Class of ’51 Entrepreneurship Award Supports Innovation in Solar-Powered Pasteurization, Waste-Powered Hot Water Heat and Zero-Waste “Pets”

Last summer, as part of their continued research and development for their project, several of the team members traveled to Langui, Peru and conducted market research by surveying 18 small-scale dairy farmers. Pictured here, a Peruvian woman is milking a cow in order to get milk that she will make into cheese and later sell at the local market. The group plans to travel to Peru again this summer. Photo credit: Image provided by Erin Lennox ’07

Student creativity and entrepreneurial thinking for low-cost milk pasteurization, a sanitary and environmentally sensitive system for generating energy for hot water, and a revolutionary approach to plush toy manufacturing have received funding from the Rensselaer Class of ’51 Entrepreneurship Fund. The fund was established to help transform student ideas into successful ventures.

One of Rensselaer’s most active, generous, and supportive alumni groups, the Class of ’51 sponsors an annual competition to encourage undergraduate and graduate students to pursue early development of entrepreneurial ideas.

A grant of up to $5,000 is awarded each year to a winning individual or team. This year, a $500 honorable mention award also was presented to two additional teams.

Inka Minka Dairy Cooperative
Rensselaer graduate student Erin Lennox ‘07, and undergraduate students John Cannarella ‘10, Ryan Lewis ’11, and Jared Stepanauskas ’10, were awarded $5,000 for their innovative technology and entrepreneurial approach to creating a dairy cooperative for socio-economically disadvantaged communities.

The solution has global implications and includes an affordable solar-powered pasteurization technology usable in unhygienic conditions, allowing poor farmers to obtain market certification for their milk, cheese and yogurt production, creating a new level of income potential. The technology testing, cooperative formation, and market development are underway in Langui, Peru.

Live Ember Waste-Energy Water Heater.
A proposal by Brent Solina ’11, a biochemistry/biophysics student at Rensselaer, was selected for a $500 honorable mention award for a design concept that can help restaurant and food service facilities to decrease waste and maintenance costs, increase revenue, and retain jobs. Their proposal involves using organic waste to generate heat to provide energy for hot water.

Sustain-A-Bear Manufacturing Process
To help plush toy manufacturers meet the pressures of global recession, rising energy costs, and concern for sustainability, Rensselaer graduate students Christina Laskowski and Todd Snelson, along with undergraduate student, Saadia Safir ’10, have developed an ultrasonic welding approach to thermally bond soft recycled fleece. The new process creates a thread-less and washer-less teddy bear shell that saves 90 percent of assembly and 50 percent of energy costs. This entry also earned a $500 honorable mention award.

“In addition to receiving funding, the winners also receive help from the Entrepreneur Support Committee, which includes faculty, alumni and resources from Rensselaer’s Office of Entrepreneurship and Office of Technology Commercialization,” said Rob Chernow, vice provost for entrepreneurship at Rensselaer and head of the Class of ’51 fund competition. “Our campus resources are invaluable and can provide experienced, knowledgeable guidance to foster further development to help our students move their ideas into the marketplace.”

The annual competition is judged by Chernow, with assistance from a committee of faculty members, graduate students, researchers, and alumni. To qualify for the Class of ’51 Entrepreneurship Fund, entrants must articulate a clear statement of the opportunity and resulting ideas with supporting data; describe how their solution addresses a problem; provide enough details to demonstrate that the solution is feasible and sustainable; and include diagrams and sketches to illustrate their points.

This competition is one of three endowed funds established in 2000 by the Class of ’51, in honor of their 50th  Reunion year.

“This commitment on the part of the Class of ’51 is an outstanding example of the collective foresight of a dedicated group of alumni and Rensselaer is grateful for their generosity toward future generations of students and faculty,” Chernow said.