Congratulations to Our 2021 Collegiate Inventors Competition Finalists

The 2021 Collegiate Inventors Competition^® (CIC) is only a couple of weeks away, and we could not be more excited to announce this year’s Finalists!

On Oct. 13-14, six Undergraduate and six Graduate teams will compete virtually and present their incredible inventions to a panel of judges including National Inventors Hall of Fame^® Inductees and representatives from the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

Representing some of the very best colleges and universities from around the country, these students are among the next generation of innovators developing solutions that have the potential to benefit people around the world.

Below, we invite you to learn more about these students’ amazing innovations:

Undergraduate Finalists

Air-Coupled Ultrasonic Transduction Inspection System (ACUTIS)
Matthew Maggio, Florida Atlantic University

To reliably maintain service and ensure safety, ACUTIS uses ultrasonic waves to evaluate the interior of wooden utility poles, detecting defects without changing the integrity of the structure.

Augment Health Bladder Management System
Stephen Kalinsky and Jared Meyers, Georgia Institute of Technology

Designed for people with a neurogenic bladder condition, this noninvasive connection between a catheter and catheter valve can tell a user when their bladder is full via their smart device.

EarFlow
Eva Cai, Harvard University

To safely and easily treat inner ear infections, the EarFlow hydrogel patch can be placed on a patient’s eardrum to deliver a steroid and an antibiotic to the inner ear through ionic liquids.

Firebot
Siddharth Thakur, University of Texas at Austin

Firebot is a thermally insulated, wirelessly controlled robot that locates victims in structural fires without requiring firefighters to enter unsafe buildings.

Innerva Conduit
Juan Diego Carrizo, Bruce Enzmann, Michael Lan and Anson Zhou, Johns Hopkins University

This cone-shaped device made from a polymer nanofiber can be implanted during targeted muscle reinnervation to act as a bridge between nerves, helping to prevent chronic neuroma pain.

MAQR Bracelets
Katelyn France, University of Minnesota Duluth

MAQR bracelets are advanced emergency medical bracelets that include a quick response code (QR code) to enable instant access to a patient’s medical information.

Graduate Finalists

ArchGuard
Len Assakul, Pratik Doshi, Anish Nigade and Kelly Yang, Duke University

This cerebral protection device is the first of its kind to protect all three major vessels to the brain during a transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) procedure, significantly reducing the risk of a stroke.

Aura
Mahdi Al-Husseini and Joshua Barnett, Purdue University and Stanford University

Aura is the first tool to allow pilots to dynamically track their in-flight performance data, leading to more effective and efficient flight training.

Living Functional Materials
Tzu-Chieh Tang, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

New methods in applying engineered living materials (ELMs), including Deployable Physical Containment Strategy (DEPCOS), have the potential to drastically reduce the costs of monitoring water quality.

SolarClear
Shrish Patel, Stony Brook University

SolarClear uses autonomous EDS solar-panel-cleaning technology to efficiently clear the dust from large-scale solar power plants and is especially useful in desert regions. 

Sunthetics
Daniela Blanco, New York University

Using an electrotechnical process to produce synthetic organic reactions, Sunthetics is the first company to offer AI-optimized chemical reactors for the electricity-driven production of chemicals.

VirSENSE
Maha Alafeef, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Using an electrochemical biosensor paired with an electrical reader, this rapid test for COVID-19 is over 98% accurate and can be administered entirely at home.