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Student-run hackathon builds interdisciplinary solutions to challenges facing San Luis Obispo community

SAN LUIS OBISPO — Camp PolyHacks, an interdisciplinary hackathon based on social entrepreneurship, was held on Jan. 20 and 21 at the Cal Poly Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CIE) HotHouse in downtown San Luis Obispo.

During the two-day hackathon, 57 California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo (Cal Poly) students worked in groups to develop a solution to an issue impacting San Luis Obispo. Each of the 13 teams was assigned one of four issue categories, including civic engagement, artificial intelligence (AI), classroom project continuation and the Cal Poly Digital Transformation Hub (DxHub) powered by Amazon Web Services (AWS) projects

Teams could develop solutions in the form of a product, service, information or marketing campaign, policy proposal or a demonstration or prototype of a mobile application.

Camp PolyHacks was sponsored by the CIE, as well as the City of San Luis Obispo, Amazon Web Services, DxHub, Dignity Health, Cal Poly College of Engineering and Cal Poly College of Liberal Arts.

The event was organized by student volunteers and David Askay, a Cal Poly communications adjunct professor and CIE faculty innovation lead.

“I am so impressed with seeing the commitment and drive of so many talented students,” Askay said. “While we fueled participants with food and community coaches, it was their own passion and creativity that moved them forward.” 

Day one of Camp PolyHacks included a 90-minute team brainstorming session, followed by opportunities for students to attend workshops and receive coaching and mentorship from industry professionals and Cal Poly faculty members. On day two, teams were given just over two hours to fine-tune their projects before presenting their innovations to a panel of judges.

Team Hopper won $500 for Top Project in Continuing a Class Project. They developed a personalized app and optimized dynamic bus routes to improve student transportation. The group consisted of business major Kennedy Urcelay; recreation parks and tourism administration major Kennedy Barlow; communication studies major Quoya Mann and international exchange student in computer science Othilia Norell.

Team TherapEase won $500 for Top Project in Artificial Intelligence. They developed a physical therapy app that tracks improvements in mobility and movement over time and encourages compliance with home exercises. The group consisted of computer science majors Isha Varrier, Pihu Jha, Dhanvi Ganti, Sunishka Sharma and Sammer Maheshwari; and graphic communication major Bella Santos. 

Team Kudos won $500 for Top Project in Civic Engagement. They developed an app to help empower rental tenants by finding rentals, reviewing landlords, tracking code violations and providing an AI chatbot to answer questions about renters’ rights. The group consisted of communication studies major Brenden Jacoby; computer science major Soren Fliegel; and city and regional planning majors Margo Ezcurra and Jodie Huang. 

Special awards for $200 were also given for achievements such as “Best Demo,” “Best Pitch” and “Best Design.” 

These award winners included:

— Best Demo: Team LocalLens, who created an AI chatbot trained on the City of San Luis Obispo council records to increase and facilitate access to the public. This team included computer science majors Jason Jelincic, Pallavi Das, Miguel Villa Floran, Nick Riley and Taran Singh; and electrical engineering major Roy Vicerra. 

— Best Pitch: Team Credito, who provided undocumented U.S. immigrants a way to access credit. The team included interdisciplinary studies major Jorge Sanches; liberal arts and engineering studies major Casey Hartley, electrical engineering major Soumil Joshi; economics major Sevasian Juarez; and business major Zitao Guan.

— Best Design: Team Moment, who created an app to predict and prevent burnout in healthcare workers. The team included computer science majors Sofija Dimitrijevic, Jonathan Hagendoorn, James Irwin and Ellie Pearson; and computer engineering major Nick Weiss.

Other teams included: 

— Team GeoGraph who used geographic information system (GIS) and lidar data to provide the City of San Luis Obispo Sustainability Manager Chris Read with the estimated square footage of non-residential buildings in San Luis Obispo to track carbon emissions and inform policy decisions. 

— Team Rewired who developed an app for pre-screening and tracking gambling addiction. 

— Team Humorfy who developed a health and fitness app to encourage meeting goals with humor and fun. 

— Team WellNex.AI who used AI to create a digital patient intake form to create pre-diagnoses and optimization of visits for free healthcare at the Noor Clinic. 

— Team Bike CV who created an app to track bike accidents.  

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About the Cal Poly Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship:

The CIE opens a world of entrepreneurial opportunities to Cal Poly students, faculty and community members and promotes entrepreneurial activity and dialogue across the university and throughout San Luis Obispo County. For more information, visit https://cie.calpoly.edu/.

Six Startups Complete the Cal Poly Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship Incubator Program

Graduating teams at the CIE HotHouse December 5, 2023 (DEMO and Zoetic Motion not pictured). From left to right: Stan Kaplita, Founder and CEO of Zeste Farms; Morgan Swanson, Founder and CEO of TractorCloud; Judy Mahan, CIE Senior Economic Development Director; Adam Stager, Founder and CEO of TRIC Robotics; Donald Lee, Co-founder and CTO at Novocuff.

