2016 Winners of the Lemelson–M.I.T. Student Prize [Slide Show]
A nationwide search for the most inventive college students
![2016 Winners of the Lemelson–M.I.T. Student Prize [Slide Show]](https://static.scientificamerican.com/sciam/cache/file/F84444C9-2D12-489A-A4A16F0B98F13343.jpg?w=590&h=393)
2016 Winners of the Lemelson–M.I.T. Student Prize [Slide Show]
- SignAloud Thomas Pryor and Navid Azodi of the University of Washington created SignAloud, a pair of gloves that have the potential to revolutionize communication for people who cannot speak or hear. SignAloud gloves contain an array of sensors that measure hand position and movement, sending sensor data via Bluetooth for translation from American Sign Language to spoken words instantly. The gloves are lightweight, compact and worn on the hands. Yet they are ergonomic enough to use as an everyday accessory, similar to contact lenses or a hearing aid. Photo courtesy of Conrado Tapado | UW CoMotion
- Nanophotography camera Achuta Kadambi of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology is the $15,000 Lemelson-MIT “Use it!” Graduate Winner for his portfolio of advanced camera inventions including the Nanophotography camera, which can capture light in motion faster than the human eye, and the Polarized 3D Camera, the first 3D camera to use the polarization of light as its operating principle. At the intersection of electrical engineering, computer science and optics, Kadambi’s work has applications that span medical imaging, robotic navigation and virtual reality. Photo courtesy of the Lemelson-MIT Program
- Spyce Mechanical engineering students Kale Rogers, Michael Farid, Braden Knight and Luke Schlueter of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology are the $10,000 Lemelson-MIT “Eat it!” Undergraduate Winners for their invention Spyce, a completely automated restaurant. The invention incorporates a refrigerator, dishwasher, stovetop and chef all in one, allowing it to cook and serve meals using fresh ingredients without human involvement. The team’s goal is for Spyce Kitchen to revolutionize the fast food industry by operating with extremely low overhead while serving high quality, nutritious meals at fast food prices. Photo courtesy of the Lemelson-MIT Program
- SmartPot (SPOT) Heather Hava of the University of Colorado Boulder is the $15,000 Lemelson-MIT “Eat it!” Graduate Winner. Hava, a self-proclaimed “space gardener,” has focused her studies in bioastronautics, and specifically inventing ways to grow food in space and other extreme environments. She developed robots that can garden in space and patented a geodesic dome structure that can be used for disaster relief or sustainable housing. Her invention SmartPot (SPOT), a smart growth chamber, can be teleoperated to help astronauts grow fruits and vegetables during space exploration missions. AgQ, also developed by Hava, is software that will process data from SPOT and provide feedback to the robot for proper plant care. Photo courtesy of Alex Pilnick | CU Media
- Clutchless hybrid transmission Dan Dorsch of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology is the $15,000 Lemelson-MIT “Drive it!” Graduate Winner for his invention, the first lightweight clutchless hybrid transmission for cars. Dorsch has partnered with a leading performance car company to refine his transmission technology for real-world applications. Dorsch designed the transmission to make it straightforward for other automotive manufacturers to adapt his technology for their vehicles, creating greater efficiency and performance in mass consumer models. Photo courtesy of the Lemelson-MIT Program
- Highlight Jason Kang, Katherine Jin and Kevin Tyan of Columbia University are the $10,000 Lemelson-MIT “Cure it!” Undergraduate Winners for their invention Highlight, an easy-to-use powdered additive that can be mixed into disinfectant solutions to make them colorized and highly visible. Their invention allows global health care workers to fully cover contaminated surfaces with disinfectant solutions, eliminating gaps in coverage and reducing evaporation rates. Highlight improves the process of infectious disease decontamination by directly addressing the problems of human error and empowering health care workers to protect themselves and the general public. Photo courtesy of Columbia Engineering/Tim Lee Photographers.
