CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (April 9, 2014) – The Lemelson-MIT Program today announced winners of the Lemelson-MIT National Collegiate Student Prize Competition (NCSPC), a nationwide search for the most inventive undergraduate and graduate students. The Lemelson-MIT Program awarded $50,000 in prizes, with winning undergraduate teams receiving $10,000 in two categories and graduate student winners receiving $15,000 in two categories. The winners of this year's competition were selected from a diverse and highly competitive applicant pool of students spanning 26 Universities across the country.
"The national expansion of the Lemelson-MIT National Collegiate Student Prize Competition revealed world-changing ideas from inventive and entrepreneurial students across the country," said Joshua Schuler, executive director of the Lemelson-MIT Program. "This competition celebrates students who are translating research discoveries into ground breaking inventions, and fostering creative and inventive thinking among youth. This year's winners are at the forefront of technological invention in healthcare and consumer products."
2014 Prize Winners & Categories
The "Cure it!" Lemelson-MIT Student Prize
"Cure it!" rewards students working on technology-based inventions that can improve healthcare.
The "Use it!" Lemelson-MIT Student Prize
"Use it!" rewards students working on technology-based inventions that can improve consumer devices and tools.
The competition, supported by The Lemelson Foundation, builds on the legacy of the Lemelson-MIT Collegiate Student Prize, which has served as a springboard for collegiate inventors for twenty years.
"We congratulate all of the Student Prize winners for their brilliance and practical approaches to advancements in each of their fields," said Dorothy Lemelson, chair of the Lemelson Foundation. "My husband, Jerry, would have been thrilled that the competition has a national reach, so that more young inventors can be inspired and encouraged."
Students interested in applying for the 2015 Lemelson-MIT National Collegiate Student Prize Competition may find more information here.
The Lemelson-MIT Program is seeking partners with interest in sponsoring the "Cure it!" and "Use it!" categories, in addition to supporting the execution and scaling of the National Collegiate Student Prize Competition into new categories.
ABOUT THE LEMELSON-MIT PROGRAM
Celebrating invention, inspiring youth The Lemelson-MIT Program celebrates outstanding inventors and inspires young people to pursue creative lives and careers through invention.
Jerome H. Lemelson, one of U.S. history's most prolific inventors, and his wife Dorothy founded the Lemelson-MIT Program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1994. It is funded by The Lemelson Foundation and administered by the School of Engineering at MIT, an institution with a strong ongoing commitment to creating meaningful opportunities for K-12 STEM education.
ABOUT THE LEMELSON FOUNDATION
The Lemelson Foundation uses the power of invention to improve lives, by inspiring and enabling the next generation of inventors and invention based enterprises to promote economic growth in the US and social and economic progress for the poor in developing countries. Established by prolific US inventor Jerome Lemelson and his wife Dorothy in 1992, to date the Foundation has provided or committed more than $175 million in grants and PRIs in support of its mission. For more information, visit http://lemelson.org .