Entrepreneurial Institute

Announcing the Spring 2014 Awardees of the NYU Prototyping Fund!

Posted By Entrepreneurial Institute
on Wed, Mar 26, 2014

Last fall, the Greenhouse at Poly and the NYU Entrepreneurial Institute began collaborating on a new program called the NYU Prototyping Fund to give students across NYU access to funding and other resources they need to develop hardware and software prototypes.  After a successful pilot last semester, we’re happy to be awarding our second round of funds this spring.

Our objectives for this program are straightforward:

  • Provide students encouragement and resources to build things, helping them bring their ideas to life
  • Help students articulate and test their assumptions and / or move to the next stage of product development
  • Encourage collaboration and the cross-pollination of ideas

The Fund will distribute $4,000 to ~12 teams per semester, with a maximum award of $500 per team. Funds will be used to purchase materials and tools needed to build their prototypes. In addition to funding, we host a workshop with prototyping experts from IDEO to educate fund recipients on what prototyping is, why it is important, and what makes a good prototype. 

Along with the funds and know-how for building the prototype, we recognize that another important resource student-teams need is access to the materials and tools required to actually build the prototypes. We’re fortunate to have the support of the NYU Advanced Media Studio, which provides the NYU community with access to a wealth of equipment for hardware prototyping including, laser cutting and etching tools, rapid prototyping/3D printers, and 3D scanners. In addition, they offer project development consultation to coach students through the prototyping process.

The response this program has received from students across the University has been tremendous - a clear signal that we are filling a gap in our offerings for student entrepreneurs and innovators. This semester, we received 50 team applications, double the number we received in the fall, representing 9 NYU schools. Of the teams who applied, 12 teams were collaborations between students from multiple NYU schools.

Congratulations to the following teams for being selected for the Spring 2014 NYU Prototyping Fund awards! Join us for the NYU Prototyping Fund Project Showcase on Wednesday, May 7th from 1-3pm at the Greenhouse at Poly (6 Metrotech) to see what they create!

Prototyping Fund Awardees – Spring 2014

  • Beacon: Rucha Patwardhan (ITP); Amelia Winger-Bearskin (ITP)
  • Cognitive ToyBox: Shung Huang (Stern); Lindsey Jones (Stern); Tammy Kwan (Stern); Tianyu Wu (ITP)
  • Flavored Water Purification Drops: Ruchi Hazaray (Wagner); Allison Whaley (Stern); Yuan Wang (Poly)
  • Flow: Claudia Paz (Wagner); Zhenzhen Qi (ITP); Yang Wang (ITP)
  • GreenFeet: Achintya Ashok (Poly); Hubert Kim (Poly); Rahad Miah (Poly); Michael Richmond (Poly)
  • Hacker’s Kitchen: Aditya Brahmabhatt (Poly); Rafael Carabano (Poly); Roberto Loria (Poly); Shuhui Sun (Poly); Yuan Wang (Poly)
  • Kittiebots: Maria Paula Saba dos Reis (ITP)
  • Orb Solar Technology: Itamar Lilienthal (Steinhardt); Grayson Zulauf
  • OT/PT Tech: Diana Freed (Tisch); Claire Kearney-Volpe (ITP); Michelle Penso (Steinhardt); Nikki Zeichner (Poly)
  • Smart Lock G2: Kwok Ben Mak (Poly); Arthur Popovich (Poly); Zhuo Ying Wu (Poly)
  • Soil for Air: Erika Maher (ITP)
  • Specimen Compression Device: Stephanie Blank (SOM); Gizelka David-West (SOM); Patrick Flynn; Jeffery Laut (Poly)
  • Tibia Femur Research: Yang-Ting Lee (Poly)

Related