Collegiate Inventors Competition | National Inventors Hall of Fame®

Take Your Innovation to the Next Level with Our Collegiate Inventors Competition

Each year, the nation’s most creative college students come together to compete while networking with world-class inventors.

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What is the Collegiate Inventors Competition?

The Collegiate Inventors Competition® is a unique competition that can take your invention to the next level through networking, marketing exposure, mentorship and more!

Since 1990, with the help of our sponsors, we have awarded more than $1 million to students nationwide.

Here’s what you can expect from the CIC experience. First, the competition kicks off as our Finalists attend a virtual welcome session. Here, you’ll have the opportunity to network with other students, as well as with United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) officials.

Next, the competition heats up as Finalists present their inventions to a panel of Judges made up of the most influential inventors and innovation experts in the country — National Inventors Hall of Fame® (NIHF) Inductees and United States Patent and Trademark Office officials and patent examiners.

Enter the Competition

The 2021 Collegiate Inventors Competition is now open for entries! Applications are due by June 7.

Apply Now

Congratulations 2020 CIC Winners!

Graduate Winner: SanaHeal

Graduate Runner-Up: Hearo

Undergraduate Winner: Universally Friendly Obturator (UFO)

Undergraduate Runner-Up: Dyad Syringe

Arrow Electronics People's Choice Award Winner: TrachTech

Sabin Karki

Kirby Leo

Paarth Sharma

Brooke Stephanian

Sabin Karki, Kirby Leo, Paarth Sharma, Brooke Stephanian

Johns Hopkins University

Adviser: Nicholas Durr

Benegraft

Of the 200,000 rhinoplasty surgeries performed each year, those using cartilage grafts made of diced tissue instead of solid carved pieces are significantly less prone to warping, resulting in improved patient outcomes. However, dicing is a laborious process, taking up to two hours of a surgeon’s complete attention. The Benegraft Rapid Dicer is an easy-to-use, disposable tool that addresses this problem by dicing cartilage quickly and consistently, reducing the average tissue dicing time from 40 minutes to under five. The device easily integrates into the surgical workflow and deskills the process of graft creation to allow any member of the surgical team to prepare diced tissue.

Bryson Pritchard

Undergraduate Runner-Up

Bryson Pritchard

Stetson University

Adviser: Lou Paris

Dyad Syringe

Administering intravenous (IV) medications is a common practice in hospitals and emergency rooms around the world. However, when multiple medicines need to be applied through an IV, sanitation and replacement of the syringe is required. The Dyad Syringe streamlines this process by providing two chambers: an empty one for the medication and a bottom chamber containing a saline solution. A punching device is used to puncture the latter chamber, thereby sanitizing the catheter. This innovative design is the first syringe that allows the administration of medication and sanitation of the device in a single action — both saving time and decreasing the chance for infection.

Kimball Goss

Grant Hagen

Todd Paskett

Kimball Goss, Grant Hagen, Todd Paskett

Brigham Young University, Utah State University

Adviser: Brian Lewis

Primus Roof Removal

Most of the work that goes into replacing a roof involves the time-intensive process of removing shingles. This considerable investment of resources is due to the continued use of inefficient tools such as shovels, razor scrapers and pitchforks to complete the job. As the first self-propelled roofing teardown tool, the Primus roof removing system increases teardown capacity by more than 75%, saving contractors significant time and money.

Morgan Bohrer

Stephen Hahn

Michael L’Ecuyer

Alex Verne

Arrow Electronics People’s Choice Award

Morgan Bohrer, Stephen Hahn, Michael L’Ecuyer, Alex Verne

Tulane University

Adviser: Mark Mondrinos

TrachTech

With ventilators in high demand due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, it’s essential that these machines remain clean and safe. However, in at least 84% of intubation tubes biofilm buildup occurs, restricting airflow and increasing the likelihood that patients will develop ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP). TrachTech developed a specialized, novel device to clean intubation tubes without the risk of extubation. It is specifically designed to efficiently remove biofilms and debris from the tubes and maintain continued airflow from ventilators during the cleaning process.

