2012 USC Student Innovator Showcase
Friday, October 19, 2012 

At its heart, the goal of the USC Student Innovator Showcase is to demonstrate the creative thinking and pragmatic solutions to everyday issues that students are creating right here at USC.

On October 19, 2012 the USC Stevens Center for Innovation hosted the annual USC Student Innovator Showcase at the Hancock Foundation Building lawn (AFH) on USC's University Park Campus in Downtown Los Angeles.

This year's Trojan Family Weekend theme was, “Connecting Trojan Families."

The 2012 USC Student Innovator Showcase took place on the first day of Trojan Family Weekend. Parents visiting for the weekend were able to walk among the judges and see each student's product, idea, or service. From an industrial dish rack to small boards used to create more lift and speed when bodysurfing to a novel glucose sensor, a wide breadth of ideas showed the true Trojan talent put forth by USC students. Students hailed from 12 different schools at USC, from architecture to engineering, to communications and business. Since innovation often occurs at the intersection of many disciplines, showcase spectators witnessed a diversity of accomplishments from all USC students.

All student presenters’ prepared table and poster displays to show judges, parents, and friends the solutions they created. In the open-air of the Hancock building, visitors took a virtual tour with a reality platform built with consumer facing technologies, learned how to utilize a mobile app to bookmark restaurants, and witnessed the time saving innovation for the beverage and food service industries. The interactive, eye-opening experience was open to the public and featured 30 different displays run by more than 100 students.

During the showcase, a panel of innovation experts from USC faculty and staff, along with successful entrepreneurs and investors from around Los Angeles come together to judge these innovations. Judges look for the most innovative ideas based on:

• Originality / Creativity - Have you heard of anything like this before? Is it a creative solution to a common problem?
• Feasibility - What are the chances for success? Is this the right approach?
• Market Potential - How well do they know their competition and their market? Have they done their research? Do they thoroughly understand their customer?
• Impact - What potential impact could this have on society of the market? Is this idea scalable?

The chief judge for the showcase was Mr. Robert Shotwell from the Diem Shotwell Metcalfe Family Fund. Mr. Shotwell and his family established the Diem Shotwell Metcalfe Family Fund at the University of Southern California in 2007 to encourage and support innovative new ideas among USC students.

Finalists from this year's showcase include:

• Glycogum: A novel glucose sensor, vastly improves the management of diabetes. This technology consists of a chewing gum that changes color based on blood glucose level.
• Overlap: smart bookmarking for places
• Cleatskins: Patented, rubber covers that young athletes wear over their cleats to walk on hard surfaces and keep dirt and grass out of the car.
• Homework Picture: A virtual tutoring application, created to tutor students in Math, Chemistry, Biology, Physics and Social sciences.
• No Glow: No Glow is an all-natural substance that helps eliminate the "alcohol flush reaction" that occurs when those missing the ALDH allele cannot properly metabolize the consumption of alcohol.
• Project Holodeck: A virtual reality platform built with consumer facing technology, DIY off-the-shelf components, cutting-edge custom software, and creatively integrated peripherals.
• Hightide Handplanes for Bodysurfing: Small boards used to create more lift and speed when bodysurfing.
• Automatic Hand-Hygiene Verification: A plan to equip patient rooms with a hand-sensor/laser-tripwire/audio feedback system. A medical professional will engage a hand sanitizer dispenser outside the patient’s room, sanitizing their hands.
• Flip Rack: A time saving innovation for the beverage and food service industries.
• Breaking Heels: A height-adjustable shoe that will change the lives of women. Our two-in-one solution is a heel at night and a flat during the day.

Winners from the 2012 USC Student Innovator Showcase split $9000 in cash prizes.

Prizes included:

• Most Innovative Award, $4,000 funded by the USC Stevens Center for Innovation;
• Most Promising Business Concept Award, $4,000 funded by the Diem Shotwell Metcalfe Family Fund at the USC Marshall School of Business;
• Student Choice Award, $500 funded by the Diem Shotwell Metcalfe Family Fund at the USC Marshall School of Business;
• Family Choice Award, $500 funded by the USC Stevens Center for Innovation

Additional prizes:

In support of USC Student Entrepreneurialism and Innovation, the 10 finalist from the 2012 USC Student Innovator Showcase received 100% off the following 2 proudcts that will help them start their businesses off on the right path thanks to the contribution from Dun & Bradstreet Credibility Corp.:

• Small Business Starter Package ($299) - Students will get a D&B Duns Number and will also establish their credit files so they can begin accruing business credibility. Also, included in the package is a free year of our Credibility Review business directory. New companies with little to no online presence will be able to increase their online exposure on all major search engines, and will also have the ability to add company information and keyword to their listing that can be used in search queries on Google, Bing, and Yahoo!.
• Verified ($599 value) - Companies will be able to protect their customers from imposters by verifying their company's social networking profiles; monitor their online presence by keeping track of the websites distributing their company information; and distribute and promote accurate information about their companies on the web, offline, and through social media.

More information about these innovations and the additional 20 presented at the 2012 event can be found in the event program. Videos of each finalists three-minute fast pitch will be posted soon! To watch videos from previous years, visit our YouTube page here.