The 2007 Lemelson-MIT Student Prize

Ball has been deeply involved as a technical advisor and co-host of "Design Squad," a new engineering-based reality show for kids ages 9-13 that will air nationally on PBS beginning in February 2007. He helped brainstorm and test challenge ideas that he said would "require clever problem solving, ingenuity, and some classic mess-making." Ball hopes that through this program, kids will be empowered to explore and embrace the elements of engineering that surround them each day.

In its ongoing effort to expand its reach and recognize outstanding up-and-coming inventors, the Lemelson-MIT Program is offering two new $30,000 Student Prizes this year.

Michael Callahan is the inaugural winner of the Lemelson-Illinois Student Prize at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He is a graduate student in Industrial and Enterprise Systems Engineering who has invented a method to intercept neurological signals near the source of vocal production and convert the signals into speech. He hopes to make it possible for people with limited speech or movement abilities to communicate.

On February 16, the first recipient of the Lemelson-Rensselaer Student Prize at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute will be announced by Lemelson Foundation chair Dorothy Lemelson, Rensselaer President Shirley Ann Jackson and Alan Cramb, dean of the School of Engineering. Details about the winner will be posted here.

The $30,000 Lemelson-MIT Student Prize is awarded annually to an MIT senior or graduate student who has created or improved a product or process, applied a technology in a new way, redesigned a system, or demonstrated remarkable inventiveness in other ways. A distinguished panel of MIT alumni and associates including scientists, technologists, engineers and entrepreneurs chooses the winner. David Berry, 2005 In pursuit of his M.D. from the Harvard-MIT Technology Program, 21st century medical pioneer David Berry’s research has concentrated on heparin. His patented protein dimeric FGF2 can limit the amount of brain tissue damaged from a stroke or improve a patient’s functional recovery time, pending when the treatment is given. Berry furthered his work with heparin to develop a polymer- heparin conjugate that attacks cancer cells without harming healthy cells. He is also developing a heparin surface coating to bind to and remove cancer cells (such as melanoma) missed during surgery. Saul Griffith, 2004

In an effort to create affordable technologies for developing countries, Saul Griffith has engineered a device to produce low-cost eyeglass lenses, plus an auto retinoscope, which determines lens prescriptions. Other inventions include an e-rope—specially braided to sense the strain of its load, and a tangible interface glove—which conveys the sense of touch via a computer. An Australian native, Griffith is co-creator of Howtoons—engaging cartoon science and engineering experiments for children about science and engineering. Griffith received his M.S. degree in mechanical engineering and his S.M. and Ph.D. media arts & sciences. James McLurkin, 2003

Using Mother Nature as a model for robotics, MIT computer science graduate student James McLurkin has programmed swarm microrobots to perform cooperative, real-world tasks similar to the behavior of bees. Initiated through a team he managed at iRobot, the swarm could potentially be used for detecting land mines or exploring Mars. While an undergrad, McLurkin invented twelve cubic-inch robotic ants—the world’s smallest self-contained autonomous robots based on the characteristics of an ant colony. He holds his M.S. in electrical engineering. Andrew Heafitz, 2002

Andrew Heaftiz’ aptitude for low-cost designs has spawned innovations such as a kerosene-liquid oxygen rocket engine (created with the MIT Rocket Team) and a gas tank leak detection device for developing countries. He illustrates an affinity for aerial photography in inventions like his balsa wood camera shutter for a model rocket and remote balloon photography system. In 2001, Heafitz (S.M., mechanical engineering) started TacShot, Inc. to produce his new aerial surveillance system that uses a soda can-sized rocket engine to transmit video footage. Brian Hubert, 2001

...continued