SAN LUIS OBISPO — Six startup companies have completed the Cal Poly Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CIE) Incubator program

“CIE provides a structured, two-year program for early-stage startups that includes all the resources needed to facilitate smarter, faster growth,” CIE Senior Economic Development Director Judy Mahan said of the Incubator. “After working closely with these companies over the course of their development, we are excited to see where the future takes them as they continue to expand and grow.”

Since its inception in 2010, the CIE has promoted regional economic development. To date, these six companies have collectively created 28 jobs, benefitted from 1,364 hours of one-on-one consultation, received $1,700,000 in grants/awards and raised $7 million in venture capital.

The companies graduating from the CIE Incubator program include: 

Demo Studios is a blockchain marketplace for IP licensing, starting with music. They help music creators sell collaboration rights to their content. 

Novocuff is advancing the field of maternal health by developing a device to prevent preterm labor and improve outcomes for infants and families. 

TractorCloud is an end-to-end heavy machinery diagnostic, management and predictive maintenance cloud platform. 

TRIC Robotics is combining ultraviolet light with automation to provide farmers with an alternative for pesticides that is equally effective and chemical free. 

Zeste Farms is a grower and shipper of leafy greens and herbs employing their patented indoor vertical farming solution designed for sustainable, scalable and affordable produce production. 

Zoetic Motion is helping to improve patient adherence by gamifying the physical therapy process and equipping physical therapists with the ability to maximize patient progress. 

“Being an entrepreneur can be a lonely journey. Joining the Incubator gave me access to resources, mentors and classes that taught me how to take the next steps with my startup,” Adam Stager, founder and CEO of TRIC Robotics, said. “It’s also a great forum for communicating with other founders.” 

The CIE recently added seven new startups to the Incubator, making a total of 15 startups in the program. 

Castle Innovations is bringing firearm safety into the 21st century with their innovative firearm safety device integrated with high-speed biometric technology.

Horizen Biotech is creating a non-invasive, one-time-use smart patch that uses chemical sensing based on sweat to monitor users’ blood alcohol content (BAC) levels. 

Mense is a feminine hygiene product company with a mission to provide a more comfortable, safe solution for people with periods.

Next Best Home is quickly qualifying and helping people with placements in assisted living communities.

Nexstera Tech is pushing the boundaries of material differentiation and detection through radar and transforming the way waste management operates.

PureSite is dedicated to the design, production, installation, and upkeep of air purification systems.

Quickie Delivery Co is delivering convenience store essentials like snacks, beverages, ice cream and daily essentials to college students quickly, affordably, and sustainably.

The CIE offers faculty, students and the business community the tools to transform their innovative ideas into viable businesses. By providing quality coaching, professional consulting and connections with industry professionals, the CIE creates an environment in which new businesses can develop and thrive. 

The CIE incubator program is open to the business community, Cal Poly affiliation is not required. Open enrollment year-round. Startups interested in applying for the Incubator program should go to cie.calpoly.edu/launch/incubator.

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Contact: Judy Mahan
805-756-5180; jmahan@calpoly.edu

Cal Poly Students Win $1,500 in Cash Prizes for Their Innovative Ideas at 14th Annual Elevator Pitch Competition

SAN LUIS OBISPO — A Cal Poly freshman won the top prize at Cal Poly Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship’s (CIE) 14th annual Elevator Pitch Competition, a fast-paced, high-energy competition for student entrepreneurs, held Nov. 7 at the Performing Arts Center San Luis Obispo.

Ten finalists, selected from dozens of applicants, had 90 seconds each to pitch their innovative products, services and startup ideas. They were evaluated by a panel of judges on four criteria: how well was the problem or opportunity explained; was the idea innovative; was the direction clear; and was the pitch persuasive.

Material engineering freshman Erin Wang of Irvine, California, received the $1,000 first-place prize with her pitch for Intelladaptive Jacket, an active, self-regulating temperature jacket that uses sensors and a removable, rechargeable battery to adjust to the user’s temperature.

“I’m so grateful and super excited,” Wang said. “I’m just a freshman so I wasn’t expecting a ton out of it, but I’m so glad I was able to be here.”

Marley Timmerman of Huntington Beach, California, an electrical engineering senior with a minor in entrepreneurship, received the $500 audience choice award.

Her pitch for Bike Knight impressed the crowd. Bike Knight is a secondary electronic e-bike lock that pairs with your existing metal lock, combining electronics with physical strength, to create the maximum bike security system.

“I think it’s awesome that I won the Audience Choice Award,” Timmerman said. “This means that people in the audience had their bike stolen and really want something like this — there’s real interest.”

