Georgia Tech's InVenture Prize is an innovation competition for undergraduate students at Georgia Tech. Students can work independently or in teams to develop and present inventions, which will be judged by experts. The competitors will introduce their inventions in one or more preliminary rounds from which approximately 10 finalists will be selected to advance to a final round.
"This is an exciting opportunity for Georgia Tech," said Vice Provost of Graduate and Undergraduate Studies Ray Vito. "It is a wonderful partnership that allows our students to show off their innovative ideas to the entire state."
The broadcast of the InVenture Prize aligns with GPB's mission to provide programs and services that educate, inform and entertain audiences.
"When I first saw the real life application and the value of these inventions, we were on board," said Teya Ryan, President and Executive Director of GPB. "This broadcast will showcase the next generation of innovators and create more visibility for the great young minds that come out of Georgia Tech. This kind of partnership is right on mission for GPB because public media is here to support all the educational institutions in Georgia. This is an inspiration project and we are extremely gratified to join Georgia Tech on the road to innovation."
"GPB plans to film the contestants along the way — we want to capture their late-nights, their frustration and their successes. We are looking at having a statewide voting opportunity and perhaps student-generated video — lots of fun ways to get Georgians excited about seeing the next best thing to come out of our own Georgia Tech."
GPB's broadcast of the program will be hosted by Miles O'Brien, a 26-year broadcast news veteran with a passion for aviation, space and technology. Based in New York, O'Brien owns a production company that creates, produces and distributes original content across all media platforms. For nearly 17 years, he worked as a correspondent, anchor and producer for CNN based in Atlanta and New York. At various times he was CNN's science, space, aviation, technology and environment correspondent. He has won numerous awards for his work and has just been named to the NASA Advisory Council.
Two winning inventions, either individuals or teams, will be selected during the final round broadcast and will receive:
"The goal of the InVenture Prize effort is to encourage an interest in invention, innovation, and entrepreneurial lifestyle among Georgia Tech students and create an infrastructure, culture, and focus that galvanizes, captures, and highlights student inventiveness and inventorship," said Vito. "Georgia Tech students seem to always rise to the challenge and we're looking forward to seeing what this year's competitors invent."
The InVenture Prize finals are set for March 17, 2010. For more information, please visit our Web site at www.inventureprize.gatech.edu.
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