April, 2000

Technological March Madness

Compiled from News Sources

Yes folks -- believe it or not, there is another March Madness in town besides the NCAA basketball tournament during March. This one was called, "March Madness for the Mind." A play on words, from the organizers. The program is co-sponsored by the Smithsonian's Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation National Collegiate Inventors and Innovators Alliance. This was the event's fourth year.

The program brought college students from across the country and their inventions which were displayed at the National Museum of American History. They were on display March 9, 2000.

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Student inventors, Janice Huang, (right) and Ellen Browker demonstrate their HandiSwing. Photo by Richard Strauss, Smithsonian Photographer.

This year's inventions ranged from a swing for disabled people to the wacky (an apparatus that scores karate contests by recording each chop with an electronic sensor), and included:

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Michelle Robbins, inventor, demonstrates how the Breast Cancer Pillow works. Photo by Terry McCrea, Smithsonian Photographer.

"ArmSnug" - The Post-Breast Surgery Support Pillow, developed by Michelle Robbins, a first-year student from Newton, Mass. Robbins came up with the ArmSnug idea while taking a LATDC course in soft goods design. Recognizing that existing pillows do not adequately support and rest the arms of recovering mastectomy patients, she designed one that would provide a full range of motion, hands-free arm support and an ergonomic shape. It can be used comfortably while driving, sitting upright or in a semi-reclined position. Robbins's invention meets a very real need: One out of nine women in the United States is expected to develop breast cancer during her lifetime.

 

Ezell Burke, from Hampshire College, saw that his grandmother had trouble getting out of her chair. So he came up with the idea of putting thick rubber bands underneath a chair seat so it springs up when a person rises.

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Student inventors Nicole Shannon-Lass and Eric LeShay demonstrate Wheelchair invention. Photo by Richard Strauss Smithsonian Photographer.

Wheelchair Winterization Kit, developed by Nicole Shannon-Lass, from Silver Spring, MD, and Eric LeShay, from Worcester, MA. Both are second-year students. Their invention consists of seasonable attachments for the wheels of a manual wheelchair, enabling the chair to move more easily through snow, slush and ice. It has special wheels that can glide through as much as six inches of snow. (My personal favorite when I saw the article in the Washington Post).

Stand-Up Assist Seat, developed by Ezell Burke, a third-year student from Springfield, MA, and Vanessa Olivier. Olivier is a third-year student at Amherst College, studying at Hampshire through the Five College program.

She is from Brooklyn, N.Y. Their invention helps aging individuals, pregnant women or anyone in need of assistance when getting up from a chair. The device rests at a 90-degree angle and gently pushes forward to help the chair occupant to a standing position. It is a purely mechanical design, requiring no electrical or hydraulic components. It is also lightweight, foldable and portable.

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All three Hampshire projects are assistive technology devices, created to make life easier for individuals with disabilities or recovering from illnesses. The inventors developed their projects while working in the Lemelson Assistive Technology Development Center (LATDC) at Hampshire, under the direction of Colin Twitchell.

A spinning, water-gushing soda chiller designed by Greg Loibl, a student at Cooper Union in New York. The coolant system is designed to chill a canned drink in less than a minute. A home made commercial crafted about the product shows a thirsty student riding the subway and coming home to a warm drink. He wants it cold and he wants it fast. So he puts the can in a rotating container that sprays freezing-cold water.

Several of the inventions have been inspired by a family member's situation

Colleges Produce Crop of Creators

Washington Post: Friday, March 10, 2000: B1

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/2000-03/10/179l-031000-idx.html

About The National Collegiate Inventors and Innovators Alliance

The National Collegiate Inventors and Innovators Alliance supports faculty and students who believe that the teaching of invention and innovation is critical to American higher education. Its mission is to nurture a new generation of innovators by promoting curricula designed to teach creativity, invention, and entrepreneurship.

At the same time, the NCIIA offers faculty a forum where they can share technical information and ideas, learn about new pedagogical techniques, and discuss effective curricular models. Our members include small liberal arts colleges, large research universities, engineering schools, and business programs.

The NCIIA provides:

• Financial Support;
• Networking Opportunities;
• Information and Advice on:
• Curriculum
• Patents
• Technology Resources
• Entrepreneurial Support

The NCIIA grants program funds curriculum development and the work of teams of student inventors known as "E-Teams". The grants encourage interdisciplinary groups of students to work collaboratively to identify real-world problems, develop practical solutions, and commercialize their innovations.