This year’s judges included: Cal Poly Associate Professor Erik Sapper, the faculty innovation lead for the Bailey College of Science and Mathematics; Lynn Metcalf, professor emeritus of entrepreneurship, who recently retired after 35 years at Cal Poly; and Penny Lane Case, co-founder and CEO of Nexstera Tech, and a Cal Poly alumna, who graduated this year with a bachelor’s degree in business administration degree and concentration in entrepreneurship.

Other Elevator Pitch Competition finalists included:

— Sun-Tractable Shield, a windshield sunshade that hooks onto the dashboard when in use and retracts into a case when not in use, pitched by theater arts freshman Laurel Desilets of Albuquerque, New Mexico.

— Fit Friends, a service that lets users connect with other members at their gym to find workout partners, pitched by computer science senior Joseph Hammana of Santa Cruz, California.

— Quick Shield, a bulk sunscreen dispenser service that provides athletes easy access to sunscreen to prevent sunburn and skin cancer, pitched by electrical engineering fifth-year Dan Murphy of Wayne, New Jersey.

— Virtuosos, a unique rhythm game that empowers music creators to collaborate, showcase their work and transform their compositions into immersive in-game experiences, pitched by computer science graduate student Lucas Li of Morgan Hill, California.

— Fermy Foods, a fermented baby foods company specifically targeted to kids, pitched by William Dietz, a business administration senior concentrating in real estate finance and minoring in real estate property development. Dietz is from Batavia, Illinois.

— Hobby Hub, a platform where you can choose from a wide variety of hobbies and join a hobby group where you can meet like-minded people starting this hobby as well, pitched by industrial technology and packaging senior Greta Peacock of Towson, Maryland.

— ClassMate AI, software that turns professor lectures into unique chatbots for every class, allowing students to easily ask questions and get answers, ensuring a personalized and accessible learning assistant is always available, pitched by computer science junior Raja Adil of Sacramento, California.

— Conspire Commerce, an innovative e-commerce group shopping solution that  provides chat, call and shared cart functionality, along with split-payment options, offering a convenient and collaborative way to shop together online, pitched by Richard Tanaka of San Marcos, California. Tanaka is a business administration senior concentrating in information systems.

To watch this year’s Elevator Pitch Competition pitches, visit the CIE YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLUZ0YMs8MZptzGdZBNE6aSY7wDdg1g5Ld.

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About the Cal Poly Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship:

The CIE opens a world of entrepreneurial opportunities to Cal Poly students, faculty and community members and promotes entrepreneurial activity and dialogue across the university and throughout San Luis Obispo County. For more information, visit https://cie.calpoly.edu/.

 

Cal Poly Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship Announces 2023 Summer Accelerator Cohort at Annual May Entrepreneurship Forum

Summer Accelerator teams participate in the 2023 May Entrepreneurship Forum | Photo by Ruby Wallau

SAN LUIS OBISPO — The Cal Poly Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurship (CIE) accepted eight startup teams into their Summer Accelerator, an intensive 12-week program that provides Cal Poly students and recent graduates with the resources needed to turn their innovative ideas into full-fledged startups. 

Participants receive $10,000 in seed funding, as well as access to expert mentorship, entrepreneurial workshops and a dedicated workspace in the HotHouse, the CIE’s office in downtown San Luis Obispo.

“The Summer Accelerator program is unique because it marks the point where students apply all of the foundational learning that takes place on campus and dedicate their time over a 12-week period to working towards launching a business,” said Tom Katona, the CIE’s interim co-executive director. “Cal Poly alumni, the local community and the CIE all come together to support and challenge these students in pursuit of their entrepreneurial endeavor.”

The eight teams were officially announced at the CIE’s May Entrepreneurship Forum on Tuesday, May 16 at 4:30 p.m. in the Cal Poly Performing Arts Center (PAC).

The forum also featured a fireside chat with guest speaker Kate Somerville, the founder of a world-renowned luxury skincare brand. After years of struggling with eczema, Somerville pursued a degree in esthetics. After completing her schooling, she opened her own clinic in a San Luis Obispo cosmetic surgeon’s office. Now, her paramedical esthetics clinic in Los Angeles is bringing advanced medical technology into a more comfortable environment.

At May Forum, Somerville shared the story behind her startup, from a childhood that propelled her towards entrepreneurship, to personal care product company Unilever’s acquisition of the Kate Somerville brand in 2015.

“This is the best part — because I was one of them, and I still am. Once an entrepreneur, always an entrepreneur,” Somerville said. “This is such a great program. I’m so glad I was able to be a part of it.”

Somerville’s interview was conducted by Haley Pavone, a CIE alumnus and the founder and CEO of Pashion Footwear, a footwear company whose patented shoes can easily convert from a pump to a flat. Pavone founded Pashion Footwear as a Cal Poly business administration junior. 

The 2023 Summer Accelerator teams represent a variety of different concepts, from machine learning with Tensormaker, to social connectivity with Social Spark.

“I’m really looking forward to working with this diverse group of entrepreneurs,” Katona said.

