Collegiate Inventors Competition® Announces 2014 Graduate and Undergraduate Winners

ALEXANDRIA, Va., Nov. 17, 2014 — (PRNewswire) —  From the first-ever full, variable color 3D printing technology to a skin patch that can deliver a vaccine through nanofibers without a needle - the prototypes and research presented at the Collegiate Inventors Competition were nothing short of genius. After an intense and exciting deliberation between expert judges, the 2014 undergraduate and graduate winners have been selected.

"The Collegiate Inventors Competition finalists encompass the essence of innovation and the importance of hands-on problem solving," said competition judge and 1996 National Inventors Hall of Fame Inductee Marcian (Ted) Hoff, Jr., co-inventor of the Microprocessor. "These students are blazing their own paths and opening up new avenues for the innovation industry as a whole. They aren't just standing on the shoulders of giants; they are joining them."

The Collegiate Inventors Competition, a program of Invent Now and the National Inventors Hall of Fame and sponsored by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and AbbVie Foundation, celebrates students who are committed to research, discovery, invention and innovation. Entries from all fields of study are encouraged because, as evident from the finalists, the inventive spirit can emerge from any course, any university and any student. This year's final round of the competition involved a total of 35 students in 14 finalist teams (seven graduate and seven undergraduate) from 13 universities and colleges across the United States.

"We're very proud of our Collegiate Inventors Competition partnership with Invent Now that annually honors and recognizes student innovators," said Michelle K. Lee, Deputy Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Deputy Director of the USPTO. "Supporting and encouraging undergraduate and graduate students engaged in cutting-edge research advances the future of United States innovation and broadens awareness of the critical role of intellectual property in the 21^st century global economy."

2014 Collegiate Inventors Competition Winners

Katarzyna Sawicka from SUNY Stony Brook University won the graduate first place prize of $15,000 for her invention of Immuno-Matrix. The innovative Immuno-Matrix skin patch uses nanofibers to hold and effectively deliver a vaccine through the skin. It's painless, self-administered and doesn't produce biohazardous waste. Without any needles necessary, the future of large-scale vaccination just got a patch on the arm.

The University of Wisconsin-Madison team of Taylor Fahey, Charles Haider and Cedric Kovacs-Johnson won the undergraduate first place prize of $12,500 for their invention of Spectrom: Low-Cost, High-Precision, On-Demand Full Color 3D Printing. Spectrom is the first device that enables Fused Deposition Modeling, or additive 3D printers, to print in full, variable color. The technology leverages the precise application and rapid changing of proprietary dyes to create crisp, multi-colored objects.

In the graduate category, the silver prize of $12,500 was awarded to James Allen, Martin de la Presa, Ahrash Poursaid and Nate Rhodes from the University of Utah for their invention of LIGHT LINE Catheter™ that utilizes a light-therapy sterilization system to target and kill bacteria that causes catheter-related infections. The Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute team of Rahul Mukherjee and Eklavya Singh received the bronze prize of $10,000 for their invention of Advanced All-Carbon Lithium Ion Batteries. With no toxic metals, the Advanced All-Carbon Lithium Ion Batteries is an invention with biodegradable "green" chemistry combination for abundant electricity on the go.

In the undergraduate category, the silver prize of $10,000 was awarded to Anvesh Annadanam, Ravi Gaddipati, Luis Herrera and Eric Xie from Johns Hopkins University for their invention of AccuSpine, a device designed to provide surgeons with unprecedented real-time, continuous feedback for the accurate placement of surgical screws. This invention helps reduce damaged nerves and arteries due to misplaced screws. The Columbia University team of Emily Cen, Forrest Miller, Elsa Swanson and David Xing received the bronze prize of $7,500 for their invention of TKAone. Post-surgical infection is the leading-cause of failure in knee replacement surgery; the TKAone is the first orthopedic implant that can detect such infections and immediately alert patients to the need for treatment.

For full information on all the winners, including headshots, please visit http://collegiateinventors.org/media.html.

About the Collegiate Inventors Competition
The Collegiate Inventors Competition recognizes and rewards undergraduate and graduate students who are committed to research, discovery, invention and innovation as they address the problems of today's world. The Competition specifically recognizes and rewards the innovations, discoveries and research by college university students and their advisors for projects leading to inventions that may have the potential of receiving patent protection. Introduced in 1990, the Competition has awarded more than $1 million to winning students for their innovative work and scientific achievement through the help of its sponsors.

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