists specific efforts in additional areas, such as Cybersecurity, Con Edisonâ??s 3rd Generation System of the Future efforts, Transmission Risk Assessment and substation condition based maintenance and automation. Pat has held a variety of management and technical positions in Generation and Controls, Nuclear Power, Instrumentation and Controls, Project Management, Construction and Electrical Engineering. Patâ??s experience has included key roles in the development of fault current limiters, potential applications of superconductivity, as a member of IEEE NPEC and NPEC SC-6 on Safety Systems nuclear industry standards, regulatory interfaces, and a wide variety of major projects and programs. Pat is currently the Utility Chairman for EPRIâ??s Superconductivity Task Force and represents Consolidated Edison on the Board of the Coalition for Commercial Application of Superconductors and the Board and multiple Work Groups of the GridWise Alliance.
Chief Engineer, Materials & Fastener Engineering
Navistar
Fort Wayne, IN
Lead group that is responsible for all materials specification, testing and approval for Navistar commercial and military vehicles. 30+ years in Materials Engineering. Specialty is in non-metallic materials and composites.
Jeff Crompton | Principal | AltaSim Technologies |
Radu Beleca | Brunel University - Centre for Electronic Systems Research | |
John Dunec | VP of Sales, NW USA | COMSOL |
Mamdouh Salama | Engineering Fellow | ConocoPhillips Co. |
Ron Pietrowski | Metallurgist | Consolidated Edison Co of New York |
Mike Dawson | Team Leader - Cab Engineering | Daimler Trucks North America |
Alberto Di Lullo | Flow Assurance Engineering Technologies Manager | ENI E&P Division |
Neil Brooks | Nuclear Engineer | FirstEnergy |
Alessandro Pagliantini | Lead System Engineer | General Electric O&G |
Richard Cornwell | Staff Manufacturing Engineer | General Motors |
Chira Deka | R&D Manager | IDEXX Laboratories |
John Hoyle | Lead Engineer | Johnson Controls |
Chris Scott | Manager, Product Design | Millipore |
Mark Haferling | Senior Mechanical Engineer | Pratt and Whitney Rocketdyne |
Antonio Quintieri | Senior Engineer | Procter & Gamble |
Scott Morris | Principal Project Manager | PTC |
Dan C. Surber | Senior Principal Systems Engineer | Raytheon Technical Services Co. |
Marvin A. Rossi | Epilepsy Neurologist & Physician Scientist | Rush University Medical Center |
Mahmut Sengul | Production Technology Advisor | Schlumberger |
Xabier Sanjuan | Senior Mechanical Engineer | Siemens Energy |
James Powell | Engineer | Solar Turbines |
Darrell W. Pepper | Professor of Mechanical Engineering | University of Nevada Las Vegas |
James Potter | Program Manager-Hybrid Systems | ZF Industries |
William T. Vetterling | Research Fellow | ZINK Imaging |
Davide Borghi | Technology Specialist | Tetra Pak |
Stuart Brown | Managing Principal | Veryst Engineering, LLC |
Paul S. Buccos | Senior Engineer | Varian Ion Implant |
Paul O. Davis | Senior Platform Engineer | GE Home & Business Solutions |
Tim Garner | Technical Fellow | Delphi |
Parag Gupta | Principal Engineer | Stryker |
Avkash Chauhan | Senior Escalation Engineer | Microsoft Corp. |
Carl Gomes | Senior Mechanical Team Leader | Motorola |
Kenneth Huening | Vice President, Automotive and Military | Maxim Integrated Products |
Michael Jammal | Program Manager | Rockwell Automation |
David Jorde | Senior Development Design Engineer | Solar Turbines, Inc. |
Pierluigi La Montagna | Industrial Designer -- EUR-ERG | Technip Italy S.p.A |
Paul Morgan | Senior Engineer | Micron Technology |
James Lauer | 6 Sigma Master Black Belt | Caterpillar, Inc. |
Anwei Liu | Mechanical Engineer | Newport Corp. |
Kamlesh Pande | Chief Consultant & Adjunct Professor | Forbes Marshall & IIT Bombay |
Paul Rebmann | Team Manager, Mechanical R&D | Nagravision S.A. |
Ralf Reiser | R&D Manager | Mars, Inc. |
Sriram Sambandamurthy | Principal Systems Engineer | MEDRAD, Inc. |
Abraham Si | Director, IC Design | Maxim Integrated Products |
C. Nils Smith | Assistant Vice President | Southwest Research Institute |
Yogesh Soni | Founder & CEO | Mattozetta Technologies |
Sailesh Tangirala | Senior Analytical Engineer | Ferno-Washington, Inc. |
Vladimir Theodorof | Engineer Specialist | Caterpillar, Inc. |
Rich White | Mechanical R&D Engineer | Agilent Technologies |
Ray Yingling | Director, External Alliances | Eastman Kodak Company |
For Information Contact:
Debbie Rothwell
Director of Marketing
Tech Briefs Media Group
212-490-3999
www.createthefuture2010.com
September 28, 2010
For Immediate Release
Wheelchair Design Breakthrough Wins $20,000 Grand Prize in Global Design Contest
"Create the Future" Design Contest (www.createthefuture2010.com) sponsored by PTC® (www.ptc.com), COMSOL (www.comsol.com), and Tech Briefs Media attracts nearly 1,000 innovative product ideas from engineers and students in 51 countries.
New York, NY – 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.
Developed by Salim Nasser of Merritt Island, FL, the Rowheel System design involves adapting a planetary gear system at the center of the wheel, which reverses the pulling motion of the user into a forward motion of the chair. The unique change from pushing to pulling along with the mechanical advantage created by the use of the gear system provides an overall increase in user endurance and range.
Mr. Nasser, who is himself wheelchair-bound, originally designed the system as his senior design project while attending Florida International University (FIU). The original design took 4-1/2 months from concept to prototype. Mr. Nasser said, “I thought it was a great design and that someone would be able to use for their own health.” Mr. Nasser is currently an engineer at NASA's Kennedy Space Center where he performs structural and dynamic analysis for flight hardware and ground support equipment.
After hearing the news that he was the grand prize winner of the “Create the Future” Design Contest, Mr. Nasser replied, “It would be the ultimate satisfaction to see your design come to life and be used by other people.”
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 Rowheel Wheelchair Propulsion System was among the new product ideas submitted in the eighth design contest, which attracted a record number of qualified entries.
In addition to the grand prize, first-place winners (of Hewlett-Packard workstations) were named in six categories:
Sustainable Technology
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.
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 – Team Entry
Rodrigo Teixeira, 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
Digital Window Distributed Imaging Camera – Team Entry
Ellen Cargill, 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.
Transportation
Regenerative Braking Bike Front Wheel – Team Entry
David Swain, Ann Arbor, MI
A retrofit front-wheel for a bicycle that uses state-of-the art hydraulics to store braking energy for later release.
Finalists were selected by senior editors at Tech Briefs Media Group and judged by an independent panel of design engineers. For the first time, teams were allowed to enter designs. 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 Brazil, Canada, Mexico and the United Kingdom, in addition to the U.S. For more information, visit www.createthefuture2010.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) provides discrete manufacturers with software and services to meet the globalization, time-to-market and operational efficiency objectives of product development. Using the company's PLM and CAD solutions, organizations in the Industrial, High-Tech, Aerospace, Automotive and Defense, Retail and Consumer, and Medical industries are able to support key business objectives and create innovative products that meet customer needs and comply with industry regulations. 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 700,000 engineers and managers worldwide. www.techbriefsmedia.com
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