Cape student among award winners at Raytheon Technologies Invention Convention U.S. Nationals
Eight students from the Fort Myers area were honored recently for their ingenuity at the seventh annual Raytheon Technologies Invention Convention U.S. Nationals, powered by The Henry Ford. They were among over 68 award-winning K-12 inventors from across the nation who were celebrated at the awards ceremony held on June 3.
Natalee Eaton, Kindergarten, Cape Coral
2nd Place, Kindergarten Award and Accessibility Award for Mermaid Crayon Helper
“Mermaid Crayon Helper is invented to prevent new crayons from breaking while coloring or rolling off the desk. It also helps those little short ones to be useable too. It can hold more than one crayon in a safe place. It is useful, easy to hold, beautiful, and most importantly fun to use!”
Kurukulasuriya Fernando, Eighth Grade, Fort Myers
1st Place, Eighth Grade Award and ITC Industry Energy Award for Energy Metamorphosis
“My invention, Energy Metamorphosis, converts the wasted heat energy from cars into electricity. My invention is made of aluminum, Peltier units, silica paste and a soldering iron. My invention would be placed between aluminum housing connecting the hose carrying coolant from the engine to the radiator. After conducting experiments with my prototype at home using a boiling-water set-up and taking it to a local car shop to mimic the heat inside vehicles, I was able to conclude that my device converts enough heat to charge the car’s battery.”
Sara Chrysler, Sixth Grade, Fort Myers
2nd Place, Sixth Grade Award for The Ultimate Tennis Trainer
“The Ultimate Tennis trainer is a practice device designed to speed up the development of correct tennis fundamentals.”
Dhruva Sharma, Ninth Grade, Fort Myers
1st Place, Ninth Grade Award and Avangrid Foundation Most Energy Sustainable Award for En.Gen.Panels (TM) – A Fusion of Piezoelectric and Solar Technology to Optimize Solar Panels
“As solar power is be-coming more and more prominent these days, many consumers are hesitant to switch to an entirely off-grid solar array due to the inconsistencies in their electricity production. If sunlight is not directly penetrating the atmosphere during a cloudy day, the efficiency of a solar panel will immediately drop to 40-50% efficiency, and when raining, will drastically decline to 10-20% efficiency. The En. Gen.Panels are an innovative solution addressing this problem, allowing for a constant flow of electricity through the pressure of raindrops when solar panels cannot produce at their optimal level on a rainy day.”
Mehereen Chowdhury, Ninth Grade, Fort Myers
3rd Place, Ninth Grade Award for A Protocol to the Early Detection of Neurological Conditions Using Eye Movement Data
“The goal of my invention is to create an easy-to-use application to diagnose neurological conditions. The application will not be subject to any financial barriers and will be virtual. The application will be able to generate graphs based on the patient’s performance.”
Yusef Mujtaba, 10th Grade, Fort Myers
CantorColburn – Detroit Patent Application Award for Power Walk: An Innovative Smart Sneaker Using Thermoelectricity
“Power Walk is a smart sneaker that uses a thermoelectric generator to produce electricity and power the components of the sneaker. The problems Power Walk aims to solve are environmental pollution through the creation of electricity, providing a power source when no outlets are available to charge electronic devices, the safety of one’s self through GPS tracking, and pedestrian deaths/navigation for people with blindness.”
Aum Dhruv and Nicholas Harty, 11th Grade, Fort Myers
1st Place, Eleventh Grade Award and Environmental and Social Impact Award for VisionBound: Bridging the Gap Between Technology and Preventable Retinal Diseases
“Diabetic retinopathy is a complication caused by an existing history of diabetes/ diabetic symptoms that can slowly deteriorate a person’s vision and can even lead to partial blindness. Often this diabetic complication can be treated by timely management of the condition and/or modern laser eye treatments/surgery. However, this treatment of diabetic retinopathy cannot completely cure the disease and, when left untreated, its effects seemingly take on worse results. The final configuration of our product, VisionBound, includes a 30D lens, at a distance of 3cm from the pupil, that is paired with a 12MP Pi High-Quality Camera that interfaces with the microcontroller (Raspberry Pi Zero W).”
Invention Convention Worldwide is a global K-12 invention education curricular program mapped to national and state educational standards that teaches students problem-identification, problem-solving, entrepreneurship, and creativity skills. The program helps young inventors build lifelong confidence in their invention, innovation, and entrepreneurship abilities.
Following two years of holding the competition virtually, Raytheon Technologies Invention Convention U.S. Nationals returned to its in-person home at The Henry Ford for its seventh annual event. Prior to advancing to the US national event, students competed at local and regional levels. To participate in Invention Convention, students had to submit a video presentation of their invention, a prototype, an inventor’s logbook showing the journey of their invention process, and a display board highlighting key points of the invention process.
Prizes and opportunities this year included pro bono patent awards from law firms WilmerHale, Cantor Colburn, Cooley, and Clark Hill, gift cards, and scholarships from the event’s sponsors, including title sponsor Raytheon Technologies. The winner of the event’s top accolade, the Raytheon Technologies Most Innovative Award, received a $2,500 scholarship.
The mission of Invention Convention Worldwide is to bring invention education to every student everywhere. Organiza-tions interested in bringing the year-long program to their region can get more information at www.inventionconvention.org.