Developing the Next Generation of Innovators

October 11, 2007

Ideas in evidence at USC event for students

The USC Stevens Institute for Innovation is pioneering a new approach to innovation university-wide, by blending two very important strategic goals: effectively transferring USC ideas into society, and developing the next generation innovator.

That's what led to USC Stevens presenting the first annual USC Student Innovator Showcase and Competition, held Oct. 11 on Trousdale Parkway.

One of the common challenges facing many student innovators is "learning how to communicate [their] idea succinctly," said Krisztina Holly, vice provost for innovation and executive director of USC Stevens. The showcase, both through its initial application and public presentations, gave students valuable hands-on experience in doing just that.

Some 100 students, including teams of undergraduate and graduate students representing all of the professional schools and USC College, presented 39 projects at the event.

The ideas , from gadgets to non-profit concepts , and their young creators also attracted the attention of most passers-by , from parents taking part in the Trojan Parents' Weekend to students, staff, faculty and a reporter from Los Angeles Times, whose article landed USC on the front page of the California section the next day.

Some projects emerged from students' personal interests and passions. Project: Possibility lead developer Christopher Leung, a computer science graduate student, is dedicated to making computing accessible to all people, including the disabled. The non-profit he formed has created free software, such as a program that enables a blind person to use a computer to tune musical instruments.

Other projects originated as solutions to problems students experienced personally. Dental student Brent Brethers and his friend, history graduate student David Rands, presented the concept for an electronic notepad that would enable dentists to communicate with their patients during treatment. The idea came after Brethers had completed a crown preparation on Rands, whose anesthetic began to wear off during the procedure. Rands wasn't able to tell Brethers because his mouth was clamped open.

Still others were developed in response to challenges , issued in classes, thesis projects and formal competitions. The team behind Seabee II, an autonomous, underwater robotic submarine, created it for an international competition.

At least one innovation was spurred by the competition itself. Jeffrey Ashbrook, a senior computer science and computer engineering major, put together a team for a new kind of charitable non-profit, The Windfall Fund, a month before the event. He tapped his roommate Steve Avery, a business major, to develop marketing ideas for the presentation. Kathleen Meek, a fine arts student, created the logo and Web site, windfallfund.org.

"I felt like I learned a lot about how to talk about the project," Ashbrook said. "That's really important when you're trying to do something that no one's every done before. The competition was great."

Judges looked for projects with the most potential for tangible societal impact and considered each project's novelty, quality of research, risk-taking, understanding of the marketplace and sustainability, among other criteria.

Winning first place, and a $1,000 prize, was the thatgamecompany team for its interactive game Cloud. The team included Kellee Santiago, Jenova Chen, Rick Nelson, Nick Clark and Martin Middleton. Judges cited the team's innovative approach to designing games, looking at the emotional impact and affects in gaming. They also have a proven track record , the group recently licensed three games to Sony.

The two runner-up teams each received $300. One runner-up was a USC Viterbi team who, with peers at the University of Tehran, created the "Oxygen sensor with solid-state reference for automobiles." The team included Bahman Elyassi, Nafiseh Rajabbeigi, Muhammad Sahimi, Shamsoddin Mohajerzadeh and Abbasali Khodadadi.

The novel oxygen sensor avoids some of the problems facing the 120 million conventional oxygen sensors now put into wide use every year. The conventional sensors are expensive, bulky and add to air pollution. The team's sensor could be made smaller, lowering costs, shortening response times and helping to create a cleaner environment, they said.

"This project won because it is an innovation with the potential for massive environmental and economic upside," said Holly, who also served as a competition judge. "They had a deep understanding of the market in which they fit, and how their idea will make a lasting impact on transportation."

The other runner-up was the Windfall Fund project, developed by Ashbrook's team. It would enable a person to make a small donation today that, with 150 years of compounding interest, will have a large charitable impact tomorrow.

"We were very impressed with what the students came up with," Holly said, noting it was especially satisfying to attract students from such a range of disciplines and that projects included five non-profits. "It shows that our message , that innovation is not just about technology but about translating new ideas into tangible societal impact , is really resonating with the USC community."