Two Lally MBA Students, Lorenz Kraus MBA ’09, and Sarah DiNovo Pathfinder MBA’11, were among the eight $1000 winners in Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute’s fall 2008 Change the World Challenge contest. Over 50 proposals, created by more than 175 students, were submitted.
Created to support entrepreneurship education and stimulate ideas to improve the human condition, the Change the World competition awards $1,000 cash prizes twice yearly to innovative ideas and inventions with the potential to make the world a better place.
Kraus’ entry detailed a “Brain Saver,” a portable medical rescue device for use by emergency medical personnel to pump oxygenated blood to a patient’s brain during transportation to a hospital, reducing the risk of brain damage from oxygen deprivation.
DiNovo designed a High-Tech Cane for the Visually Impaired, equipped with GPS and voice recognition; users can vocally input an address and the cane will lead them to the location. It is also equipped with an ultrasonic ranger to sense objects around the user, and a panic button in case of emergency.
DiNovo, a recipient of the Herman Fellowship for Women in Entrepreneurship, already has a strong track record for creating innovative ideas. She also won a Change the World Challenge Award in Spring 2008 and a $5000 RPI Class of ’51 Entrepreneurship Fund Award in 2008. She has been recognized for developing multiple portable technology product concepts, including a handheld device to detect skin cancer in its early stages, and SmartBadge, a next-generation law enforcement badge incorporating electronic safety features, including a camera, global positioning chip, and radio.