What participants say …
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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
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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
Innovators in the news …
articles about past competitors
The Schoofs Prize for Creativity
Summary of the 2008 Competition
The Accessible Incontinence Device, a catheterized system to sense bladder pressure and control urine flow to prevent incontinence, took the top prize and $10,000 in the 2008 Schoofs Prize for Creativity during the Innovation Days idea and invention competition on the UW-Madison campus.
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Accessible Incontinence Device, first place and $10,000, Schoofs Prize for Creativity (large image) |
A catheterized system to sense bladder pressure and control urine flow to prevent incontinence won the $10,000 top prize in the Schoofs Prize for Creativity, an annual University of Wisconsin-Madison invention competition. The competition rewards innovative ideas for marketable products. Dubbed ActiveCath, the winning device was developed by biomedical engineering students Arin Ellingson, Marty Grasse, Ben Schoepke, Jon Sass and Dave Schurter.
In addition, a lightweight, self-contained unit for transporting, cooling and dispensing a keg won the top prize of $2,500 in the Tong Prototype Prize, which rewards the best prototype in the competition. The Portable Refrigerated Beverage Dispenser was developed by Kyle Hanson, a mechanical engineering student.
ActiveCath consists of a half mannequin with a cutaway abdomen. The mannequin wore a belt with a pressure sensor connected to the bladder. The students’ invention enables people with incontinence to monitor their bladder status and relieve the bladder via catheter when they choose.
Portable Refrigerated Beverage Dispenser, first place and $2,500, Tong Prototype Prize (large image) |
Sass says the competition was valuable in developing skills outside of engineering. “Looking at stuff from more of a business perspective was something we’re not used to,” he says. “It’s always good to try something new.”
Hanson says the competition has given him a new respect for the effort that goes into developing products. “Everything looks great on paper, but when you actually go to make it and it comes out, you’re like, wow,” he says. “It was an incredible amount of work to make this—I haven’t watched TV in five months.”
The winners were chosen from 14 inventions developed by 49 students for Innovation Days, a two-day event held Feb. 11 and 12 on the UW-Madison College of Engineering campus. The event features two competitions that award cash prizes to the most creative ideas and the best prototypes. Participants can also win money for submitting the best design notebook or delivering the best presentation.
Runway Rescuer, second place and $7,000, Schoofs Prize for Creativity (large image) |
Lace Master, second place and $1,250, Tong Prototype Prize, and fourth place and $1,000, Schoofs Prize for Creativity (large image) |
Hoopla Rack, third place and $4,000, Schoofs Prize for Creativity; third place and $700, Tong Prototype Prize; and Younkle Best Presentation Award (large image) |
