The Bradley Mottier Innovation Competition in Systems Engineering

The Bradley Mottier Innovation Competition in Systems Engineering

Do you have a great idea for a business plan you've been looking for a chance to develop? Here's a chance to form a team to build the plan, and win up to $5000, along with credibility to attract resources to make your idea a reality.

The Mottier Innovation Challenge is an annual event, housed in the department of Industrial and Enterprise Systems Engineering (ISE). The challenge runs from September through December and aims to stimulate innovation, engender team spirit and cooperative problem solving, and develop ideas that are financially and socially sustainable.

 

Guidelines

Team Awards

  • The selection committee will evaluate and select the top three teams and offer awards as follows:
    • 1st place - $5,000.00
    • 2nd place - $2,000.00
    • 3rd place - $1000.00

Application Process

  • To enter, you need to know:
    • Project title
    • Team members
    • Goal of your innovation
    • How this goal is currently accomplished, and the limits of current practice
    • What's different in your approach
    • Risks and payoffs of your project
    • Cost and timeline of your project
  • Applications will be selected based on intellectual merit, with preference to projects with a positive societal impact
  • A dedicated web page is available for online applications, containing all pertinent dates, innovation themes, presentation format, eligibility requirements and deadlines for the Challenge. A standardized application template is used to ensure projects are similarly evaluated and applicants are given equal consideration
  • Course credit will not be offered by the ISE Department
  • Top three teams must attend the ISE Awards Banquet

Eligible Participants

  • The Challenge is open to all students, undergraduate and graduate, enrolled in the College of Engineering
  • A maximum of 10 teams of students are eligible to participate in the Challenge each year
  • Competing teams must be composed of a minimum of 2 students and a maximum of 4 students
  • At least two students – undergraduate or graduate - from each team must be enrolled in the ISE department
  • A maximum of 3 graduate students can be on a competing team

Process and Criteria

  • The Challenge will be a three-step process. Each step will provide incentives to progress through the challenge and complete the project:
    • Application - projects will be approved by the selection committee before teams are allowed to compete
    • Midterm Report – teams are encouraged to submit a report at the Challenge’s midterm, which will impact total points awarded for projects
    • Final Presentation – involves a written report and an oral presentation that may be accompanied by posters, computer graphics and design model(s)
  • Focus will be on the practical viability of the idea and soundness of the business plan, as well as potential social impact
  • Selection criteria will be composed of a rubric assigning points to:
    • Answer Heilmeier’s Catechism questions:
      • What are you trying to do? Articulate your objectives using absolutely no jargon.
      • How is it done today, and what are the limits of current practice?
      • What's new in your approach, and why do you think it will be successful?
      • Who cares? If you're successful, what difference will it make? What are the risks and the payoffs?
      • How much will it cost? How long will it take? What are the midterm and final "exams" to check for success?

Challenge Timeline Fall Semester (2023)

  • September 10 – Deadline for team participants 
  • September 14 - Kickoff event 
  • October 15 – Mid-term reports due
  • November 26 – Final reports due
  • December 1 – Final presentations and judging 
  • December 19 - Announce the top three teams
  • Participating teams will be reimbursed up to $500 for expenses including of materials, equipment, and other critical items needed to compete.
Shaan Bhakta and Fiona Kalensky of Therapalz, Mottier Challenge First Place Winners, 2018
Shaan Bhakta and Fiona Kalensky of Therapalz, Mottier Challenge First Place Winners, 2018

 

Mottier Challenge Winners

1st Place: Team InternCruise (Yash Agarwal, Ashay Gandhi, & Manas Godha) 

2nd Place: Team Sign Sight (Alisha Daga, Ashmit Dutta,& Shane Spatol)

2nd Place: Team Thermal Eye  (Sean Atienza, Dylan Edwards, & Kevin Silbernagel)

2022

1st Place: Team Byld (Jack Dayan, Karan Jain, & Kale Siddhante) 

2nd Place: Team Rotofit (Eric Luo & Issa Fouani)

3rd Place: Team Perfit  (Priya Shah, Serena Maloney, & Soham Kulkarni)

Honorable Mention: Team BikeSafe (Shrivar Kanudia, Kavin Jindel, Shravani Mhatre, & Advitya Singhal) 

1st Place: Team Environ (Paige Fugger, Jeevisha Shukla, Raj Sankla, & Owen Thamban)

2nd Place: Team Bizi (Shaan Ahuja & Justin Holding) 

3rd Place: Team Un-flip-erella (Priya Shah, Ashay Gandhi, & Arvin Sam) 

1st Place: Ascent Integrated Tech (Paul Couston, Rishi Choudhary, Alex Gorsuch, & Harlee Sorkin) 

2nd Place: Illini Box (Justin Holding & Shaan Ahuja) 

3rd Place: Farm4You (Michael Elzanati, Grayson Will, Sameep Vakharia, & Rohan Kamatar)

Honorable Mention: LeftSaver (Aman Shah, Rohit Menezes, Shivam Dayama, & Pranav Kashyap)

Participants: Team Plutus (Luc Dowell & Satvika Veeravalli); Team ThinkBot (Siwen Wang & Lucas Buccafusca); Team Pocono Partners (Connor Tenny, Kyle Morimoto, & Gautam Kalluri)  

1st Place: SipSafe (Spencer Binning, Arsanious Boctor, Joseph Conte, & Matthew Meyer)

2nd Place: NASDAYA (Rishi Chouhdhary & Chaitanya Gulati) 

3rd Place: Sonic's Speedway (Alex Darragh, Gabriel Delgado, & Chaitanya Maroju) 

Honorable Mentions: The 1-Dish-Wash (Alex Koscica & Satori Ishihara); Vane (Josh Bussan & Ben Hoyer) 

1st Place: Therapalz (Fiona Eileen Kalensky & Shaan Bhakta) 

2nd Place: Click Heels (Ethan Hoggard, Jason Chang, & Hanna Chen) 

3rd Place: Lend-a-Brella (Chaitanya Maroju & Siwen Wang)

Honorable Mention: Arctus (Chaitanya Gulati)

1st Place: DIBBS: Save Food, Do Good (Kathleen Hu, Shutian Xu, Sohinee Oswal, & Devaki Belwalkar)

2nd Place: IOT Dishwasher (Rachneet Kaur, Clara Schaye, & Daniel Yee) 

3rd Place (tie): Soft pneumatic climbing/crawling robot (Gaurav Singh, SreeKalyan Patiballa, & Xiaotian Zhang 

3rd Place (tie): Laybr (Rorey Seligmann, Max Kim, Russell Seligmann, & Brian Roper) 

Honorable Mention: Light Fashion (Chris Heejun Park & Shilin Summer Xia) 

 

Bradley D. Mottier Innovation Challenge logo