Youth Inventors Shine at National STEM Competitions

The youth inventors who participate in The Henry Ford’s Invention Convention Worldwide programming come away with skills necessary to thrive in the 21st-century workplace. While going through the invention process, they learn how to practice empathy and collaboration, how to turn their ideas into reality through design and prototyping, how to learn from failure and how to communicate about their inventions– all important skills to learn on their way to becoming the innovators, inventors and entrepreneurs of tomorrow.

While we revel in celebrating their accomplishments at our U.S. Nationals and Americas competitions, we are also thrilled to celebrate their successes at other STEM competitions on the national stage. Join us in congratulating these incredible young inventors for their achievements!

Why Didn’t I Think of That?

This contest, hosted by the Intellectual Property Owners Education Foundation, in partnership with Invention Convention programs in Ohio, California, and Connecticut, was open to inventors 18 years of age and under who created an invention and secured intellectual property rights on their idea.

In the 12 and under category, Ava-Elizabeth B. with the Ohio Invention League took top honors for her invention, Oct-D: Defense For Your Car. Her invention is designed to protect vehicles from unauthorized use or theft using an electrochromic film on the windshield along with remote access devices and multi-factor authentication.

The 13-15 age category was won by Tarun B., also of the Ohio Invention League, for his invention, Trident, which offers two innovative procedures to improve the efficiency of standard pyrolysis of plastics, minimizing pollution from the creation and residual effects of plastic.

And finally, Christopher and Nicolas K. of the California Invention Convention were crowned the winners of the 16 and older category for their invention, Chaeto Biofilter: Chemically Modified Chaetomorpha to Mitigate Ocean Acidification.

Source: IPOEF, via Facebook

National STEM Challenge & Festival

The National STEM Challenge, presented by Explr, was open to students in grades 6-12 where participants designed a solution to a real-world challenge and submitted a digital presentation. The best projects from all 50 states were named Challenge Finalists with the opportunity to advance to the next round.

We were pleased that a number of ICW alums were selected as finalists for the National STEM Challenge. From this group of finalists, 200 inventors were selected as National Champions and we were excited that several of our inventors were chosen to advance. These participants had the opportunity to present their projects to some of the nation’s most influential leaders at the National STEM Festival in Washington, D.C. Congratulations to Dhruva (FL), Jasmine (ID), Lino (TX), Riley (ME), Rhea and Lily (CT) for earning this amazing opportunity.

Photos courtesy of Lucie Howell

NAI’s Genspiration Prize

The National Academy of Inventors’ Student Showcase (NAI) identifies and celebrates exceptional student inventors from across the nation and around the world. The Student Showcase, held at NAI’s annual conference, allows inventors to exhibit their innovation and connect with experts in their fields. In 2024, all three of the inventors selected to take part in the K-12 division were part of the Invention Convention community, including Anish B. with the California Invention Convention, Sonia P. with Invention Convention Florida, and Olivia S. with the Connecticut Invention Convention.

These finalists were also eligible to receive the inaugural Genspiration Young Inventors Prize, recognizing outstanding innovation in the K-12 age group. Recipients of this award receive a cash prize of $2,500 towards the development of their innovation and assistance with obtaining a provisional patent. Their affiliated organization also receives $5,000 towards innovation programs.

On June 18, Sonia P. was announced as the winner of this year’s Genspiration Young Inventors Prize. Her winning innovation, the Corneal Applanation Suturing Model, is a synthetic eye model that allows ophthalmic surgical residents and clinicians to simulate various procedures on the eye. We’re grateful to NAI for recognizing ICW inventors as finalists for this award and are excited to congratulate Sonia for this incredible achievement!

Source: National Academy of Inventors, via Facebook

We continue to be inspired by these and all young inventors who participate in Invention Convention and other national STEM programs who are innovating a better future for us all. As we enter the 2024-25 school year, we are so excited to see what these inventors will create next! To get involved with Invention Convention, please visit our website to “Find a Local Program” or email ICW@thehenryford.org to learn more.