News Release 15-038
NSF announces Community College Innovation Challenge winners
Ten teams of students and mentors head to the nation's capital for Innovation Boot Camp
From Tulsa Community College, Okla.: College-high school Aquaponic Mentoring Partnership.
April 16, 2015
This material is available primarily for archival purposes. Telephone numbers or other contact information may be out of date; please see current contact information at media contacts.
Today, the National Science Foundation (NSF) named 10 teams as winners in its Community College Innovation Challenge (CCIC). The CCIC challenged community-college students to propose innovative science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM)-based solutions to perplexing, real-world problems.
Community colleges from across the country participated in the challenge. They were invited to identify key problems and propose innovative solutions in areas with potential for solving some of America's most daunting challenges: big data; infrastructure security; sustainability (including water, food, energy, and environment); and broadening participation in STEM. Winning teams offered innovative projects ranging from engineering algae to improve fuel production to developing mobile medicine dispensing units for disaster relief.
The 10 winning teams represent nine community colleges across the country. These teams will head to NSF this summer for an Innovation Boot Camp June 15-18 co-hosted by NSF and the American Association of Community Colleges.
The Boot Camp is designed to provide a hands-on learning opportunity for the finalist teams to further develop their ideas with a focus on building innovation, entrepreneurship, and strategic communication skills. At the Boot Camp, students will network, interact with experts, and receive coaching, mentoring and guidance during sessions and activities that will help them further validate, refine, develop, and potentially implement their novel solutions to real-world problems.
Innovation Boot Camp participants will also exhibit their innovations at a reception on Capitol Hill, hosted by U.S. Representative David Price from North Carolina on June 17. Price works to improve higher education and make it more affordable for working families. The NSF's Advanced Technological Education program, established by a Price-authored bill in 1993, helps community colleges upgrade their training programs for jobs in high-tech fields.
Winning teams and projects follow.
|
Team Name - Institution (State) |
Project Title |
Theme |
|
Amphibian Pathogens Inver Hills Community College (Minn.) |
Amphibian research drives broad STEM participation |
Broadening STEM Participation |
|
IvyTech Biotech Ivy Tech Community College of Indiana (Ind.) |
Biosensor for coliphage, aka "Betadataquantatada" |
Sustainability |
|
The FUE - food in urban environments Tulsa Community College (Okla.) |
Reliable urban food production in changing climate |
Sustainability |
|
The Red Foxes Red Rocks Community College (Colo.) |
Mobile medical disaster relief dispensation unit |
Infrastructure Security |
|
Team Lagoon Indian River State College (Fla.) |
Optical characterization of lagoon pollutants |
Sustainability |
|
Innovators of the Bighorns Sheridan Community College (Wyo.) |
Engineering algae to improve biofuel production |
Sustainability |
|
HFC Future Engineers Henry Ford College (Mich.) |
Real-time accident detection on Michigan highways |
Big Data |
|
Snow College Innovation Team Snow College (UT) |
Environmentally friendly pigment synthesis |
Sustainability |
|
PVCC Water Health Piedmont Virginia Community College (Va.) |
Water Health as assessed by surveying protists |
Sustainability |
|
Tulsa CHAMP Tulsa Community College (Okla.) |
College High School aquaponic mentoring partnership |
Broadening STEM Participation |
Background on the CCIC
Today more than 40 percent of U.S. undergraduates are enrolled at community colleges. Groups underrepresented in STEM as well as first-generation college students make up a significant portion of students on community-college campuses. NSF-funded projects at community colleges support STEM students transferring to four-year colleges, as well as receiving education and training to become part of the high-tech workforce--in fields as diverse as biotechnology, cybersecurity and advanced manufacturing.
For full details on the contest, visit the challenge website for the full eligibility criteria, entry guidelines, timeline and prize information. You can also watch the 20 semifinalist videos from which the 10 winners were chosen.
This challenge furthers NSF's mission by enabling students to discover and demonstrate their ingenuity to use science to make a difference in the world and transfer knowledge into action. It also furthers the benefit of incorporating research into the traditional teaching mission of the community college. Get updates on Twitter: #CCIChallenge.
-NSF-
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From Red Rocks Community College, Colo.: Mobile Medical Disaster Relief Dispensation Unit.
Credit and Larger Version -
From Sheridan Community College, Wyo.: Engineering Algae to Improve Biofuel.
Credit and Larger Version
Media Contacts
John Stevens, Snow College, email: john.stevens@snow.edu
Lisa-Joy Zgorski, NSF, (703) 292-8311, email: lisajoy@nsf.gov
Daniel Mediate, Sheridan College, email: dmediate@SHERIDAN.EDU
Heidi Stringham, Snow College, email: heidi.stringham@snow.edu
Gary J. Erwin, Henry Ford College, (313) 317-6800, email: gjerwin@hfcc.edu
Judy Jacobs, Inver Hills Community College, email: Judy.Jacobs@dctc.edu
Kim Rein, Red Rocks Community College, (303) 914-6260, email: kim.rein@rrcc.edu
Michelle Abaldo, Indian River State College, (772) 462-7265, email: mabaldo@irsc.edu
Nicole Burgin, Tulsa Community College, (918) 595-7966, email: Nicole.burgin@tulsacc.edu
Ericka McCauley, Ivy Tech Community College of Indiana, (713) 859-0057, email: Emccauley3@ivytech.edu
Leigh-Anne M. Lawrence, Piedmont Virginia Community College, (434) 961-6574, email: llawrence@pvcc.edu
Program Contacts
Susan M. Mason, NSF, (703) 292-7748, email: smason@nsf.gov
Kimberly Nelson, NSF, (703) 292-5052, email: knelson@nsf.gov
Related Websites
Community College Innovation Challenge Website: http://www.nsf.gov/CCchallenge
Community College Innovation Challenge video: http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_videos.jsp?cntn_id=132689&media_id=77319&org=NSF
The U.S. National Science Foundation propels the nation forward by advancing fundamental research in all fields of science and engineering. NSF supports research and people by providing facilities, instruments and funding to support their ingenuity and sustain the U.S. as a global leader in research and innovation. With a fiscal year 2023 budget of $9.5 billion, NSF funds reach all 50 states through grants to nearly 2,000 colleges, universities and institutions. Each year, NSF receives more than 40,000 competitive proposals and makes about 11,000 new awards. Those awards include support for cooperative research with industry, Arctic and Antarctic research and operations, and U.S. participation in international scientific efforts.
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