The Paul J. ’69 and Kathleen M. Severino Center for Technological Entrepreneurship at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute recently held its biannual Change the World Challenge during which four student teams were named winners for the business concepts they developed to address societal challenges.

– Nirav Patel ’20 pitched Scholar Ally, a mobile app that matches students to scholarships to make the scholarship application process more efficient and successful for current and prospective college students.

– Ciaran Young ’20, Bonnke Sekarore ’20, Jaden Wright ’20, Mark Potter ’20, Russell Stevens ’20, and Lance Pier ’20 proposed Wind Turbine Blade Recycling as a sustainable solution that adds lifespan to the parts of aged wind turbines that would otherwise be sent to a landfill.

– Hayley Roy Gill ’19 and John Fantell ’19 presented NoteStream, a digital lecture ecosystem, as a way to improve traditional note-taking and the way that students comprehend and retain information.

– Cameron Kasper ’20 and Samuel Berrigan ’20 introduced EcoForm, a biomaterials research and manufacturing company that specializes in home renovation strategies, as a solution to the current costly and inefficient insulation solutions.

Established in 2005 and funded by Rensselaer alumnus Sean O’Sullivan ’85, the student innovation competition is held once per semester as an opportunity for students to develop their ideas into viable business concepts. It is one of many activities offered through the Lally School of Management’s Severino Center each year for students interested in entrepreneurship.

The winning teams are now eligible for the $5,000 “Best of the Best” grand prize, which will be given out at the end of the academic year.

“We thank Sean O’Sullivan for his continued support of Rensselaer students who are looking to change the world through entrepreneurship,” said Chanaka Edirisinghe, acting dean of the Lally School and the Kay and Jackson Tai ’72 Chaired Professor in Quantitative Finance. “Congratulations to the student winners who all displayed a deep commitment to the problems they are trying to solve.”

Pictured Above: Clint Ballinger, Jason Kuruzovich, Nirav Patel, Rob Hamilton, and John Haller ’85 (left to right).