Every year at the Innovation Expo, Stevens students showcase their senior design projects. These projects range from creating a high speed electric boat to using Chat-GPT to predict the stock market, to research applications of stereochemistry. Senior design is the capstone of a Stevens education, and is the culmination of a year’s work. Some choose to continue their project, turning it into a viable product or service, while others may use it as a basis for further research in graduate work. Innovation Expo is where students get to show off their hard work on these projects, and for a select few, the expo is not only a culmination but also a literally crowning achievement.
The Ansary Entrepreneurship Competition aspect of the Innovation Expo was added in 2016. This competition is sponsored by the Cy and Jan Ansary Foundation with the purpose of motivating and rewarding entrepreneurial students. Over the course of the senior design process students wishing to enter the competition go through various rounds of pitches and Q&A sessions. Firstly, each participating academic department holds a live quarter-final where course instructors serve as the judges and pick the best projects to move along to the semis. At the semi-finals, 45 teams present their pitches and are scored by a panel of judges; the top six teams advance to the finals. The final round is held the week leading up to the Innovation Expo, at which the top three winning teams are announced and rewarded a total of $17,500.
The top three teams were as follows. In first place, Knee-sy Does It – Jalen Bailey, Grace Fukazawa, Maggie Gibson and Brandon Sems won $10,000. In second place, TinnX – Nicholas DiMeglio, Rohit Jayas and Shady Kamel won $5,000. In third place, Pulse PairIt – Nina Burden, Alicia Cardoso, Stephanie Deren, Arianna Gehan and Julia Zatyko won $2,500.
The Stute interviewed the Pulse PairIt team which placed third in the competition. Their project was a wireless device to measure the vitals of a newborn, drawing inspiration from a real need for a lightweight device in infant care. A passion for this project developed when they visited a neonatal intensive care unit and saw a need for a better device. When asked about how they made it so far in the competition, the team cited a strong team work foundation and a genuine passion for the possibility of making a real difference in the world. They also highlighted being supported by their professors, Dr. Sally Shady and Professor Ryan Ona. Furthermore, it was made clear that the principal objective of the competition is not engineering but – as the name suggests – entrepreneurship. Each team needed not only a good product, but also a great business plan and the skills to pitch it. In future the team will be using their prize money to further their education and into forming a company to further develop their device. The device has already attracted attention for usage, and hopefully more good will arise from this year-long project.
As for the other teams in final six, the opportunity to pitch their project to a panel of judges from industry-leading companies was an amazing opportunity and, regardless of leaderboard placement, a victorious culmination of their project. The Stute congratulates all the finalists of the Ansary Entrepreneurship Competition, and wishes a very happy graduation to all graduating students.