Elisa Arango

Susannah Dittmar

Lauren Payne

Sanika Rane

Undergraduate Winner

Elisa Arango, Susannah Dittmar, Lauren Payne, Sanika Rane

Rice University

Advisers: Alexander Hanania, Michelle Ludwig, Matthew Wettergreen

Universally Friendly Obturator (UFO)

Cervical cancer disproportionately affects low-income countries where cases progress to later stages, contributing to over 300,000 deaths globally each year. Brachytherapy, a type of radiation therapy, is the only curative treatment for late-stage cases but is infrequently used due to its complexity. The Universally Friendly Obturator (UFO) addresses this challenge by providing a customizable device that simplifies the procedure and lowers patient morbidity - making this life-saving treatment more accessible to women worldwide, regardless of their economic status.

Adebayo Eisape

Ian McLane

Valerie Rennoll

Graduate Runner-Up

Adebayo Eisape, Ian McLane, Valerie Rennoll

Johns Hopkins University

Advisers: Mounya Elhilali, Jim West

Hearo

When captured, acoustic waves can provide valuable information beyond what the ear detects, supporting efforts from structural monitoring to gathering details about a person’s health. The Hearo is a self-powered, flexible electrostatic transducer that can be tuned and optimized to minimize differences in acoustic impedance and attenuation. Due to its ability to be tuned to closely match the mechanical properties of the medium it is recording, this device enables significantly higher-quality acoustic recordings and communications, even in noisy environments.

Karan Ahuja

Sujeath Pareddy

Karan Ahuja, Sujeath Pareddy

Carnegie Mellon University

Advisers: Mayank Goel, Chris Harrison, Robert Xiao

LightAnchors

Augmented reality (AR) allows for the overlay of digital information and interactive content onto real-time video of the real world. Unlike most prior tracking methods, which use QR codes and other markers, LightAnchors takes advantage of the small status lights already found in many electrical appliances. Uniquely, LightAnchors uses these LED lights to both anchor virtual interfaces and also transmit dynamic data, allowing “dumb” devices to become smarter through AR with essentially zero extra cost.

Erica Grant

University of Tennessee

Adviser: John Bruck

Quantum Lock

As technology continues to advance, hackers have become increasingly skilled in their cybersecurity attacks. Because of this, the electronic lock systems used in hotels have been particularly vulnerable. Quantum Lock technology solves this problem by pairing a quantum random number generator (a device that generates unpredictable numbers by measuring the random behavior of subatomic particles) with a customized set of communication protocols. In addition to making hotel room locks more secure, connected and efficient, the system enables direct communication between the front desk and all locks in the hotel.

Yoonho Kim

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Adviser: Xuanhe Zhao

Robo-thread

In the United States, stroke remains a leading cause of death and long-term disability. When treated within 90 minutes, stroke victims have a substantially lower risk of brain damage and death. The Robo-thread is a soft-robotic guidewire that can be magnetically controlled to enable safer and quicker access to hard-to-reach lesions in the brain’s blood vessels, thereby reducing the time it takes to treat stroke patients. Guided by a remotely controlled robot arm that carries a magnet, Robo-thread can be steered in any direction through the brain’s vasculature and has the potential to revolutionize this type of procedure by enabling telerobotic endovascular neurosurgery.

Hyunwoo Yuk

Graduate Winner

Hyunwoo Yuk

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Adviser: Xuanhe Zhao

SanaHeal

During surgery, tissue adhesives are regularly used to support suture or staple lines. However, current adhesives are ineffective to seal wet tissues, do not provide rapid, strong adhesion, and often lack a stable and long-term sealing capacity. The SanaHeal bioadhesive is a dry strip of tape that has the unique ability to bind wet tissues together and can potentially replace the staples or sutures used to close surgical sites following an operation and provide healthier healing.

What is the Collegiate Inventors Competition?

Enter the Competition

Congratulations 2020 CIC Winners!

2020 Undergraduate Finalists

2020 Graduate Finalists

Thank you to our 2021 CIC Sponsor