This year’s cohort includes:

Drinkwise, a startup developing a noninvasive SmartPatch that indicates the user’s blood alcohol content (BAC) level, created by industrial engineering senior Owen Works, biomedical engineering senior Camden Ford and psychology senior Aynsley Ramsaur.

Ecoternatives, an e-commerce store that sells sustainable and plastic-free home essential products at more affordable prices, founded by economics senior Aidan Riehl.

Entein Feeds, a startup utilizing food waste to grow insects as an animal feed protein supplement, founded by materials engineering sophomore William Burns and mechanical engineering sophomore Cameron Yartz.

Nexsterra Tech, a startup developing technology that can detect batteries in waste bins before they’re compacted in order to prevent costly fires, created by business administration seniors Penny Lane Case and Thaddeus Ziarkowski and mechanical engineering seniors Stefany James and Sydney Fairchild.

Plan A Lot, an event planning platform that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to simplify the planning process, founded by computer science junior Luis Guzman and mechanical engineering junior Marciela Carrillo.

Social Spark, a startup organizing and facilitating social activities for recently relocated college graduates, founded by mechanical engineering senior Samantha Moberly and software engineering senior Parker Callison.

Tensormaker, a startup enabling all web developers to build their own machine learning software, founded by liberal arts and engineering senior Avi Peltz.

Té Piña, a startup producing a caffeinated, pineapple-based beverage that provides consumers with a healthier alternative to existing energy drinks, created by business administration seniors Matthew Reis and Benjamin Arts.

View the cohort’s pitches here.

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About the Cal Poly Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CIE):

The CIE opens a world of entrepreneurial opportunities to Cal Poly students, faculty and community members and promotes entrepreneurial activity and dialogue across the university and throughout San Luis Obispo. For more information, visit https://cie.calpoly.edu/.

Cal Poly Student Founders Sweep Sunstone CSU Startup Launch Competition

SAN JOSE — Two recent Cal Poly graduates won the top prizes at the Sunstone Startup Launch Competition, a California State University (CSU) pitch competition with a total of $200,000 in prize money at stake, held at San Jose State University (SJSU) Friday, May 5. Competing teams are divided into three categories, including product, service and social enterprise.

Recent Cal Poly computer science graduate Emily Gavrilenko won the service track’s first-place prize of $25,000 with her startup Ryde, a travel marketplace for college students connecting drivers and riders for long-distance travel.

“When I was pitching, I felt really confident because we’ve come so far in the past year. I was pitching a business, not just an idea,” Gavrilenko said. “I was more nervous for the awards ceremony than the actual pitch because I didn’t want to let my co-founders down. I really wanted to call them and tell them we won — so it was really exciting to hear the good news.”

Gavrilenko plans to use the prize money to fund Ryde’s upcoming expansion to a new college campus.

Manufacturing engineering graduate Evan Lalanne won the product track’s second-place prize of $10,000 for X-Adapt, a startup building a compact, capable and intuitive mobility device by modifying commercially available electric unicycles for adaptive riders. 

Lalanne is planning on introducing the product to early adopters later this year.

Both winners participated in the 2022 Cal Poly Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CIE) Summer Accelerator, a three-month program that provides Cal Poly students and recent graduates with the resources needed to turn their startup ideas into real, scalable businesses.

“The Summer Accelerator made a world of difference,” Gavrilenko said. “It really helped me on my pitch. I became confident up on stage and also had quality content to put in my pitch. The Accelerator really taught me how to talk about my business.”

Two pre-qualified students or recent graduates from each CSU campus presented an eight-minute pitch to a panel of judges. The pitch was followed by a five-minute question and answer session. Judges evaluated the pitches based on desirability, feasibility and viability. 

The Sunstone Startup Launch competition was held for the first time in 2021 at Cal State Long Beach (CSULB), and only five of the 23 CSU campuses participated. Eighteen campuses participated this year, including Dominguez Hills, East Bay, Fresno, Fullerton, Humboldt, Long Beach, Los Angeles, Monterey Bay, Northridge, Pomona, Sacramento, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose, San Luis Obispo, San Marcos and Sonoma.

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About the Cal Poly Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship:

The CIE opens a world of entrepreneurial opportunity to Cal Poly students, faculty and community members and promotes entrepreneurial activity and dialogue throughout San Luis Obispo County. For more information, visit cie.calpoly.edu

Contact: Stephanie Zombek
805-225-4738; szombek@calpoly.edu

Four Cal Poly Student Entrepreneur Teams Win $35,000 for Their Innovative Startup Ideas at CIE’s Annual Innovation Quest Competition

A group of students smiling and holding giant checks

SAN LUIS OBISPO — Four student startup teams  split $35,000 at the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship’s (CIE) annual Innovation Quest (iQ), a high-stakes competition where Cal Poly students pitch their innovative business ideas to a panel of judges in the hopes of winning funding for their startups

Biology senior McClain Kressman and Nico Galin, a computer science student at UC Berkeley, received the first-place prize of $15,000 for their startup BioGlyph at the event, held April 29 on campus, with awards presented later at a local venue.  

