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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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Tong Prototype Prize 2007

The High Roller: A wheelchair that can lift and recline to assist in transferring dependent patients between the chair and a bed

The High Roller

The High Roller (large image)

“I learned a lot more than I ever expected to. You begin thinking, ‘oh, we’ll put in a hydraulic pump, and we’ll put a seat on,’ and you think it will be simple, but you don’t understand the complexity of it until you get there. I learned a lot about bringing an idea to fruition and complexity it takes, and details in terms of choosing materials and making drawings. In the end, I came out with a lot more skills.”
— Ana Considine

Innovators: Ana Considine, John Nacker, Amy Stoikes, Tim Swenson and Tom Ahlstrom



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