FAU Wave Competition Announces Winners
Florida Atlantic University’s Division of Research recently hosted a celebratory event for the inaugural FAU Wave Competition, an undergraduate research and entrepreneurial contest.
Biology student Evan Clark won first place for his research on T-Cell activation.
Florida Atlantic University’s Division of Research recently hosted a celebratory event for the inaugural FAU Wave Competition, an undergraduate research and entrepreneurial contest. Teams of undergraduate students received $500 this past fall to develop new ideas to address societal problems. Student projects that competed for cash prizes included: a healthy meal delivery service, a juice truck to deliver nutrition to underserved communities, a time-saving parking app, and an LGBT photographic chronicle. Competing teams were chosen in the fall semester based on the significance of the problem addressed, the innovation of their idea, and the ability to apply the idea to the real world.
“The FAU Wave competition plays a unique role in the university as a catalyst of collaboration, experimentation and experiential learning,” said Dan Flynn, Ph.D., vice president for research. "FAU Wave primes the pump with students’ ideas and grows them into tangible start-ups, devices, intellectual property or research to be continued at FAU Tech Runway or in summer programs, such as the Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship.”
Nearly 80 people attended the final poster presentation and awards ceremony at FAU’s Tech Runway. Biology student Evan Clark received top honors for his research on the identification of SRSF1 in the biological process of T-Cell activation, which came with $1,500 in prize money.
“The competition is a unique opportunity for undergraduates to dive into what truly drives them,” said Clark. “Not only did I learn that I love working in genomics, but that my work could be applied to better the lives of everyone.”
Mechanical engineering students Brent Marshall, Jean Baptiste Dalien, Weendell Esthema and Jonathan Padilla took home second place for their Automated Baseball Pitching Machine, earning them $1,000 for their idea. The machine can be programmed to pitch like any pitcher, giving baseball players the chance to practice against any pitcher they may face.
For a complete list of winners from the 2016 Wave Competition, click here.
For more information about the competition, watch this video.
-FAU-
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