“It (winning) was surprising — and it was fun,” said Kressman of Santa Cruz, California. “I couldn’t have done it without Nico, and we’re excited to see what’s ahead of us.” 

They intend to use the cash prize to further develop BioGlyph. The software streamlines the process of biologic, or medicine, development and iteration — as well as user modification tools — by allowing researchers to easily shift between visual, markup and serial representations of medications developed from living organisms, Kressman said. 

The second-place prize of $10,000 went to Instaboard, a digital whiteboard that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to allow users to illustrate their ideas and collaborate with others, created by computer science senior David Chen, an international student from China, recent art and design graduate Alina Chiu of Mandeville, Louisiana, and Andy Zhou, a University of Rochester finance and applied mathematics student.  

“It felt kind of unreal — like what? ‘Did that just happen?’” Chen said. “I was just very glad because for the past few months, I’ve been feeling discouraged … This is a backbone, and I’m going to be building on this confidence. I’m really thankful.” 

Logan Hughes of Brookline, Massachusetts, and Jensen Jalufka, both business administration seniors with a focus on entrepreneurship, and engineering seniors Elisa Horta (mechanical engineering)and Justice Radler (industrial engineering) received the third place award of $5,000 for Spikeless, a wristband to test whether a drink has been drugged. 

“It felt so great to win,” said Jalufka, an Austin, Texas, resident. “We put in a lot of hard work, so it’s really awesome to be rewarded. It’s really a humbling experience to be able to put this money towards our company.” 

Entein Feeds took home the $5,000 Brett and Leslie Eldridge Environmental Impact Award, presented to the top team whose innovation focuses on environmentalism and sustainability. The startup, founded by William Burns, a materials engineering senior minoring in entrepreneurship, grows black soldier fly larvae off of food waste, then sells the larvae as a protein supplement in animal feed. 

“It felt awesome to get appreciation for how hard I worked, especially on an environmentally friendly project,” Burns said. 

Fourteen finalists pitched their innovative ideas in Cal Poly’s Nash Family Entrepreneurship Lab. The event’s banquet and awards ceremony was held at SLO Brew Rock later that night. 

Past iQ participant and Pashion Footwear founder and CEO Haley Pavone spoke at the banquet. Pavone won iQ in 2017 with her pitch for a shoe that easily converts from a pump to a flat. 

iQ was founded in 2004 by Cal Poly electrical engineering graduates and business leaders Carson Chen, Richard Boberg and Laura Pickering. Since its launch, iQ participants have received over $400,000 that has helped launch several successful businesses, such as iFixIt, Liftgator and Alydia Health. 

“iQ motivates students across campus who would otherwise not think about taking the skills that they have and applying them in an entrepreneurial way,” said Tom Katona, CIE interim co-executive director.  

In addition to the four winners, 10 finalists were chosen from more than 50 applicants: 

— Pyrottack, a battery detection system that prevents costly battery fires in the waste stream by detecting batteries in waste bins before they are compacted., created by business administration seniors Penny Lane Case and Thaddeus Ziarkowski and mechanical engineering seniors Stefany James, Cole Miller and Sydney Fairchild. 

— RISE, an innovation helping Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS) patients take control of their symptoms and prevent debilitating episodes, developed by Alex Rosenbaum, a mechanical engineering junior and Aidan Rosenbaum, a mechanical engineering junior at Case Western Reserve University. 

— Munchie Automation, a hot food vending machine developer providing quality, affordable and safe food, founded by business administration senior Colin Brown, mechanical engineering junior Tony Aviña and electrical engineering freshman Ian McKernan. 

— PeggyAI, a software company helping agriculture businesses automate their time keeping, equipment tracking and safety processes, developed by recent business administration graduate Ethan Beck, business administration junior Isabella Beck and earth and science soil junior Thomas Telles. 

— Vlab Education, a startup providing virtual reality (VR) science experiments for students, founded by polymers and coatings graduate student Adam Langevin and recent computer science graduates Kaili Shan and Jarrod Tart. 

— Groundwater Pricing Calculator, a tool that can help farmers and county governments determine the cost of accessing groundwater, developed by psychology and ethnic studies senior Cade Creason and computer engineering senior Lucas Abdo. 

— Ourcelium, a startup reducing microplastic pollution by using a decomposing fungus to turn plastic waste into mycelium, which can then be used to create sustainable packaging alternatives, developed by business administration seniors Penny Lane Case and Thaddeus Ziarkowski, mechanical engineering sophomore Amelia Cameron and mechanical engineering seniors Stefany James, Cole Miller and Sydney Fairchild. 

— Tensormaker, a tool that makes building machine learning applications quick, easy and accessible, created by liberal arts and engineering studies senior Avi Peltz and recent computer engineering graduate Samuel Cole. 

