Partnerships for Innovation
Purdue Team Wins ORNL Global Venture Challenge 2009
ORAU Member University Teams Earn First and Second Runner-up Awards and Prizes
Pictured L to R: Isaac Wildeson and Carlos Kemeny presented for the Purdue University student team at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory Global Venture Challenge 2009. The Purdue team won the grand prize award worth $25,000 for their plan to bring low-cost, high-quality, LED chips to market. Click image for high resolution version. (Photo courtesy of ORNL)
During the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) Global Venture Challenge Idea to Product® Competition held March 25–27 at ORNL, students from Purdue University matched a bright idea with a market need, capturing the first place award and the grand prize of $25,000.
ORAU was an Innovator Sponsor of the competition and hosted a reception at Pollard Technology and Conference Center for the semi-finalist teams on March 25.
The Purdue University student team’s winning proposal entailed making low-cost, high-quality, LED (light-emitting diode) chips.
Student teams from ORAU member university schools won the first and second runner-up awards and prizes.
Pictured L to R: Yemaya Stallworth-Bordain and Kamau Sewell of the Clark Atlanta University–Morehouse College student team won the first runner-up award and prize of $10,000 at the ORNL Global Venture Challenge 2009 at ORNL, March 25–27. Stallworth-Bordain and Sewell are proposing an instrument that will improve the plastics industry. Clark Atlanta University and Morehouse College are ORAU member institutions. Click on image for high resolution version. (Photos courtesy of ORNL)
The winner of the first runner-up award and a prize of $10,000 was the Clark Atlanta University–Morehouse College team of Yemaya Stallworth-Bordain and Kamau Sewell for their presentation on their company, Apex Plastics. The company proposes an instrument to reduce waste, minimize inefficiencies, reduce cost and streamline product development and the introduction of new products in the plastics industry.
“It [Global Venture Challenge] gives us a real perspective on the venture industry and possible government initiatives,” Sewell said.
Stallworth-Bordain also expressed an appreciation for the opportunities offered by the competition.
“This experience has allowed us to interact with other people who are in the role of creating new technology, as well as to speak with venture capitalists,” she said. “During this trip, we were also able to see what role we can play in contributing to solving major challenges in the United States and the world, especially as related to energy.”
The winner of the second runner-up award and a prize of $5,000 was Duke University. Their proposal was based on their company CPS Biofuels, which has as its product an environmentally friendly additive that will improve the efficiency of traditional gasoline.
Pictured L to R: Lauren Knish, Jacqueline Coates, Takayuki Yamakazi and Hosoon Lim, the Duke University team, won the second runner-up award and a prize of $5,000 at the ORNL Global Venture Challenge 2009. The team presented on its business, CPS Biofuels, which plans to bring to market an environmentally friendly additive that will improve the efficiency of traditional gasoline. Click on image for high resolution version. (Photos courtesy of ORNL)
The four honorable-mention teams were the University of Toledo; the University of Memphis; Lund University, Sweden; and the University of Tennessee, in no particular order. The honorable-mention teams received $1,000 each.
Global Venture Challenge revolves around innovations that have the potential to deliver clean, reliable and affordable energy to the world, according to the Global Venture Challenge Web site. The innovations may be developed either at a university or at ORNL. A team of graduate students is formed from various academic disciplines that then create a product idea that will solve an unmet need in the market and have enough demand to support a sustainable business.
ORAU held a reception for participants in the Global Venture Challenge Idea to Product 2009 Competition on March 25 at the Pollard Technology Conference Center. ORAU Interim President Homer Fisher (center) is shown with the University of Memphis team members. The team won an honorable-mention award during the competition and received a cash prize of $1,000. Pictured L to R are Zachary Thomas and student William Ganus, Ph.D. students; Fisher; Samuel Tekobo, Ph.D. student; and Dr. Eugene Pinkhassik, team advisor. Click image for high resolution version.
The model for the Idea to Product Competition was developed at the University of Texas and is fundamentally about education, Global Venture Challenge literature states. It is not a business plan competition.
In the Idea to Product Competition, student teams must show that the idea they are presenting will have a market and be sustainable, but the size of the market and the total value of the opportunity are not part of the competition judging criteria. Further, the Idea to Product Competition allows engineering and other technical students with no previous experience in the technology commercialization process to be competitive.
A mix of leaders from business, technology, law and entrepreneurship judged the competition. The key overall judging criterion was demonstration of innovation in technology creation, product ideas and/or new markets.
Global Venture Challenge, now in its third year, received proposals from entrepreneurially minded students with technical backgrounds in energy fields. Thirty proposals were received this year, from which 15 semi-finalist teams were selected. For more on the team proposals, read the semi-finalist Team Submissions fact sheet (263KB PDF). Nine of this year’s semi-finalist teams were from ORAU consortium member institutions.
“The Global Venture Challenge represents a great example of how ORAU provides its member institutions with opportunities to expand their innovation enterprise,” said Cathy Fore, ORAU’s director, Collaborative Initiatives.
The U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Industrial Technologies and UT-Battelle provided support for this year’s challenge, which included an Energy Venture Showcase of energy-efficiency products and services from several participating companies.