During the 1996/97 academic year, the NCIIA awarded $387,000 to 26 institutions, including Stanford and Columbia Universities, the University of Virginia, Amherst College, Lehigh University, and Springfield Technical Community College.

The NCIIA funds E-teams whose work is likely to be result in the licensing of new products or technologies, or the start up of entrepreneurial ventures. There are currently 139 colleges and universities with membership in the NCIIA.

Website: www.nciia.org

 

About the Lemelson Assistive Technology Development Center at Hampshire College

The program's mission is unique: to provide students with an experiential education in design, invention, and entrepreneurship by offering courses in assistive technology and universal design, collaborations with business and non-profit organizations, and through teams of students who design, develop, and make available equipment for people with disabilities.

This year LATDC will offer up to $54,000 in grants to students to develop innovative new designs.

The program also supports fun events, speakers, and field trips each semester, and hosts a forum which brings together experts in the field.

LATDC is housed at the Jerome and Dorothy Lemelson Center for Design, where students have access to CAD and mechanical drawing software, a fabrication shop for work with metals and plastics, and technical assistants to lend expertise to student projects.

At LATDC students aren't waiting until after graduation to contribute to the world: student designs are reaching the hands of the people who need them right away. And the innovative equipment they are designing is significantly enhancing the quality of people's lives.

Students of all levels can get involved at LATDC: Take a course, fulfill a community service requirement, learn computer-aided drafting, complete a divisional project, join a team working on a prototype, or design something of your own!

Questions regarding LATDC internships can be directed to the Program Coordinator at 413-559-5806. (They also have summer internships).

During the academic year LATDC sponsors speakers, fields trips and other events with themes of assistive technology and universal design.

Trips have included the Boston Children's Hospital Communication Enhancement Center, and the Boston Children's Museum.

Guest speakers have included Janet Zeller, President of the American Canoe Association and Access Coordinator of the US Forestry Service, Mike Ausperger, entrepreneurial builder and retailer of assistive technology products,Terry Ball, monoskiier and hand cyclist, and accessibility expert Cindy Green, among others.

LATDC hosted its first annual assistive technology forum in May 1999, "A New Horizon: Education's Role in Preparing for the Future of Assistive Technology."

The forum brought together assistive technology designers, industry experts, physical therapists, educators, students, and people with disabilities to discuss the future of assistive technology and universal design in education.

Highlights of the forum included a keynote address by James Mueller, an exceptional advocate of Universal Design and presentations of LATDC student projects, including a cycling jersey specifically for athletes with disabilities, a computer communication system for hospitalized children, and the renown accessible snowboard, (which is now on display at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History, through October). A wealth of new ideas were generated during this convergence of people from various disciplines within the field.

Website: http://lemelson.hampshire.edu/latdc.html

About the Lemelson Center

What we do and why we do it

The Jerome and Dorothy Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation was founded in 1995 at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History through a generous gift from the Lemelson Foundation. The Center's mission is to document, interpret, and disseminate information about invention and innovation, to encourage inventive creativity in young people, and to foster an appreciation for the central role invention and innovation play in the history of the United States.

Building on the unique resources of the National Museum of American History, the Center seeks innovative ways to

 

• Record the past, by preserving and increasing access to records and artifacts;
• Broaden our understanding of history, through research, discussion, and dissemination of ideas; and
• Look towards the future, by developing programs aimed at engaging young people in the study and exploration of invention and innovation.

• Learn about Jerome Lemelson's life as an inventor and philanthropist.

• Participate in the Center's educational and research programs.

 

The Smithsonian's Lemelson Center at the National Museum of American History is dedicated to exploring invention in history and encouraging inventive creativity in young people. The center was established in 1995 with a gift from the Lemelson Foundation, a private philanthropic organization founded by inventor Jerome Lemelson.

Mr. Lemelson (1923-1997) was an independent inventor who held more than 500

patents for inventions covering a wide range of technologies, including

machine-vision systems and flexible manufacturing systems.

Website: http://www.si.edu/lemelson

Note: Sporting Invention."

Currently running - October 2000

National Museum of American History

The Smithsonian's Lemelson Center

This exhibit traces the development of sport inventions from drawings and prototypes to final objects. It also features an accessible snowboard for people with physical disabilities. The snowboard is currently under development by student inventors at the Lemelson Assistive Technology Development Center, Hampshire College,

Amherst, Massachusetts

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