— DrinkWise, a smart tattoo that monitors the wearer’s Blood Alcohol Level (BAC), developed by industrial engineering senior Owen Works, biomedical engineering senior Camden Ford, biomedical engineering junior Aditi Sriram, mechanical engineering senior Nicolas Rojas and business administration junior Michael Hennessy. 

— Zoetic Motion, a digital health platform streamlining the physical therapy process in order to improve patient outcomes, founded by computer science graduate student Zeeshan Khan. 

About the Cal Poly Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship: 

The CIE opens a world of entrepreneurial opportunity to Cal Poly students, faculty and community members and promotes entrepreneurial activity and dialogue throughout San Luis Obispo County. For more information, visit cie.calpoly.edu.  

Cal Poly’s Student-Run Hackathon Builds Interdisciplinary Solutions to Local Challenges

A group of students brainstorm in the CIE HotHouse. One is standing and talking to three other students, seated at a rectangular table with laptops in front of them.
Camp PolyHacks was hosted at the Cal Poly Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurship HotHouse in downtown San Luis Obispo.

SAN LUIS OBISPO –A team of Cal Poly interdisciplinary students recently won the top prize at Camp PolyHacks for their anonymous blog space, dubbed Lumi, designed to help marginalized groups build community.

During the two-day hackathon Jan. 22-23, 70 Cal Poly students worked in groups to develop a solution to an issue impacting San Luis Obispo. Each of the 13 teams was assigned one of four categories, including inclusive digital spaces, transportation innovation, small business success and groundwater sustainability. Teams could develop solutions in the form of a product, service, information or marketing campaign, policy proposal or a demonstration or prototype of a mobile application.

The Stardust Team won $1,000 for Best Overall Solution. The team also won in the Most Impactful Solution for Inclusive Digital Spaces and Best Logo categories.

They developed and coded Lumi for Cal Poly students who belong to marginalized communities to post, seek advice and find companionship. Team members included computer science majors Sage Meadows, Hahns Pena and Bora Joo; liberal arts and engineering major Leticia Mezzetti; and computer engineering major Arjun Chopra.

The event was organized by student volunteers and Cal Poly communications professor and Cal Poly Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurship (CIE) Faculty Fellow David Askay.

“I feel lucky to be at Cal Poly alongside such wonderful students from across campus — from liberal arts to engineering — who join together their skills and creativity at this event,” Askay said.

The first day of Camp PolyHacks included a 90-minute team brainstorming session followed by opportunities for students to attend workshops and receive coaching and mentorship from industry professionals and Cal Poly faculty members. On the second day, teams were given just over two hours to fine-tune their projects before presenting their innovations to a panel of judges.

Awards were given to the teams who developed the most impactful solutions for each issue category. Special awards were also given for achievements such as Best Pitch or Most Sustainable.

Other awards included:

— Most Impactful Solution for Small Business Success: Team Shop SLOcal, which created an app that helps small businesses in downtown San Luis Obispo increase sales by implementing a customer-rewards system. The team included journalism major Madison Vernon, software engineering major Aaron Bettencourt, computer science major Kannan Jain and communication studies major Kat MacPherson.

— Most Impactful Solution for Transportation Innovations: Team cYc presented its idea for a bike rental service that allows students to rent out their personal bikes to other students, as well as a “smart lock” that tracks the bike. The team included computer science majors Krishnanshu Gupta, Ishaan Sathaye and Nakul Nayak, and computer engineering major Ashwin Rajesh.

— Most Impactful Solution for Groundwater Sustainability: Team Permeable SLO, which proposed that San Luis Obispo use new building materials, such as permeable pavement, to assist with replenishing groundwater. The team included landscape architecture major Hannah Huntley, computer science major Grant Holland, history major Katarina Di Paola and computer engineering major Rockwood Frank.

— Best Demonstration of Teamwork: Team Shop SLOcal.

— Most Sustainable: Team Permeable SLO.

— Best Pitch: Team Fair Start developed an AI (artificial intelligence) algorithm that screens applications for employers in order to reduce biases associated with resumes and decrease the time it takes employers to read through job applications. The team included computer science majors Shehbaj Singh Dhillon and Anisha Raju, and industrial engineering major Michael Cassetti.

— Best User Experience: Team Fair Start.

— Best Prototype: Team WORK created a website for small businesses that finds job candidates that fit the qualifications that a business is seeking. The team included computer science majors Nathan Kang and Matthew Chak, business administration majors Wesley Lin and Zitao Guan, and graphic communications major Aidan Nesbitt.

The Cal Poly CIE HotHouse in downtown San Luis Obispo hosted Camp PolyHacks, which was cosponsored by Cal Poly’s colleges of Liberal Arts and Engineering, the city of San Luis Obispo, the San Luis Obispo Council of Governments, DRC Design and Red Bull.

