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 …
articles about past competitors

PortagePro

Second Place

PortagePro: A device designed to allow travelers on a portage to transfer the load of the canoe to most backpacks.

2005 Tong Prototype Prize, second place winner; 2005 Schoofs Prize for Creativity, fourth place winner (tie); and Younkle Best Presentation award (large image)

"Building the prototype meant a lot. It meant we got to test it. We had started conceptually with the design on paper and we didn't know if it was going to work at all. Going into the machine shop was a real experience and a lot of fun. We had to learn to mill metal and work with manufacturing processes. Putting it together, we learned about a whole host of design changes that we needed to make. We found it was easier to do some things in the shop than we had designed for, so we had to change the shape a little. Very simple things like that. This is our second iteration.

We knew our idea was sound, but when the canoe went up on the rack and I was able to feel the weight transferred to my hips and was able to hold the canoe with one hand … that was a great moment."
— Anders Brown

PortagePRO (large image)

Innovators: Mark Osbeck, Scott Haman, Kyle Larson and Anders Brown
This entry won fourth place in the Schoofs Prize for Creativity and the Younkle Best Presentation Award.