{"412101":{"#nid":"412101","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Students help explore how to promote U.S. innovation","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EWhen national science, business and academic leaders gather in Tech Square today to talk about how to spur U.S. competitiveness, they will be joined by three current and former Georgia Tech students.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThese students \u2013 Jasmine Burton, Rachel Ford and Partha Unnava \u2013 developed their entrepreneurial skills and launched startups while enrolled at Georgia Tech.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHere is a closer look at the three young entrepreneurs participating in the Exploring Innovation Frontiers Initiative, launched by the Council on Competitiveness:\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EJasmine Burton\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EProviding access to hygienic bathrooms is not a typical goal for entrepreneurs, but Jasmine Burton represents how entrepreneurs are finding ways to address global problems.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBurton was part of the team that invented an inexpensive mobile toilet to address global sanitation problems. The device, called SafiChoo (Swahili for \u201cclean toilet\u201d), combined innovation with humanitarian efforts.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIt won first place in 2014\u2019s \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.inventureprize.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EInVenture Prize\u003C\/a\u003E, an annual Georgia Tech contest that rewards students with cash prizes and free patents for big ideas that solve the world\u2019s problems.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWhile the original team members moved on to other endeavors, Burton continued working on the device and launched a social organization called \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.wishforwash.com\u0022\u003EWish for WASH\u003C\/a\u003E, which stands for water, sanitation and hygiene. The group seeks to bring innovation to the world of sanitation.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBurton, who graduated in 2014 with a degree in industrial design, travels to promote the organization\u2019s social impact. She will be in Washington, D.C., on Friday to participate in the National Maker Faire.\u0026nbsp; Then next month she moves to Zambia for a yearlong fellowship with the Society for Family Health. While there, she will continue working on the design and implementation of SafiChoo.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ERachel Ford\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ERachel Ford represents how students can push themselves to become entrepreneurs. The fifth-year biomedical engineering major launched two startups while attending Georgia Tech full time.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOne startup, \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.fixdapp.com\u0022\u003EFIXD\u003C\/a\u003E, created a diagnostic device that helps people understand what\u2019s going on with their cars. It explains the cause behind an illuminated check engine light, diagnoses the seriousness of the problem and provides repair estimates.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFIXD originated during last year\u2019s inaugural \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/startuplab.gatech.edu\/#home\u0022\u003EStartup Lab\u003C\/a\u003E course, where students hear from different entrepreneurs and form teams to develop startup ideas. The idea was fine-tuned last summer during Startup Summer, where students assess their ideas, participate in customer discovery, meet with potential investors and prepare to launch startups.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHer second startup, Succette, won second place at the 2014 InVenture Prize competition. The team redesigned a baby pacifier to more naturally fit a baby\u2019s growing dental structure. She continued working on the medical device during Startup Summer.\u0026nbsp; Through the program, Sucette emphasizes its \u201csmart\u201d design, which enables a change in color to let parents know when their child is becoming sick.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EPartha Unnava\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAfter spending six weeks hobbling in pain after breaking his ankle, Partha Unnava redesigned crutches to minimize underarm pain.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe Better Walk invention landed him in the 2014 InVenture Prize finale. A couple of months later, he demonstrated the device to President Barack Obama during the inaugural White House Maker Faire.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESince then Unnava withdrew from Tech to focus on launching the \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.bwcrutches.com\u0022\u003EBetter Walk company\u003C\/a\u003E. He was named to Forbes\u2019 30 under 30 list, which featured \u201cgame-changing entrepreneurs.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHe continues to support Georgia Tech students by teaching entrepreneurship and customer discovery through \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/startupsemester.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EStartup Semester\u003C\/a\u003E, an optional 10-week program that shows students they can be entrepreneurs while still in college.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EExperiences from these students is just part of the information the initiative is collecting from key thought leaders to provide direction for future research in innovation, insights to inform future business models, and foundations for public policies that create a supportive environment for sustained innovation-driven growth.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe program is sponsored by the National Science Foundation, and today\u2019s event is co-hosted by the Council on Competitiveness, the Georgia Research Alliance, the Metro Atlanta Chamber and Georgia Tech.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"Council on Competitiveness kicks off national Exploring Innovation Frontiers Initiative at Georgia Tech"}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ENew national public-private effort aims to enhance U.S. competitiveness\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"New national public-private effort aims to enhance U.S. competitiveness"}],"uid":"27918","created_gmt":"2015-06-09 08:33:04","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:18:33","author":"Laura Diamond","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2015-06-09T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2015-06-09T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"412091":{"id":"412091","type":"image","title":"Council on Competitiveness","body":null,"created":"1449254211","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 18:36:51","changed":"1475895142","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:52:22","alt":"Council on Competitiveness","file":{"fid":"202328","name":"council_logo.png","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/council_logo_0.png","image_full_path":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/council_logo_0.png","mime":"image\/png","size":48879,"path_740":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/council_logo_0.png?itok=gcSGeW9_"}},"283211":{"id":"283211","type":"image","title":"Jasmine Burton","body":null,"created":"1449244199","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:49:59","changed":"1475894976","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:49:36","alt":"Jasmine Burton","file":{"fid":"198979","name":"img_0228_2.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/img_0228_2_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/img_0228_2_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":470873,"path_740":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/img_0228_2_0.jpg?itok=qpV753tB"}},"323121":{"id":"323121","type":"image","title":"FIXD car shot","body":null,"created":"1449245025","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 16:03:45","changed":"1475895034","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:50:34","alt":"FIXD car shot","file":{"fid":"200162","name":"15c10200-p5-010.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/15c10200-p5-010_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/15c10200-p5-010_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":2357611,"path_740":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/15c10200-p5-010_0.jpg?itok=rJqI1ska"}},"392181":{"id":"392181","type":"image","title":"Partha Unnava","body":null,"created":"1449246332","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 16:25:32","changed":"1475894406","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:40:06","alt":"Partha Unnava","file":{"fid":"75575","name":"partha.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/partha.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/partha.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":643224,"path_740":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/partha.jpg?itok=IRul5oNq"}}},"media_ids":["412091","283211","323121","392181"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/create.gatech.edu\/","title":"Create at Tech"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.compete.org\/","title":"Council on Competitiveness"}],"groups":[{"id":"1214","name":"News Room"}],"categories":[{"id":"129","name":"Institute and Campus"},{"id":"131","name":"Economic Development and Policy"},{"id":"133","name":"Special Events and Guest Speakers"}],"keywords":[{"id":"815","name":"economic development"},{"id":"3472","name":"entrepreneurship"},{"id":"166994","name":"startups"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"106361","name":"Business and Economic Development"},{"id":"71871","name":"Campus and Community"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ELaura Diamond\u0026nbsp;\u003Cbr \/\u003EGeorgia Tech Media Relations\u003Cbr \/\u003E404-894-6016\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["laura.diamond@gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}