On Friday, October 4th awardees of the Prototyping Fund gathered at the Tandon MakerSpace to review various methods and tools for prototyping. We encouraged participants to use prototyping as a means to answer a question. Over the span of the semester, participants will treat prototypes as “questions embodied” and translate their vision into something that can be used to collect feedback from users. Anne-Laure Fayard advised the teams that, “The prototype doesn’t have to be perfect, you don’t have to prototype the whole thing. You may prototype a small part of it - test, learn, and iterate - instead of creating a huge thing.”

Since 2013, the NYU Prototyping Fund has awarded teams of students up to $500 for Phase 1 and $2000 for Phase 2 to build prototypes, test and explore assumptions, and bring their ideas to life. We are excited to announce the Fall 2019 cohort -- 11 teams from across the University. Participants represent 7 NYU schools, with the highest numbers from Tandon, CAS, and Tisch.

We can’t wait to see what the teams create. Learn more about the teams below and save the date for the final showcase at the Tandon MakerSpace on Thursday, December 5 (3- 5 pm).

AM Security: Develop security methods for 3D prints to protect sensitive design data and create part authentication techniques. David Morehouse, Tandon MS’20 & Gary Mac, Tandon PhD ‘22

Brian: Programmable smart guitar with on-board sound processing and effects control. Ariane Schoenwiesner, Tandon BS’21

Ferra Flow: Iron Ion Flow Battery using cheaper, renewable, and recyclable electrolyte for large scale energy storage. Benjamin Sartor, Tandon PhD ‘23 & Dustin Britton, Tandon PhD ‘23

Fuerza: Linking strength to nutritional health. Nicole Parada, CGAS MA ‘20; Sivuyile Madikana, CGAS ‘19; Dennis Stephens

NYU Oral Health Center Multisensory Room Project: Develop a new technology to add to the Multisensory Room at the NYU Dentistry Oral Health Center. Veronica Alfaro, Tisch MA ‘20; Gabrielle Caguete, Steinhardt MA ‘20; Nicole Nimeth, Tandon MS ‘20

PentureFrame: Functional decor that offers an all-in-one storage solution for pens and 2x3, 4x6 or 5x7 memories. Brittany Leach, Wagner MPA ‘19; Heather Dumorne, Wagner MPA ‘21; Michael Leach

PowerBox: Power bank sharing spot which allows you to charge your phone on the go and return it any convenient location. Malika Baymuradova, Tandon BS ‘21; Rafael Karapetian; David Nakhapetian, Tandon BS’21; Cole Desrosiers, Tandon BS'20

Rethinking the Porta Potty: Improving the design of portable toilets ("porta potties"), including through the addition of folding capability, so that the units can be reduced in size for efficient transportation and storage. Nathan Weinstein, Stern MBA ‘20; Michael Lin, Tandon MS ‘20; Anthony Wang, Tandon MS ‘20

Skeleton Key: Building an alternate controller for the Skeleton Key game which is a modern take on a point and click adventure game where you fall into an endless, sentient library and have to lockpick your way out. Mary Georgescu, Tisch MFA ‘20; Connor Carson, Tisch MFA ‘20; Elizabeth Ballou, Tisch MFA ‘20; Palmmy Sivarapornsakul, Tisch MFA ‘20

Picsert: environmentally sustainable phone case inserts that allows our creative customers to change their phone case design frequently with just one single clear phone case. Hannah Ho, Stern BS’23 & Jeffrey Yang, CAS BA ‘23

Walkway: Walkway that generates electricity when stepped on.Benjamin Zhu, CAS BA’23 & Max Trop, Tandon BS’23