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Inventors’ innovative ideas intrigue UW judges

With $24,000 in prize money up for grabs, amateur inventors pitched designs and prototypes to judges Thursday, kicking off the University of Wisconsin's Innovation Days.

Custom-machined mechanisms cluttered the mechanical engineering building all day Thursday as the first 14 teams submitted anything from a reclineable wheelchair to a car door thermal defroster.

"There is some really cool stuff," said Allen Dines, assistant director of the office of corporate relations. "The sky's the limit — we really like to see that these people can take an idea with perseverance and commitment and drive ahead."

Each team was eligible for a $500 loan, which could later become a grant if the team successfully presented its design to judges, according to Jim Beal, Innovation Days organizer.

Beal said the competition, now in its 13th year, allows students to simulate a business proposal for funding.

"These are skills that are extremely valuable for anybody you go to work for," Beal said. "Employers need students who can innovate."

Beal said the creators of one design, the "Ladder CAT," a movable shelf system for extension ladders, has already applied for a U.S. patent.

As someone who often connects UW faculty with private businesses, Dines said, students should look into following up on their inventions in the future.

"If I were a student, the next step would be to enter the business plan contest [at UW] and then start talking with some potential buyers," Dines said. "You might be dealing with a company that you can license the idea to, or maybe a distributor who can sell it in a catalog."

A team of five engineering students and an entomology student entered a mechanical water agitator named "BugsTOP." UW senior Kevin McMullen said the magnetic-rod motorized machine would be used in place of chemical and biological treatments in high mosquito breeding areas.

Mike Tupek, UW senior and designer, said the floating bug-prevention unit would currently sell for around $1,000, but the group will need to do testing on three more prototypes this summer in Madison ponds. Each team member put in around 20 hours per week last semester, he said.

"The exposure is important but the winnings would be put back into prototypes," Tupek said. "We want to be in the top four, we want to win — or win something at least."

Beal said the competition forces students to think about practical manufacturing by using feasible materials.

UW senior Sunya Nimityongskul presented his adaptive fishing unit Tuesday comprised of a baring based reeling system for single-amputee victims.

"It helps anybody with temporary use of one arm," Nimityongskul said. "I had shoulder surgery and got the idea. I was bored and thought, 'I should be fishing right now.'"

Nimityongskul said the advantage in the competition is developing a working model.

"Without a prototype, it's just a crazy piece of crap," he said.