A green energy generator based on biomimicry of trees and developed by Oregon Institute of Technology students was the big winner at this year’s Invent Oregon Collegiate Challenge.
Hannah Wolf, a renewable energy engineer, and Mario Segura, a mechanical engineer, created Electerro. It’s a solar and wind generator built with a vertical axis wind turbine along with photovoltaic leaves designed like those from a birch or magnolia tree. The pair want to generate power in a way that reduces chemical toxicity or danger to migratory birds.
Electerro took home the top $10,000 prize from the competition. The funds will be used to build a prototype. The duo will also split the $1,500 People’s Choice Award along with another team.
InventOR is a competition among Oregon’s colleges, universities and community colleges to challenge student entrepreneurs. The teams develop designs and prototypes to meet economic challenges found in the Pacific Northwest.
This year, 19 teams competed. They have been working on this competition since March.
“The last 18 months have shown us that we need to invest in the next generation of investors and entrepreneurs,” said Juan Barraza, director of student innovation at Portland State University and organizer of the event. “With the prototypes they brought to Invent Oregon in 2021, our student innovators showed that they were not only up to the challenge, but that the entrepreneurial ecosystem is strong enough to lead Oregon toward a better economic future regardless of the obstacles.”
Here’s the other winners:
- Second prize of $7,500 went to Living Education Center created by PSU architectural student Montserrat Fonseca. It’s a building designed to look like a caterpillar using biomimicry. The building is meant to be an education center for children and create a connection to nature. Living Education Center also won the People’s Choice Award and split the $1,500 prize money with Electerro.
- Third place went to Alpha Prosthetics and a team from George Fox University. The team is developing a design method for prosthetics so the prosthetic created fits a person’s individual needs.
- Fourth place went to BioMass Gas and a team from Oregon Institute of Technology. The team is developing a biomass power generator that will turn agriculture and forestry waste into electricity.
- The community college award went to Exo Hand, created by a team at Rogue Community College. The team created a prosthetic to help industrial workers attain a stronger grip.
- The Visionary Award went to rePLA and a team from University of Portland. The team developed a biodegradable plastic for 3D printing.
The competition was judged by a panel of experts. The entire compeition was sponsored by Lemelson Foundation, Business Oregon, The Oregon Community Foundation, The Ford Family Foundation, Stoel Roves, Horan MediaTech, Wells Fargo and Portland State.
