Fulton Engineering has won the first-ever ASU Student Startup Bowl, a competition to determine which ASU college or school has the most entrepreneurial students. In the Startup Bowl, the college or school with the highest percentage of student participation in the Edson Student Entrepreneur Initiative competition is designated as ASU’s most entrepreneurial college or school and receives ASU’s newest traveling trophy, the Startup Bowl Cup.
Over 170 Fulton Engineering students participated in the Edson competition for a 26 percent engagement rate. The W.P. Carey School of Business was the Startup Bowl runner-up, with a 24 percent participation rate, followed by the College of Technology and Innovation (CTI), which had a 13 percent participation rate.
FlashFood has won another year of funding and mentorship through Edson, and several teams are receiving their first year of funding. Nearly 350 teams competed in the Edson Student Entrepreneur Initiative this year. The 20 winning teams will receive office space, mentorship and educational opportunities in addition to funding.
Ebook Glue is a software platform that allows website owners, libraries, universities, and businesses to quickly convert their content into downloadable eBooks. Thousands of people rely on Ebook Glue to publish their content for a plethora of devices through a simple automated process that produces a beautiful reading experience. Ebook Glue is led by Shantanu Bala, a computer science and psychology student.
FlashFood is a website and smartphone app that connects leftover food from local restaurants, hotels, and caterers, directly with community members who are in need. FlashFood allows food business managers to post any short-term food donation to the FlashFood network, which sends a twitter-like notification to a team of volunteer drivers who can pick up that food and take it into neighborhoods where it is needed. FlashFood team members are Eric Lehnhardt (biomedical engineering), Steven Hernandez and Ramya Baratam (computer science), Jake Irvin (marketing and sustainability), Loni Lehnhardt (sustainability), Mary Hannah Smith (sustainability and global studies) and Katelyn Keberle (materials science and engineering).
Grimhardt Brewing Company is a microbrewery in the greater Phoenix, Ariz., area that brews superior beers, and engages the community through educational offerings, including tastings, classes in beer-food pairing, brewing science and brewing history, and hands-on instruction at a casual level and a homebrewer’s introductory level. Biomedical engineering graduate student Eric Lehnhardt is the team leader.
HydroGene Biotechnologies is a synthetic biology venture aiming to minimize disease outbreaks in developing countries by developing a user-friendly, cost-effective biosensor for on-site rapid screening of waterborne bacteria and viruses. Team lead Nisarg Patel is an Undergraduate Teaching Assistant for the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering. Hyder Hussain, who is pursuing a double major in biomedical engineering and computational mathematical sciences, is also on the team.
Infinibotics sells an edutainment toy to parents who seek a product that will mentally and physically engage their children, and give them an academic edge. Cosmo provides unbridled and intelligent movement combined with smart and appealing games. It can play games in which both the child and Cosmo move, such as hide-and-seek, making Cosmo a child’s best friend and teacher. Computer engineering graduate student Edward Andert is the team lead.
UP is an elevating manual wheelchair for paraplegic manual wheelchair users who desire extra height in order to reach high items and speak with others at eye level. Most wheelchair manufacturers do not offer height adjustable wheelchairs, and the ones that do are bulky and can cost upwards of $10,000. Compared to standing wheelchairs on the market, UP is faster, easier and costs a third of the price. Christopher Miranda, biomedical engineering alumnus, is part of the UP team.
Learn more at ASU Announces Edson Student Entrepreneur Initiative’s 2013-2014 Cohort
