Seven College of Engineering & Applied Science undergraduates put their engineering know-how to the test at a SPARK Innovation Competition—the first to be held in the Midwest– Feb. 28-March 1, 2019, at the Iron Horse Hotel in Milwaukee.
SPARK is a 24-hour, team innovation competition that aims to add spark to the fields of advanced manufacturing, energy, environment and water. It is sponsored by Syracuse-based O’Brien & Gere in coordination with industry partners. Partners in this competition were Chemtrade, Diageo and Hydrite.
The Milwaukee competition drew 35 students from UWM, Northwestern University and Purdue University, who were pooled and divided into seven teams of five. Each team was given an industry challenge and had one day to collaborate on a solution, create a presentation, practice their presentation and, finally, pitch their idea to judges. The panel of four judges included Rani Elhajjar, associate professor, civil & environmental engineering.
The top three teams were awarded cash prizes and included three UWM students:
- Thomas Brzozowski, sophomore, biomedical engineering, participated in a team that solved a challenge formulated by Hydrite and won 1st place.
- Kaley Camber and Madeline Horinek, both juniors in mechanical engineering, participated in a team that solved a challenge formulated by Chemtrade and won 2nd place.
- Leah Stewart, senior, civil engineering, participated in a team that solved a challenge formulated by Hydrite and won 3rd place.
The three other students who competed were: Brandon Fredricks, sophomore, applied computing; Rosalba Huerta, freshman, mechanical engineering; and Kaitlyn Jankowski, junior, civil engineering.
“The event provided all students with a chance to solve real-world challenges, network with industry professionals and improve their presentation skills,” said Hector Bravo, who coordinated the college’s participation. Bravo is professor and department chair, civil & environmental engineering.
Jennie Klumpp, academic advisor for the college, recruited the student challengers.
To date, there have been 13 SPARK competitions in cities including Philadelphia and Syracuse.