May 18 2009
ASME will hold its 3rd Annual Innovation Showcase (IShow) on June 14 in conjunction with the ASME Annual Meeting in Palm, Desert, California. The ASME IShow provides the full experience of product development and commercialization to undergraduate and graduate students, bridging the gap between engineering knowledge and practical business skills.
The ASME IShow provides engineering students with a platform to practice their business acumen and apply their skills as product innovators and entrepreneurs. Student teams are tasked to use technical theory and inventive know-how to provide solutions to some of today’s real-life challenges. Whether through a heart monitor that looks like a bathroom scale, or an innovative system that can save organizations money on printing documents and labels, each ASME IShow team strives to utilize its new product concepts to impact the lives of people around the world through accessible and marketable inventions.
Teams are evaluated by submitting a one page proposal which outlines the components of their invention or technological enhancement and the impact it can have on their respective markets. The proposals are then judged by a panel, made up of academia, venture capitalists and industry leaders, who select the top seven teams to participate in the competition.
Prior to the competition, ASME IShow teams will be matched with mentors from their local entrepreneurial community – angel fund investors, universities, and technology-based economic development services – to help them refine their product, develop a business model, and create a product “pitch”.
Each team will present their product before a panel of judges at the ASME IShow, who will then select the most innovative and commercially feasible ideas. Teams that not only present the best innovation, but also demonstrate a product that offers the most impact on its respective area of interest and need will be recognized and awarded seed funds ranging from $5,000 – $10,000.
“The ASME IShow is a great opportunity for students to combine their engineering and business skills and apply them to real world issues and challenges.” said ASME President Thomas M. Barlow. “Seeing the dedication that each team of students brings to the competition is a tribute to their passion and commitment to the profession and to society.”
2009 ASME IShow Finalists
• Brown University – NuLabel Printing Solutions is a cost effective, low-effort, and long-lasting, liner-free label printing system to help companies transform their printing and labeling operations and meet today’s demands for cost savings, waste reduction, and environmental sustainability.
• University of Texas at Austin – By applying an organic material called lanthanide to OLEDs in commercial buildings, this team has been able to devise a way to save billions on yearly energy costs. Lanthanide has unique properties that enable it to produce light more efficiently and produce a superior quality of light than competing materials used in light-emitting polymers.
• MIT – Solar ORC is a solar thermal approach to off-grid generation. This technology can supply both electricity and thermal products to rural institutions such as primary schools or health clinics.
• Rice University – PRIME (Peg Restrained Intrinsic Muscle Evaluator) created a device that quantifies intrinsic hand strength and focuses on serving pediatric patients with abnormal hand morphologies. Serious pathologies such as hand trauma, rheumatoid arthritis and congenital hand defects manifest through hand muscle strength.
• University of Houston – Blue Scale is a low-cost cardiac monitoring device in the form of a modified bathroom scale. The Blue Scale delivers clinically valuable information to CHF (congestive heart failure) patients.
• University of Cincinnati – SurgiSIL is a Single Incision Laparoscopic access tool that allows surgeons to perform laparoscopic procedures within a single incision in the belly button. Typically these surgeries would require 4-5 incisions, increasing trauma, recovery time and visible scarring.
• University of Michigan-Ann Arbor – Endocutter is a motorized endoscope attachment designed to remove blood clots during upper gastrointestinal bleeding. This device allows physicians to immediately locate the bleeding site.
ASME helps the global engineering community develop solutions to real world challenges. Founded in 1880 as the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, ASME is a not-for-profit professional organization that enables collaboration, knowledge sharing and skill development across all engineering disciplines, while promoting the vital role of the engineer in society. ASME codes and standards, publications, conferences, continuing education and professional development programs provide a foundation for advancing technical knowledge and world safety.