The Honors College Forum, taken by half of the Honors College student body in fall 2015, focuses on social innovation to help set our students on a path toward a career with purpose. Students gather for lectures with guest speakers and also work in small seminars and still smaller teams to create truly innovative ideas for tackling some of the world's greatest challenges.
For the final meetings of the fall Forum, teams elected to represent each section presented their social innovation project in front of their peers and a panel of judges. The winning projects are exemplary of the kind of work our students are doing. Congratulations to the Pitch Competition winners and to all of the teams who presented!
Winning Projects
RFInD
A system that enables medical treatment and family reunifications in disaster triage situations by utilizing radio frequency identification technology, coded bracelets, and administrative reform.
Project created by Kevin Wu, Steve Hsu, Linda Farag, Uma Komatreddy, and Maisy Chung.
Professor: Dr. Sunita Kramer.
Nutrifer
An infant pacifier that is designed to address childhood malnutrition by releasing micronutrients in a gel suspension in coordination with health education.
Project created by David Shi, Emily Fokas, Benjamin Fischer, Michael Nitzsche, and Ethan Murad.
Professor: Louis Segura.
First Runners-Up
Centi
Develops savings plans and philanthropic funds for underserved communities by rounding up spare change from credit purchases and employing incentive/point plans.
Project created by Rachel John, Michael Leonardis, Sophia Samuel, and Nicole Savio.
Professor: Zhutong Gu.
PoliParty
Increases voter turnout and informed political decisions by providing multiple news, analysis, and fact-checking tools on critical issues and candidates in a mobile app.
Project created by Christine Botvinnik, Kyle Bright, Alexander Harrison, and Anna Tsatsos.
Professor: Morgan Campbell.
Second Runners-Up
COR
Provides effective phobia therapy through desensitization methods that utilize inexpensive, portable virtual reality technologies and counseling support.
Project created by Thalia Castro, Nicholas Kobol, Jeremy Kritz, and Nicole Steitz.
Professor: Mason Ameri.
SaverSack
Addresses homelessness by creating a durable, multi-purpose backpack that becomes a sleeping bag, offered at low cost, with a meal-coupon incentive program.
Project created by Thomas Brady, Nicholas Cancell, Daniel Ferioli, and Jonathan St. Ange.
Professor: Mason Ameri.