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What participants say

Hoopla Rack

Hoopla Rack,
third place and $4,000,
2008 Schoofs Prize for Creativity;
third place and $700,
Tong Prototype Prize;
and Younkle Best Presentation Award

“Through the whole process, I actually began to see my design turn into a prototype, and now my prototype might actually become a patented reality. By the end, I was so happy that I had chosen to take a chance on myself and do something that brought my engineering and hooping life together.”

—Danielle McIntosh

Pen Smart

Pen Smart,
$1,000 Judges’ Award for Special Merit,
2008 Schoofs Prize for Creativity

“I thought of this product two years ago—I wrote it down and kind of forgot about it for awhile. And I realized that if I didn’t do it, I’d always regret it, so I just decided to pursue it. The competition is a great outlet for anyone interested in innovation and development. The experience gives you the tools to develop the idea and the confidence to continue.”

—Daniel Gartenberg

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Lift Buddy

Lift Buddy: A device designed to eliminate physical strain and potential injury in lifting objects of up to 100 pounds.

Lift Buddy

Lift Buddy (large image)

"We made two prototypes and made changes at many stages. It gave us a lot of hands on experience in the machine shop. This is all hot-rolled steel. It took a while to machine. There are a lot of aluminum parts in the channels and platform. Making the prototype changed our whole design." — Jacek Kawecki

Innovators: Ryan Abler, Dan Wick, Kristen Terry, Kate Christianson and Jacek Kawecki