2022 Final Awards

Congratulations to UMass Lowell's 2022 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), $6,000

Amara - A social media platform with transparency and better algorithm.

  • Brandon Conceicao
  • Adam Iskandar, Senior, Biology


Commitment to a Sustainable Environment, $4,000

ThermoEXA - Intelligent and personalized indoor temperature control through unique biometrics recognition.

  • Ariel Pena-Martinez, Graduate, Computer Engineering
  • Grissel Cervantes-Jaramillo


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

Hoppers - A board game that fosters education, communication skills, and creativity for younger children.

  • Abigail White, Junior, Biology
  • Alyssa Kennedy, Junior, Biology


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

Tendren - A wireless pulse oximeter combined with an ECG/blood pressure to track patients in the waiting room.

  • Ethan Block, Junior, Biomedical Engineering
  • Amie Russell, Junior, Biomedical Engineering
  • Victoria Williams, Junior, Biomedical Engineering


Contribution to a Healthier Lifestyle, $4,000

PEAK Performance - A device that assesses/corrects rotational misalignments between the pelvis and spine.

  • Evelyn Duffy, Freshmen, Biomedical Engineering and Business
  • Mark Elman, Sophomore, Biomedical Engineering
  • Steven Evangelos, Sophomore, Biomedical Engineering
  • Matthew Martel, Junior, Exercise Science


Significant Social Impact, $4,000

Minds with Purpose - A networking platform that unites people of different professions, areas, and styles.

  • Sammy Santana, Sophomore, Liberal Arts
  • Jeurys Santiago, Junior, Business


Honorable Mentions, $2,000

StockToMe - A stock opinion community where anybody can post an opinion about a stock.

  • Matthew Allen, Sophomore, Business
  • Matthew Kinash, Sophomore, Business Entrepreneurship
  • Jackson Sterrett, Sophomore, Business

UMass Lowell Japanese Student Association - An organization dedicated to promoting Japanese culture.

  • Mina Lam, Junior, Business

USuccess - A program to help individuals' financial situations through education.

  • Kaitlyn Catron, Senior, Business
  • Kyle Knapp, Senior, Business
  • Anna Kouadio, Junior, Business
  • Mikaela Murphy, Senior, Business
  • Nyna Pendkar, Senior, Business

Vital Sensing Patch - All-in-one, affordable vitals monitoring device that can be used anywhere.

  • Thang Do, Junior, Biomedical Engineering
  • Haris Kum, Junior, Biomedical Engineering
  • Wynn Wiggins, Alumni, Business Entrepreneurship


Fan Favorite, $1,000

MetaLingual - Virtual Reality experience containing servers of various 6D 360 immersive environments that promotes language learning that offers a real life experience.

  • Aiman Baig, Junior, Computer Science
  • Nihal Chaudhary, Sophomore, Language Studies
  • Haris Waqar, Senior, Electrical Engineering
  • Isa Ahmed, Junior, Business - Accounting
  • Samuel Lugo, Sophomore, Electrical Engineering
  • Zuhair Shaikh, Junior, Computer Science