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Innovation Challenge Recognizes Top Business, Technology Ideas
By: James Tew - Saturday, April 17, 2021

ANGOLA, IN - A business raising show goats and a device that prevents pants tears for those with lower limb prosthetics took the top prizes at Trine University's annual Innovation Challenge, held April 15 in the T. Furth Center for Performing Arts.

Presented by the university's Trine innovation 1 and Fifth Third Bank, the annual contest provides cash prizes to top business and technology ideas. Awards are funded by a gift from Fifth Third Bank, Greater Indiana.

The $3,000 first prize in the business division went to Acacia Ranch Show Goats, presented remotely by DeKalb High School students Sydney and Matthias Hefty. The business provides high-quality, cost-effective goats for the growing number of 4-H members throughout the region seeking to show the animals.

Innovation Challenge judge Paul Burch, vice president for Government & Institutional Relationship Management, Commercial Bank, Fifth Third Bank, praised the team for their extensive business analysis.

Second place in the business category, with a $1,000 prize, went to Milkweed Online, presented by Brett Tierney, a Trine University sophomore majoring in design engineering technology and concurrently completing his MBA. Tierney, of West Chicago, Illinois, developed the business concept along with his mother Christie.

Milkweed Online is a line of products developed for use in raising and releasing monarch butterflies. Tierney noted in his presentation that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service estimates a 90% decline in the monarch populations since the 1990s. Less than 10% of eggs laid in nature survive. The Milkweed Online habitat kit is specifically designed for monarch butterflies. An included book by Christie Tierney, "Flutterby, My Butterfly," provides steps on how to raise monarchs.

Top prize in the technology division went to RipStop, developed by Trine University biomedical engineering seniors Colleen Bell of Unity, Ohio; Lauren Beebe of South Bend, Indiana; Olivia Coyne of Allison Park, Pennsylvania; and Devon Kelly of Dearborn Heights, Michigan.

The RipStop is designed to prevent tears in pants worn by lower limb amputees, a frequent problem due to sharp edges on prostheses and material getting tangled in prosthetic knees. The team tested their design with a lower limb amputee who reported no issues with the device or loss of mobility in his prosthetic joint.

Second prize for technology was awarded to the Cooler Koozie by Trine design engineering technology students Konrad Dorsey, a junior from Manilla, Indiana; and Adrienne Rosey, a freshman from Schoolcraft, Michigan. The product is designed for boaters who want access to their cooler while anchored at a sand bar or elsewhere, without having to climb back into their boat. The device also features holders for open drinks, bottle caps and snacks.

Jason Blume, executive director of Trine innovation 1, said he was impressed by the diverse but practical solutions provided to real-world problems at this year's Innovation Challenge.

Video of the Innovation Challenge is available at vimeo.com/513451184



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