2020 Final awards

Congratulations to UMass Lowell's 2020 DifferenceMaker $50K Idea Challenge Winners!

Prize categories and winners are as follows:


Rist Campus-Wide DifferenceMaker (Sponsored by Kim and Brian Rist '77, Manning School of Business), $7,000

MyGrow Fabrix - An innovative and functional textile fabric company, that is eco-friendly and will assist in agricultural and horticultural means.

  • Benjamin Chaco, Alumni, Computer Engineering
  • Justin Simone, Graduate, Community Social Psychology
  • Robert Simone

Significant Social Impact, $4,000

YPG - Eco-friendly clinical face masks to help reduce waste.

  • Paul Joseph Blanchard, Sophomore, Plastics Engineering
  • Grace Truong, Freshman, Nursing
  • Yeaharne Hout, Sophomore, Finance

Contribution to a Healthier Lifestyle (Sponsored by Circle Health), $4,000

ConnectKnee - A knee brace device that incorporates the use of EMG sensors and goniometers to track and record a patient's recovery, making it more efficient and hands-on.

  • Kyle Hamblett
  • Connor Johnston
  • Jackson Kelley, Junior, Mechanical Engineering
  • Tiffany Miller, Junior, Biomedical Engineering
  • Abby McNulty, Senior, Business Administration
  • Alyssa Mulry, Junior, Biomedical Engineering
  • Jaime Waldron, Senior, Criminal Justice

Sutherland Innovative Technology Solution (Sponsored by Andrew Sutherland '94, Manning School of Business), $4,000

Smart Escape -An electrical system that operates as a dynamic building evacuation guide during a fire evacuation.

  • Noah Boudreau, Freshman, Public Health
  • Kevin Downing, High School
  • Benjamin St. Gelais, Freshman, Environmental Engineering
  • Kevin Healy, Freshman, Electrical Engineering
  • Kevin Jeyakumar, Graduate, Computer Engineering
  • Alexander Meneses, Freshman, Finance
  • Andrew Regan, Freshman, Aerospace Engineering

Jack. M. Wilson First Product to Market Award (Sponsored by Jack Wilson, President Emeritus), $4,000

The Smart Safety Outlet -An Internet-of-Things (IoT) connected outlet that can secure and lock in place for safety purposes.

  • Romeo Cayabyab, Alumni, Electrical Engineering
  • Dmitry Chichinov, Junior, Mechanical Engineering
  • Brian Cotter, Senior, Electrical Engineering
  • David Holdbrook-Smith, Senior, Electrical Engineering
  • Nassim Nabat, Junior, Business
  • Divyanshu Verma, Alumni, Electrical Engineering

Commitment to a Sustainable Environment, $4,000

MissionHydro -A green household hydrogen energy storage ecosystem that will reduce household carbon footprint and energy costs, as well as, have the ability to utilize the hydrogen generated for fuel cell electric mobility applications.

  • Aadith Arasu, Freshman, Physics
  • Ryan Beishline, Sophomore, Mechanical Engineering
  • Sarvesh Handa, Freshman, Electrical Engineering
  • Ali Semerci, Freshman, Mechanical Engineering

Honorable Mentions, $2,000

AFED: Autonomous Foot Exercising Device -A shoe insole that autonomously exercises foot muscles, thereby strengthening the foot's arch and improving overall body posture.

  • Edwind Medina, Senior, Biomedical engineering
  • Kamal Rai, Senior, Biomedical Engineering
  • Catia Goncalbes Rodrigues, Senior, Biomedical Engineering
  • Kazi Proma, Senior, Biomedical Engineering

Happy Pinning -A product that will help Indian women clip together their traditional clothing quickly, easily, and effortlessly.

  • Ankit Patel, Graduate, Finance & Marketing
  • Happyben Patel, Graduate, MBA
  • Fenil Patel, Junior, Mechanical Engineering
  • Kevin Zhang, Sophomore, Computer Science

Living, Green Wall -Installing vertible green walls on university campuses to reduce CO2 and particulate matter, and increase concentrations of oxygen in the air.

  • David Razmadze, Senior, Computer Science
  • Hannah West, Senior, Public Health major & Business minor

NoSno Mat - An affordable snow- and ice-melting mat that requires virtually no work compared to shoveling or snow blowing.

  • Ka-Shing Chan, Senior, Computer Science
  • Thinh Huynh, Sophomore, Mechanical Engineering
  • Michael Mitkov, Senior, Computer Science
  • Conrad Nelson, Junior, Chemical Engineering
  • Emily Philpot, Sophomore, Mechanical Engineering
  • Tatiana Tompkins, Junior, Economics