What participants say:

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,
$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

Innovation Days — Feb. 11-12, 2010

The Schoofs Prize provides a platform whereby undergraduate students are encouraged to explore/conduct self-directed research, outside the classroom environment. Students are encouraged to exploit, on their own and with complete freedom, the array of talent and resources that are so readily available to them. The intent is to awaken students to the potential embedded in their own talent, and thereby encourage creativity and entrepreneurship.

This student invention competition is open to all UW-Madison undergraduate students. Please join us! Find out how to develop your devices or processes and create a prototype. You can also learn about intellectual property rights to protect your ideas.

Schoofs Prize for Creativity

First Prize: $10,000
Second Prize: $7,000
Third Prize: $4,000
Fourth Prize: $1,000

Tong Prototype Prize

First Prize: $2,500
Second Prize: $1,250
Third Prize: $700

Younkle Best Presentation Award: $1,000
Sorenson Design Notebook Award: $1,000

PROGRAM

DAY 1, FEBRUARY 11, 2010
MORNING
7:45	Open for setup
8:00	Breakfast available
8:45-9:00	Opening Remarks from Dean Peercy and Alicia Jackson
9:00-9:15	Andrew Burton “BreezeDry”
9:20-9:35	Josh Dawson “Dyno Charger”
9:40-9:55	Tom Gerold and Kara Anderson “The Apel System”
10:00-10:15	Alesia Casanova, Taylor Powers, Paul Wiesler and Andrew Bray “Bright Crank”
10:20-10:50	Prototype Judging Round 1 (Burton, Dawson, Gerold, Casanova, Ward and Bethencourt)
10:55-11:10	Zack Ward and Adam Richards “Range Extending Hitch Technology”
11:15-11:30	Michael Bethencourt “un.me Software Suite”
11:35-11:50	Tristan Emrich and Ryan Wollaeger “Online Business and Advertising Modeling Application/OBAMA”
AFTERNOON
12:00-12:30	Lunch
12:30-1:00	Prototype Judging Round 2 (Emrich, Hart, Cira, Beley, Lohr, Kovell)
1:15-1:30	Kevin Hart “The Dryer Drawer”
1:35-1:50	Nate Cira and Alex Rio “PolyForm Pack”
1:55-2:10	Chris Beley “Intelliwindows”
2:15-2:30	Scott Johanek “Tri Crimp” (no prototype)
2:35-3:05	Prototype Judging Round 3 (Pfeilstifter x2, Hatfield, Bird, McGowan)
3:10-3:25	Jason Lohr, Eyleen Chou and Tyler Lark “Plant Oil Burning Stove”
3:30-3:45	Robert Alexander Kovell “Snowboat”
3:50-4:05	Ben Pfeilstifter and Kyle Cooper “LEVELS Board Game”
4:10-4:25	Ben Pfeilstifter and Kyle Cooper “Bedside Swing”
4:30-4:45	Robert Kuether and Jeff Jones “Easy Port”
4:45-5:00	Prototype Judging Round 4 (Kuether, Zenner, Endres)
5:00	Conclude Day 1
DAY 2, FEBRUARY 12, 2010
MORNING
7:45	Open for setup. Breakfast available.
8:30	Opening comments from the Competition Director
8:35-8:50	Scott Hatfield “AzoBoard”
8:55-9:10	Alex Bird “BreadBox”
9:15-9:30	Tim McGowan “Blocks Web API”
9:35-9:50	Sean Kelly, Sam Helgeson, Tim McGowan, Tyler Pihl and Tom Baars “Variable Power Source H2 Production” (no prototype)
9:50-10:05	Break
10:05-10:20	Chris Zenner “Power Strip Wattmeter”
10:25-10:40	Adam Strutz and Elizabeth Konkol “Solar Panel Snow Removal System” (no prototype)
10:45-11:00	Matthew Endres “Video Game Footpad Controller”
11:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m.	Judges’ deliberation and lunch (on your own, provided for the judges)
AFTERNOON
2:00	Keynote Speech: Matt Younkle and the TurboTap Awards ceremony/door prizes
3:00	Competition ends

MORE COMPETITION INFORMATION

• Innovators in the News
• Prototype Shop
• Reference Articles
• Tong Prototype Prize
• Tong Biomedical Engineering Design Awards
• G. Steven Burrill Technology Business Plan Competition
• Winners, 2009
• Winners, 1995-2009

Questions? Email innovation@engr.wisc.edu.