Winners of the Competitive Innovation Accelerator, sponsored by WSU Ventures and the Kansas Department of Commerce will be announced at 2 p.m., Friday, Jan. 9, in the Marcus Welcome Center at Wichita State University.
The public, university community and media are invited to attend the announcement, which will include remarks from Kansas Deputy Secretary of Workforce Services Michael Copeland, WSU President John Bardo, WSU Vice President John Tomblin and WSU Ventures Director Cindy Claycomb. Competition winners will also be available to showcase and discuss their innovations.
“This competition is a great showcase for the innovative talent developing at our universities, and is an aim of the Innovation Growth Program that supports economic development opportunities at Kansas universities as part of the Governor’s strategic plan for the state,” said Kansas Commerce Secretary Pat George.
The semifinal “Shock Tank” round of the competition was held Dec. 19. The 10 semifinalists were given 15 minutes to present and demonstrate their innovation and answer judges’ questions.
Seven of the 10 semifinalists were selected to receive between $10,000-$20,000 to fund research, testing and marketing for their innovations. Semifinalists include:
- ABI Chemicals’ Peelable Maskant System
- Advance Guard Conservation’s Reactor
- Birdie Eye’s Golf Ball Finder/Driving Range Finder
- Ulterius Technologies’ Multi-Protocol Development Testing
- GoodFlight’s Flight-Tracking
- iNOv8v Health Technologies’ Non-invasive physiological assessment and biofeedback fitness systems
- WSU Software Usability Lab’s Usability Evaluation Toolkit for Mobile Devices
- NMotion’s Unmanned Aircraft Systems for Public Safety Agencies
- Leachrod’s blade removal tool and
- Pocket Closet mobile application
The goal of the Competitive Innovation Accelerator is to identify and fund technologies that will create and retain jobs in Kansas. Selection criteria includes potential for economic impact, alignment with strategic objectives and student involvement, strength of the partnership, plans for long-term collaboration with WSU and technical merit.
WSU Ventures assists Wichita State University faculty, staff and students in applying and commercializing their collective ideas, intellectual properties, know-how, talents, capabilities, ambitions and energies in ways that benefit the university community, industry and the public. WSU Ventures is part of WSU’s Office of Research and Technology Transfer. It protects and licenses university inventions and innovations, connects industry partners with WSU researchers, and links entrepreneurs and investors with WSU researchers and technologies.