The Lemelson-MIT Program has invited currently enrolled MIT seniors and graduate student inventors to apply for its annual $30,000 Lemelson-MIT Student Prize for inventiveness. The application deadline is Dec. 18.
Past Lemelson-MIT Student Prize winners have garnered national media coverage from outlets such as CNN, MSNBC, NPR, the Associated Press, the Boston Globe and Time magazine, which have served as valuable exposure to the investment community.
"From a head-on view, the prize money and publicity attached to winning the Lemelson-MIT Student Prize have been of incomparable benefit to my start-up company's efforts to commercialize the ATLAS Powered Rope Ascender," said 2007 winner Nathan Ball. "We believe the ATLAS will have immediate lifesaving benefits both for its military use and for fire and rescue workers, and the Lemelson-MIT Program's recognition launched our work further forward."
Interested students must complete an web.mit.edu/invent/a-student.html">online application, which includes a description of their inventiveness while at MIT, two letters of recommendation, and a current resume or CV. Questions can be directed to Lemelson-MIT Program Officer at lemelson_awards@mit.edu. The winner will be announced at a press conference on Feb. 27, 2008.
The Lemelson-MIT Program recognizes outstanding inventors, encourages sustainable new solutions to real-world problems, and enables and inspires young people to pursue creative lives and careers through invention. The program was established in 1994 at MIT by one of the world's most prolific inventors, Jerome Lemelson (1923-1997), and his wife, Dorothy. It is funded by the Lemelson Foundation and administered by MIT's School of Engineering. More information is online at web.mit.edu/invent.
A version of this article appeared in MIT Tech Talk on October 24, 2007 (download PDF).
