Ideas win big at virtual UAF Arctic Innovation Competition

The College of Alaska Fairbanks Higher education of Small business and Safety Administration awarded about $40,000 in income prizes and awards immediately after the 2022 Arctic Innovation Competition’s last displays April 16.

The competition, now in its 13th yr, invitations innovators to propose new, feasible and potentially financially rewarding thoughts for fixing true-lifestyle complications and troubles.

The best prize of $10,000 in the principal division, for ages 18 and up, was awarded to Zak Erving and Phil Belleau for their strategy, “Prismatext: Browse a Guide. Master a Language.” Prismatext employs a new method to develop blended language guides that step by step expose the reader to overseas words and phrases to guidance language mastering.

“In addition to incorporating new options to our mobile app, we’re in the system of setting up relationships with publishers so we can include countless numbers of present-day titles to our bookshelves,” stated Erving, CEO of Prismatext. “We’re also building resources that we hope will revitalize the instruction and preservation of Indigenous languages of cultural significance.”

In the junior division, for youth ages 13 to 17 many years outdated, the $1,000 to start with-area prize was awarded for the No Snow Device, submitted by Joanna Joo, Phoebe Xu, Hannah Chang and Grace Li. Created to securely and efficiently clear away snow from roofs, No Snow “vacuums” the snow from the roof by a pipe on to the back again of a truck, without having the hassle of shoveling it absent.

In the cub division for youth ages 12 and underneath, the first-position prize and $500 went to the Gadget Women for their thought, Cluck Box. Lauren Burgess, Shannan Burgess, Charlie Clark, Leah Lewellyn and Alex Lorenzana — an all-girl crew — improved the design and style of present chick-shipping and delivery bins to support keep chicks harmless, warm and fed during lengthier durations of time.

“Being from Alaska, I desired to be part of a neighborhood that fosters creativeness and innovation in my dwelling condition,” Erving shared. “I consider it’s crucial to emphasize homegrown achievements, and AIC is a fantastic resource that highlights new suggestions in the Last Frontier.”

Best prize and honorable mention winners in the a few divisions came from communities across Alaska — Anchorage, Copper Center, Fairbanks, Juneau, North Pole and Wasilla — as perfectly as from Pennsylvania and Washington. A comprehensive checklist of winners is offered on the AIC website.