Entrepreneur Sean O’Sullivan ’85 has donated $1 million to create the “Change the World Challenge,” an initiative to support entrepreneurship education and stimulate ideas to improve the human condition. The program was officially launched Sept. 17 with the first round of $1,000 awards presented to five Rensselaer students.

At the core of the challenge is an “idea competition” to be held each semester. Students will select a topic from a list of challenges to use science and/or engineering to improve human life, and offer a solution to that challenge which is not currently available and is sustainable long term.

New sound technology for teaching math, emergency housing solutions, use of bar codes in canes to assist the blind, a signaling device to improve car safety, and an environmentally friendly mechanism for recycling old cars were among the winning ideas from students who participated in the competition. The winners are: Casey O’Donnell, a doctoral student in science and technology studies; Joseph Choma, a second-year student in architecture; Brendan Kavanagh, a senior in mechanical engineering; Danika Patrick, a senior in mechanical engineering; and Cheuk Wa Yuen, a graduate student in architecture.

“I hope this contest will provide both a kick in the pants and financial and logistical support to students willing to believe and take action to change the world,” said O’Sullivan. “I want to awaken students to the knowledge that their talent can and should be used on large-scale ideas that can improve the planet. These five winners represent the first batch of these innovators.”

O’Sullivan’s gift is in support of the Institute’s $1 billion Renaissance at Rensselaer: The Campaign for Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

As the campaign continues to build momentum, alumni are stepping forward with leadership gifts to the endowment that will make a great impact on teaching, research, and scholarship at Rensselaer in the years ahead.

For more information on Renaissance at Rensselaer, visit www.rpi.edu/campaign.

Originally published in Rensselaer Magazine, Fall 2005
Photo by Kris Qua

Published November 1, 2005