The Collegiate Inventors Competition

Overview How To Enter Winners Videos FAQs Resources

Overview

Objectives
Eligibility
Judging
Awards
Sponsors

OBJECTIVES

Introduced in 1990, the Collegiate Inventors Competition has recognized, rewarded, and encouraged hundreds of students to share their inventive ideas with the world. The Competition promotes exploration in invention, science, engineering, technology, and other creative endeavors and provides a window on the technologies from which society will benefit in the future.

ELIGIBILITY

Students must be enrolled (or have been enrolled) full-time in any U.S. or Canadian college or university at least part of the 12-month period prior to the date the entry is submitted. In the case of a team (maximum of four students), at least one member of the team must meet the full-time eligibility criteria. The other team members must have been enrolled on a part-time basis (at a minimum) sometime during the 24-month period prior to the date the entry is submitted.

JUDGING

The committee of judges represents various fields, including mathematics, engineering, biology, chemistry, physics, information technology, materials science, and medicine.

Entries are judged on the originality and inventiveness of the new idea, process, or technology. The entry must be complete, workable, and well articulated. Entries are also judged on their potential value to society (socially, environmentally, and economically), and on the scope of use. The judges' decisions are final.

judges
Left to right: Donald B. Keck, Edith M. Flanigen, Robert W. Bower, Jasemine Choy Chambers, Marcian E. (Ted) Hoff, Jeffrey Y. Pan, Rangaswamy Srinivasan, George Smith

AWARDS

Each year up to 12 finalists receive an all-expenses paid trip to present their work to a panel of expert judges. Each finalist or finalist team will also receive a $2000 cash prize.

One Undergraduate and one Graduate winner or team each receive $15,000. One Grand Prize winner or team receives $25,000. Academic advisors of each winning team also receive a cash award.