Edison Universe is a student version of the coveted Edison Awards. The Edison Awards honor excellence in new product and service development, marketing, human-centered design and innovation. The awards are delivered by an independent association each September.
In June, however, it is the turn of young up-and-coming scientists. Edison Universe is focused on fostering innovation of youth in the U.S. This is by promoting innovation concepts through curricula and educational programs. The winners receive grants and mentoring.
The 2016 awards saw three talented people scoop the top prizes. One winner was Abby Mitchell, who designed a decomposing toilet. The idea was to constrict a self-contained, decomposing latrine system. The device transforms rhuman feces and food scraps into a biofuel, The resultant biomethane could be used to generate a few hours of electricity each night.
The second winner was Hannah Harrick who came up with the idea of “comfort kits.” These are intended for kids in hospital and are designed to help modify the way children feel about the hospital. A typical kits consists of a blanket, stuffed animal, toy, and bubbles.
The third recipient was Alexis Vance. This was for the idea of custom cartilage implants where a person’s cartilage cells (chondrocytes) can be taken and used to develop a custom implant for that person.
Impressed with what was on show, one of the judges, Dr. Ayelet Segal (@ayeletsegal) tweeted: “I enjoyed seeing amazing inventions by high schoolers and judge the #edisonuniverse & #CAPS scholarship awards.”
In related news, nine researchers, working in Germany, Switzerland, the U.K. and the U.S. have this month been honored through the Kavli Prizes. These awards recognize scientists for their advances in the fields of astrophysics, nanoscience and neuroscience.