Three new faculty fellows join Cal Poly CIE from across campus

Three headshots of Cal Poly CIE faculty fellows.
Cal Poly CIE's newest faculty fellows (from left to right) Paul Anderson, Jean Davidson and Katya Vasilaky.

SAN LUIS OBISPO — Three new faculty fellows join a cohort of 22 Cal Poly faculty members who incorporate entrepreneurship into their coursework, act as ambassadors for the CIE and help students navigate entrepreneurial endeavors. 

“CIE Faculty Fellows form the backbone of support for the CIE on-campus,” said Lynn Metcalf, director of the Faculty Fellows program and a professor of entrepreneurship at Cal Poly. “Together, they are promoting a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship.”

This year’s additions, who come from the College of Engineering (CENG), the College of Science and Math (CSM) and the Orfalea College of Business (OCOB) respectively, will increase interdisciplinary collaboration within the Faculty Fellows program.

This year’s newest faculty fellows all have backgrounds in data science and share a desire to engage students in innovation and entrepreneurship through data science.

“I’m excited by their excitement in being faculty fellows and their interest in collaborating across disciplines,” Metcalf said. “All three have a track record of accomplishment in their own fields and experience with and interest in startups.”

This year’s faculty fellows include:

— Paul Anderson, an associate professor of computer science and software engineering and the director of Cal Poly’s Data Science Research Group, which specializes in developing and applying data mining, machine learning and artificial intelligence in the biomedical field.

Anderson said he looks forward to imparting his students with an entrepreneurial skill set that will help them navigate rapidly evolving technology institutions.

— Jean Davidson, an assistant professor of biological sciences and the co-director of both the Computational Molecular Sciences Center and the Bioinformatics Research Group, a cloud-based computational research laboratory with bioinformatics and data science pipelines.

Davidson said she is excited to expand her interdisciplinary collaboration through her role as a faculty fellow and looks forward to introducing her students to entrepreneurship.

— Katya Vasilaky, an assistant professor of economics and an applied microeconomist whose interest in entrepreneurship began when she was living in Uganda, working for the World Bank and the Clinton Health Access Initiative.

Vasilaky said she hopes to use her role as a faculty fellow to address global economic inequities through interdisciplinary innovation. She believes global issues can be solved when motivated and clever minds leverage expertise from multiple disciplines.

Cal Poly Students Win $1,500 in Cash Prizes for Their Innovative Ideas at CIE’s 13th Annual Elevator Pitch Competition 

Elevator Pitch winners Owen Works and Camille Boiteux holding their $1,000 and $500 awarded checks.
11/02/22 - SAN LUIS OBISPO, CA: Cal Poly’s Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurship hosts their annual Elevator Pitch Competition at Cal Poly Performing Arts Center on Nov. 02, 2022 in San Luis Obispo, California. Ruby Wallau for Cal Poly CIE

SAN LUIS OBISPO — Two Cal Poly students won $1,500 at the Cal Poly Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship’s (CIE) 13th annual Elevator Pitch Competition, a fast-paced, high-energy competition for student entrepreneurs, held on Nov. 2 at the Cal Poly Performing Arts Center. 

Ten finalists, selected from an initial pool of 50 applicants, had 90 seconds each to pitch their innovative products, services and startup ideas. They were evaluated by a panel of judges on four criteria: how well was the problem or opportunity explained; was the idea innovative; was the direction was clear; and was the pitch persuasive.  

Industrial engineering senior Owen Works received the $1,000 first-place prize with his pitch for DrinkWise, a temporary tattoo that gives users real-time measurements of their blood alcohol concentration, or BAC. 

“Winning was a bit of a shock because I thought there were some really good ideas and pitches,” Works said. “(Before applying to the competition), I talked to a lot of my friends about my idea, and everyone thought it was good and said to go for it, and I’m very glad I did.” 

Works said he intends to expand his team and begin engineering the temporary tattoos. 

Camille Boiteux, a business administration junior with a concentration in entrepreneurship, received the $500 audience choice award. 

Her pitch for Swish Lash was the top pick of attendees. Swish Lash is a uniquely shaped reusable sponge brush that removes mascara in just a few swipes. 

Boiteux also participated in the 2020 Elevator Pitch Competition with a social academic app designed to make studying fun.

“I’ve been involved (with the CIE) since my freshman year, but this is my first time competing as a finalist and winning a prize,” Boiteux said. “This is crazy for me.” 

Boiteux said she plans to begin testing her prototypes to find which is most effective. She will also continue working with the CIE Hatchery, an on-campus resource for Cal Poly students interested in entrepreneurship or starting their own business. 

Other Elevator Pitch Competition finalists included: 

— Brake Buddy, a patent-pending brake light that uses progressive LED technology in order to allow drivers to gauge how hard the car in front of them is braking, pitched by Mason Elefant, a business administration junior with a concentration in marketing management.

— Feed, an Apple-based mobile application meant specifically for sharing food, which allows food lovers to share their food experiences and recommendations, pitched by computer science senior Isha Lamba. 

