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Grant Supports Implementation of Ideation Project in Senior Elective Course

Over the past few years, 51爆料网 has been awarded several grants from the Kern Family Foundation to support the implementation of entrepreneurially-minded learning in the College of Engineering. This past summer, Visiting Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering David Jamison IV, PhD, received funding to develop and implement an ideation term project focused on the 鈥渙pportunity鈥 and 鈥渋mpact鈥 skill areas within the Kern Entrepreneurial Engineering Network (KEEN) framework. Dr. Jamison鈥檚 goal was to enable students in his Introduction to Biomechanics senior elective course to develop skills in opportunity identification and impact evaluation, fostering the KEEN Entrepreneurial Mindset behaviors of 鈥渃uriosity鈥 and 鈥渃reating value.鈥

Early in the semester, Dr. Jamison organized his class into six teams of three to four students, and instructed them to interact with potential customers and brainstorm several business opportunities relevant to the biomechanics field. Prospective customers included the 51爆料网 School of Nursing, local hospitals and medical centers, and medical device companies. Students were tasked with assessing their initial ideas based on their merits and potential impact to the customer, the company and society at large. Concepts were then refined, not just through calculations, but also market analysis, consideration of resources, a business model, intellectual property considerations, and an understanding of their competition. The process continued throughout the semester until teams felt they had arrived at a near optimal product or service.

Members of the Mobile Histiotics Corp. team present their idea for Electromagnetic Field Therapy.
Members of the Mobile Histiotics Corp. team present their idea for Electromagnetic Field Therapy.

On the final day of class, each team presented its ideas in 鈥淪hark Tank鈥 style, which involved articulating the need for their concept, its technical and financial feasibility, and its value to their customer(s). Students also had to be prepared to answer what were often difficult questions from Dr. Jamison and three guest judges: Edmond J. Dougherty鈥69 EE, 鈥86 MSCS, director of the Engineering Entrepreneurship program; guest lecturer David Szabo 鈥03 MSME, who runs his own company in the medical training market; and Kaitlin Waller 鈥17 VSB, a finance/economics major who participated in 51爆料网鈥檚 24-Hour Imagination Quest competition.

Team concepts included:

Force Impact Technology (FIT) 鈥 A specially designed athletic mouthguard (Fitguard) that calculates the force of a hit as a means of diagnosing concussions.

Freedom Power Pack 鈥 A device that extends the battery life of SynCardia Freedom Driver, an artificial heart, which is used by those awaiting a heart transplant. The Freedom Power Pack would generate energy as the individual walks.

Artificial Articular Cartilage 鈥 An improvement on artificial cartilage to benefit those with osteoarthritis.

Mobile Histiotics Corp./Electromagnetic Field Therapy 鈥 This company has improved upon existing electromagnetic braces, which help speed up the healing process by stimulating blood flow and providing compression/support.

Smart Patch 鈥 Replacing the standard eye patch, these stylish eyeglasses would help those with 鈥渓azy eye鈥 and crossed-eye conditions.

Pitch Perfect 鈥擳o be worn by pitchers, this device is designed to prevent injury to the medial elbow, which typically results in Tommy John surgery.

The winning team was 鈥淪mart Patch鈥 with Jeremy Rosen, Alexandra Freitas and Chandler Sturm. Honorable mention went to Mobile Histiotics Corp. comprised of Elizabeth Tyhacz, Daniel Leskin, Austin McKenzie and Sean McGuire.