February 26, 2009

Discovery Park to host environmental entrepreneurship competition

Students will make a 10-minute presentation on their product, which should be designed to fill an environmental or community need. They then will have 15 minutes for questions from a panel of judges. Prizes totaling $10,000 will be awarded to the best concepts. Presentations, which are open to the public, will be made from 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. in the Deans Auditorium at Pfendler Hall.

"These Purdue teams, made up of graduate or undergraduate students from many different disciplines, are working to develop a service, process or product that addresses a particular problem related to environmental sustainability," said competition coordinator Brent Ladd, director of learning and engagement for Discovery Park's Center for Environment. "As you can see, the concepts from the six finalists are incredibly creative and innovative, ranging from self-powered exercise equipment to a net-zero energy greenhouse."

The finalists, drawn from a list of more than two-dozen inquiries and submissions from across the Purdue campus, are:

* FreeLectric, an exercise equipment concept that generates electricity for multiple uses.

* New Soul Green Computer Design, a workstation that eliminates the need for a keyboard and monitor.

* Grow Green Innovations, a net-zero energy greenhouse that provides native landscaping options and education in the community.

* Mission MatchUp, a social marketing service with built-in carbon credit tracking.

* ZeroBalance, a consumer-conscious carbon offset service.

* Sustainable Multipurpose Processing Facility, an innovative facility design serving local food production needs of processing a variety of foods and value-added items.

The top Purdue team from the environmental event will advance to the National Idea-to-Product Competition for Social Entrepreneurship on April 4 at the Burton D. Morgan Center for Entrepreneurship in Purdue's Discovery Park.

During the regional competition, student presenters from Tecumseh Middle School also will highlight their ideas for solving environmental problems as part of the Lafayette school's "exploravision project," Ladd said.

Nancy Clement, director of Purdue's Social Entrepreneurship Initiative at the Burton Morgan Center, will lead an April 3 workshop in conjunction with the national event. The workshop, sponsored by Purdue and the Social Entrepreneurship and Education Consortium, will take place at Purdue's Stewart Center.

Winners from the national event at Purdue advance to the Global Idea-to-Product Competition, which is scheduled for November at the University of Texas, Austin. Purdue's Social Entrepreneurship Initiative is a member of an international network of Idea-to-Product Competitions.

Writer: Phillip Fiorini, (765) 496-3133, pfiorini@purdue.edu

Sources: Brent Ladd, (765) 494-1949, laddb@purdue.edu  

Nancy Clement, (765) 494-9884, nic@purdue.edu

Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu

Note to Journalists: Journalists who want more information about the student-led presentations from the list of finalists can contact Phillip Fiorini, Purdue News Service, at (765) 496-3133, (765) 427-3009 (cell), pfiorini@purdue.edu

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