10 teams of NCSSM students joined 86 other teams from the US and around the world for the 2016 Conrad Innovation Summit at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Center in Florida.
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At the Conrad Innovation Summit, science meets business, and marketing is the name of the game for the participating students. In the first trimester, NCSSM students formed teams to work on an idea for a product in one of four subject areas. After working on their prototype, they submit their idea electronically to be evaluated by a series of judges. Nineteen teams of NCSSM students submitted product portfolios for the first round. Twelve of those teams advanced to the next level, an invitation to the Innovation Summit at Kennedy Space Center this past week.
Once at the Summit, the top four to five teams in each category were invited to pitch their idea based on their portfolio scores. An additional three to five wildcard teams were invited to pitch their ideas as well. All of the final pitches were given in the Astronaut Encounter Auditorium and streamed globally.
Aerospace and Aviation Challenge: Three NCSSM teams selected in final four
- Covalency – CarboLite. Kenny Hoang, Karl Westerdorff, Michael Carter, Napassorn Tunviya; Alisa Vethviharntham; Kamnoetvidya Science Academy- Rayong, Thailand. Creation of a polymer radiation shield embedded with loaded activated charcoal for use aboard spacecrafts.
- No-G BalanceSpace. Margie Bruff, Mridu Nanda, Anna Hattle, Skanda Sastry. This device will be used on the International Space Station to find the mass of small objects such as a mouse.
- Ghostduster – Space Flow .- Ishaan Rao, Ravin Kantesaria, Ashvin Warrier, Miguel de los Reyes, Amruthansh Sriperumbudur. SpaceFlow is a filtration system designed for lunar modules, specifically to mitigate the effects of moon dust on astronaut health and equipment.
An additional NCSSM team was invited to make a power pitch and won for this category:
- Simple Planar. Christopher Kartawira, Nolan Miranda, Sreeran Venkat.
Cyber Technology and Security Challenge – Final Four
- BioPros – BARK . Ishaan Rao, Ravin Kantesaria, Ashvin Warrier, Miguel de los Reyes, Amruthansh Sriperumbudur. B.A.R.K., or Biometric Analysis and Recognition of Keywords, is a new form of password security for corporations. This security does away with the insecure passwords that require a combination of letters and numbers, replacing it with multi-step voice recognition software.
Power Pitch winner in the category:
- OptiSecure – oSight. Adithya Balaji, Kireet Panuganti, Grayson York, An innovative software to be implemented with existing CCTV systems in order to detect guns and inform security personal of a possible threat. This will increase the response time which in turn will save lives.
Health and Nutrition Challenge – Final Five
- Girls to the Rescue. Ginny Gui, Tiffany Tang, Ana Sofia Uzsoy, and Stella Wang. This is a device to place in automobiles to detect if a child or pet has been left in a hot car.
- ShoeCrew – PediPressure. Arjun Bhatt, Joseph Chen, Caleb Cox, Austin Holmes. PediPressure works to increase awareness of joint, foot, leg, and knee injuries through the use of a user friendly system to analyze the results of sensors placed on the insole of the shoe.
Power Pitch
- UHealth – SonoRelief . Joshua Dong, Nikhil Milind, Aneesh Agarwal. This app helps you deal with stress by using music and other strategies.
Energy & Environment Challenge – Final Four
- Hinghol: Our visiting friends from KVIS. They won the Conrad Scholar Award
Power pitch:
- Safe Water – BioAsphalt . Rohan Reddy, Lucy Wu, Cory You, Saigopala Reddy, Raymond Gao. BioAsphalt is a novel water filtration technology that aims to reduce water pollution from urban runoff by capturing and purifying water with a layered system of porous asphalt and various physical and biological filters. Made to final round.
- Coal World: Nimisha Pant, Elizabeth Yang, and Gayathri Raghavendr
More than 350 participants attended from across the US and 16 other countries. In addition to visiting the exhibits at Kennedy Space Center, the students met and heard presentations from three astronauts and several entrepreneurs. Science instructors Myra Halpin and Tim Anglin served as NCSSM’s Conrad coaches.
On the 11-hour bus ride home, students reported the things they had gained from being involved in the Conrad Innovation Summit:
- “I learned more about team work and meeting deadlines.”
- “I learned how to make a presentation – use a microphone, stand on stage, and speak to a large audience.”
- “Meeting students from around the world “
- “How to sell an idea/product to investors”
— Myra Halpin, Science Instructor