Rogue Community College hosts twelve colleges to compete for top student invention of 2022
(GRANTS PASS, OR)—Seventeen teams from 12 Oregon colleges and universities are headed to the Rogue Community College (RCC) Redwood Campus in Grants Pass to compete in this year’s Invent Oregon (InventOR) finals. An exciting competition for college and university students, InventOR offers a platform for the creation of new inventions to address today’s most pressing problems.
Following a live presentation event on June 24, one winning team will take home $30,000 in prize money along with valuable mentors and resources to help take their inventions from concept to commercialization. All other teams will receive $2,500 to help advance their prototypes and will have a chance to build their networks for future projects as they present their prototypes to regional industry experts.
Now in its sixth year, the program encourages young inventors to create a technology or resource that serves the community. A panel of independent judges from Southern Oregon will hear student pitches and view prototypes, then ultimately name the 2022 InventOR champion.
The public is invited to view the inventions in person on June 24, 9-11 a.m. at the gym of the RCC Grants Pass campus at 3345 Redwood Highway. Free entry tickets are available by registering online at: https://www.inventoregon.org/ with limited entry available at the door. Virtual attendance to see the students pitch their projects is available via livestream on June 24, noon to 4 p.m., through the InventOR website.
“The ideas we saw during the initial competition in May were simply stunning,” said RCC President Cathy Kemper-Pelle. “Our school is committed to fostering innovation among our students. For three of the last four years, an RCC team has won the community college division. It would be quite a celebration if this year’s entry, Rogue Energy, wins on its hometown campus.”
The 17 teams competing on June 24 include:
- Team Rogue Energy from Rogue Community College
- Team Legacy Socks from Southern Oregon University
- Team PlantNet from Lewis and Clark College
- Team Nerfs from OregonTech
- Team KAMH from OregonTech
- Team Tayas Yawks Fab Shop from Klamath Community College
- Team Learn to Play from Willamette University
- Team UCC from Umpqua Community College
- Team A.M.E.N. from George Fox University
- Team C.A.D. from George Fox University
- Team Storm Rider from University of Oregon
- Team LoveHate Athletica from University of Oregon
- Team Hearlix from University of Portland
- Team Backus Agrilabs from University of Portland
- Team Cortava Neurotechnology from Oregon State University
- Team Vmax from Oregon State University
- Team Fungivores from Portland State University
This year’s finalist prototypes include: a biodegradable brick that creates a clean environment for bees living in a Mason bee habitat (Team Fungivores); a bio-mass electricity generation system (Team Rogue Energy); customized computer mice for people with disabilities (Team Custom Assistive Devices, C.A.D.); and an expanded maker space for formerly incarcerated or recovered individuals to learn fabrication and welding (Team Tayas Yawks Fab Shop).
“The inventions each year continue to deliver,” notes Juan Barraza, director of student innovation, Portland State University Center for Entrepreneurship. “Every year students remind us that the spirit of innovation and entrepreneurship is equally distributed across Oregon College students.”
“InventOR fosters relationships not only between schools and students, but between students and professionals,” adds Barraza. “The result is much-needed technologies coming to market to help meet the needs of local communities that otherwise may not come to fruition.”
InventOR is made possible with the support of sponsors including The Lemelson Foundation, which helps increase access to invention education and entrepreneurship programs for impact inventions. The foundation helped launch the competition in 2016 and continues to lend programmatic and financial support.
InventOR is also sponsored by Business Oregon, Oregon Community Foundation, The Ford Family Foundation, Horan MediaTech Advisors, The Roundhouse Foundation, Stoel Rives, Wells Fargo, Oregon Venture Fund and Portland State University.
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Invent Oregon was started in 2017 by the Portland State University Center for Entrepreneurship with support from the Lemelson Foundation. The competition grew from just a handful of competing schools to a truly statewide program with 19 schools – from private universities to community colleges – participating from across the state. Twelve of the 19 affiliated schools are fielding competitors in 2022. With the Invent Oregon program, students are empowered through mentorship and education to see themselves as innovators. More information can be found at https://www.inventoregon.org/.
For RCC media inquiries, please contact Julie Raefield, M.A., Public Information Officer, Community and Government Relations Coordinator, at 541-956-7319, jraefield@roguecc.edu.
For Invent Oregon media inquiries please contact Joanna Schroeder at: joanna@C3-Collective.com, 949.812.8022