— Hermeats, a student-to-student food delivery service enabling students to deliver campus dining orders to one other, pitched by computer science freshman Sahith Karra. 

— The Mycelial Biodigester, a mycelium biodigester that can break plastics down into their organic components or grow a biodegradable plastic substitute that is similar to Styrofoam, pitched by Thaddeus Ziarkowski, a business administration senior with a concentration in entrepreneurship.

— ReBrush, a paintbrush with refillable bristles that allows users to keep the same handle even after the bristles have been ruined by dried paint, pitched by Andrew Choumas, a business administration senior with a concentration in real estate finance.

— Remote Work Vans, a rental campervan service that provides remote work professionals with a custom van that converts between traditional campervan and mobile workspace, pitched by Garrison Rowland, a business administration senior with a concentration in entrepreneurship.

— Top of the Bagel, a bagel company that focuses on innovation within the bagel industry and offers bagels with seasoning that covers both the top and bottom of the bagel, pitched by business administration freshman Elizabeth Darst. 

— VLab Education, a virtual reality (VR) company creating realistic VR chemistry labs for underfunded high school educators and homeschool programs, pitched by polymers and coatings science graduate student Adam Langevin. 

Cal Poly alumni Sara Glaser (Business Administration, ’21) and Madison Lewandowski (Business Administration, ’22) were the event’s keynote speakers. The pair co-founded HiLite, a San Luis Obispo-based fitness startup that connects users with a joint-safe workout solution that reverses muscle loss.

During their 15-minute address, Lewandowski said her “entrepreneurial journey began three years ago” at the CIE’s 2019 Elevator Pitch Competition. Throughout their college careers, Glaser and Lewandowski participated in several CIE programs and competitions, including Cal Poly Startup Marathon — where they met in 2019 — the Hatchery, the Summer Accelerator and Innovation Quest (iQ).  

To watch this year’s Elevator Pitch Competition presentations, visit the CIE YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/user/calpolyeship.   

Cal Poly biomedical engineers innovate new medical devices through new summer course

Cal Poly clinical immersion course introduces biomedical engineering students to the innovation process

SAN LUIS OBISPO Cal Poly’s newest clinical immersion course offers biomedical engineering students an opportunity to identify needs within the healthcare industry, then invent and prototype medical devices to address those needs.

The 10-week course consisted of two parts: a clinical immersion and traditional classroom learning. Students spent the first five weeks of the course shadowing medical professionals at Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center, part of Tenet Health Central Coast, familiarizing themselves with hospital operations and identifying potential pain points for clinicians. The second half of the course was spent in the classroom developing prototypes and learning about the processes behind bringing a medical device to market.

Students developed devices to track and quantify blood-loss during childbirth, reduce the time it takes to suture during a procedure used to connect vessels to one another known as vascular anastomosis, increase the efficiency of ECG readings and assist with patient positioning for lumbar punctures.

The clinical immersion course was created by Cal Poly biomedical engineering professors Chris Heylman, Michael Whit and Ben Hawkins. It was developed in cooperation with the Cal Poly Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CIE) as well as healthcare service provider Tenet Healthcare.

“Our relationship with Cal Poly is a natural fit that allows us to develop tools, techniques and technologies that will benefit the healthcare industry in the future,” said Tenet Health Central Coast CEO Mark Lisa.

The clinical immersion course was offered primarily to incoming juniors so that students could continue to develop their prototypes as senior projects, then work with the CIE to bring their innovations to market.

“We’re working towards having more resources focused on med-tech innovation, and this course creates potential future companies that could feed into the CIE,” said Assistant Professor of Innovation and Entrepreneurship Tom Katona. “It’s also an example of how the CIE was able to help faculty on campus do something that would have been harder to do had we not existed.”

 

About the Cal Poly Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship:

The CIE opens a world of entrepreneurial opportunity to Cal Poly students, faculty and community members and promotes entrepreneurial activity and dialogue across the university and throughout San Luis Obispo County. For more information, visit cie.calpoly.edu.

About Tenet Health Central Coast

Tenet Health Central Coast is an integrated healthcare system consisting of two acute care hospitals and several affiliated entities, including primary and specialty care, outpatient imaging and laboratories across the Central Coast. The hospitals are Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center, the county’s only designated trauma center, in San Luis Obispo, Calif., and Twin Cities Community Hospital in Templeton, Calif. Among their numerous recognitions for quality and compassion, both are internationally recognized Baby-Friendly birth facilities and both have earned the “LGBTQ Healthcare Equality Leader” designation from the Human Rights Campaign Foundation. Tenet Health Central Coast serves many diverse communities throughout the Central Coast, enabling all that come through its doors have access to quality, coordinated care and advanced specialty services at convenient locations. To learn more about Tenet Health Central Coast, please visit www.tenethealthcentralcoast.com.

Contact: Stephanie Zombek
805-756-5171; szombek@calpoly.edu

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