Purdue awards student innovators at Moonshot Pitch Challenge
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Teams of Purdue University students pitched solutions to persistent issues this month at the Moonshot Pitch Challenge in an effort to win cash prizes.
The bi-annual Purdue Innovates Incubator event asked students to refine their ideas to three categories: socioeconomic needs and challenges, business startup barriers and seemingly impossible problems. They labeled these divisions as Earth, Orbit and Moonshot, respectively.
“The Moonshot Pitch Challenge is entirely about ideating bold, audacious solutions to address worldwide challenges,” Incubator Director Justin Renfrow said in a news release. “Purdue students are proving their ability to think critically about problems and then take the next giant leaps to solve them.”
First-place teams won $1,500 apiece. Best Pitch and Crowd Favorite awards also won $500.
- First Place in Earth: BioVolt, which would generate electricity using photosynthesis
- First Place in Orbit: Trackscout, which looks to make track and field recruitment easier
- First Place in Moonshot: Empyrean Energy, which seeks to use space solar power for zero-emission energy
- Best Pitch: Empyrean Energy
- Crowd Favorite: OZO Diaper Pail, which is developing diaper storage with an integrated ozone generator to reduce the smell and number of bags used
One of the companies, Trackscout, is planning to launch its platform in a few weeks, with a national launch coming shortly thereafter.
“Our ultimate goal is to change the track and field recruiting industry, which we feel is badly managed and operated,” Nathaniel Cherian, a computer science honors student in Purdue’s College of Science, said. “The Moonshot Pitch Challenge money will be used for a good purpose when we start advertising to different schools.”
You can learn more about the winners here.