Awards Recognize Student Innovation

Awards Recognize Student Innovation

Five Innovators Worth Watching

FAU Wave program is an undergraduate student research and entrepreneurial competition that brings students with diverse backgrounds and interests together to solve real-world problems and fill needs in the business marketplace. Students are given seed funding to transform novel ideas and technologies into research projects or products, as they compete for monetary prizes. In the second year of the competition, students helped other students by creating programs and platforms on topics such as HIV, autism, cancer, foreign policy and social justice.

Benjamin Coleman
Benjamin Coleman

Major: Electrical Engineering

Innovation: Transient-Image Density Evaluation System (TIDES)

How it helps: Using cell phones to rapidly diagnose disease in resource-poor environments

Inspiration: The potential to use engineering to make healthcare more accessible in resource-constrained settings

What’s next: Continue with bioengineering research, publish on TIDES and other projects

Alexis Base
Alexis Base

Major: Ocean Engineering

Innovation: Developing an Image Recognition and Motor Control Algorithm for Pterois volitans’ (Red lionfish) Population in South Florida

How it helps: Using a blob detection program to identify invasive red lionfish to mitigate the negative impacts to marine life and ecosystems

Inspiration: Middle school national underwater robotics competitions led Base to research remotely operated underwater and autonomous underwater vehicles

What’s next: Continue ocean engineering research, get involved with the Marine Robotics Club, graduate from FAU High School and FAU

Hannah Herbst
Hannah Herbst

Major: Biology

Innovation: Protecting Civilians and Public Service Personnel through an Early Identification and Warning System for Airborne Chemicals

How it helps: An early identification system for airborne chemicals to facilitate evacuation of people before harmful impact

Inspiration: Learning about the extremely harmful effects of airborne chemical exposure, such as paralysis and lung poisoning

What’s next: Graduate from FAU High School and FAU; pursue medical school and conduct research to help improve patients’ quality of life

Pedro Flores
Pedro Flores

Major: Physics

Innovation: Algorithmic Music Composition

How it helps: Turns math into music

Inspiration: Shape our emotions with music

What’s next: Merging man and machine using brain computer interfaces

Vithulan Suthakaran
Vithulan Suthakaran

Major: Environmental Engineering

Innovation: SEA Skimmer: The Development of a Sustainable Environmental Accumulation Skimmer in Order to Extract Marine Pollution from a Variety of Geographical Locations

How it helps: Cleans up oil pollution from aquatic environments three times faster than current methods

Inspiration: Seeing animals in marine life centers as a result of oil pollution

What's next: Obtain a bachelor's degree in 2020, conduct research on major environmental problems

If you would like more information, please contact us at dorcommunications@fau.edu.