Five teams of students from Wichita State won the university’s inaugural Koch Innovation Challenge.

The annual competition, held Saturday, Dec. 3, supports the College of Engineering in fostering a culture of creativity, innovation, entrepreneurship and teamwork among students.

The goal is to begin preparing students the moment they join WSU to become real world-ready graduates with an entrepreneurial mindset.

The winning projects / teams are:

• “Picture This!” - a magnetic Polaroid-like photography prop. Team members: Caroline Childs, Connor Egan, Liam Huckaby and Julie Sok.
• “Out Cold” - a customizable pillow with air chambers that helps reduce sleep discomfort. Team members: Derek Slaymaker, Braden Bohl, Cesar Gamboa, Jacob Kimble and Austin Nordyke.
• “Stim Support” - A small box that children with ADHD or autism can play with to help them focus. Team members: Hayden Schrag, Natalie Ashbrook, Jacob Griffin and Talitha Wilson.
• “d-Safe” - An electronic box with a breathalyzer that will return car keys only if someone is below the legal limit for blood-alcohol levels. Team members: Natalie Dutton, Azby Alshemeri, Zachary Bacon, Joseph Grondin and Abigail Richardson.
• “Snail-shell Camper” - An ultra-lightweight camping shell that hooks onto a bicycle. Team members: James Sizemore, Kristian Buan, Michael Lee and Raistlin Welker.

The challenge is organized from two courses: the new Introduction to Technology & Innovation freshman seminar general education course and Engineering 101 Introduction to Engineering course.

Cross-disciplinary student team members are first-year freshmen and transfer students from majors all across campus, including four sport management majors, one pre-dance major, one chemistry major, and six liberal arts and sciences undecided majors.

Each of the five winners will be provided up to $1,200 in investment capital to pursue their ventures during their second semester. Additionally, students on the five winning teams will be awarded a $1,000 Koch Innovation Challenge scholarship for their second semester.

Each winning team will be paired with a faculty innovation mentor.

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