Student captures $5K prize in tech contest

On the morning of the Weiss Tech House's invention competition, Samuel Reeves' presentation pictures were not showing up on the screen.

Luckily, the Wharton senior fixed them just before the start of the contest Friday afternoon and swept the PennVention innovation competition, winning the grand prize of $5,000.

In his seven-minute presentation to the PennVention judges, Reeves said that he did not feel nervous because he was "talking about something I always talk about, although presenting in front of accomplished people is inherently nerve-racking."

Reeves' project, which he had been working on all year with family friend and Philadelphian Josh Koblin, is a machine that could clear land mines inexpensively by rolling and detonating them.

Reeves competed against 10 other teams in the competition, which was the first event of its kind to be put on by the Weiss Tech House, which is itself less than three years old. The science hub's director, Anne Stamer, said that -- lacking a major sponsor -- the event was going to be postponed until next year but Competitive Technologies stepped up to lead the event.

John Nano, chief executive officer of Competitive Technologies -- a company that works with copyright and patent issues -- was encouraged by his son, College of General Studies student Robert Taggert, to get involved with the competition.

Also pleased was judge Shawn Marcell, managing director at the Penn Science Center and an industry advisory board member of the Weiss Tech House. He said that choosing the winner was difficult and took more than an hour. In the end, he said that the judges chose Reeves' project for the grand prize because it was "something that did the most for mankind."

"I thought it was an outstanding event because of the quality of inventions," Marcell said.

In addition the to Weiss Tech House awards, there were separate sponsorships by companies such as QVC, a home-shopping network, and Bressler group, Inc., a company that designs and develops products. Competitive Technologies awarded its separate $5,000 Leonardo da Vinci award to Jonathan Danoff and Jared Bernheim of IntelliStem Orthopaedic Innovations, who placed second overall.

Danoff and Bernheim's orthopedic prosthetic implant, which also prevents bone atrophy, was considered by Nano to be the "most innovative idea we feel can be patented and commercialized."

"We were in the zone -- we were able to answer the judges' questions correctly," Bernheim said of his team's confidence. The Engineering and Wharton sophomore and Danoff, an Engineering junior, worked on their project for a year and a half and hope to conduct animal trials by September 2006.

Wharton senior Allison Floam placed third and also plans to have her towel-design product on the market soon. Floam declined to give any further details about her product due to intellectual property concerns.

"My goal is to see my brand on the store shelf," Floam said. She said that the Weiss Tech House helped her project develop through its Innovation Fund -- a $1,000 grant provided in addition to a mentoring program.

Coincidentally, the three groups chosen last semester to receive the Weiss Tech House's Innovation Funds were the top three finishers.

Weiss Tech House student director Jayanth Komarneni, a Wharton and Engineering senior, said that next year's PennVention will incorporate a student committee.

"The Innovation Fund ... is doing a great job evaluating potential projects," Komarneni said. "We strongly encourage any ideas -- menial or small."

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