Calling all BYU students!The Student Innovator of the Year competition gives you the opportunity to assemble your own team and create an innovative product to solve a pain point. $400 in prototyping funds is available to kickstart the idea and you can win part of $50,000 in total prize money!
Why start now? The final deadline to apply to the competition and for funding is November 1, but teams who begin early usually perform better. So, dive in!
- A biotechnical solution to remotely detect and monitor parasite levels within beehives
🎉 Second Place: Dry Rise
- A device that tracks how full a bladder is and wakes the user before they have a bedwetting incident
🏅 Third Place: LUNIR Watchbands
- An innovative buckle and watchband that fits every wrist size, adjusts easily, adaptable to all watch pieces
🌟 Crowd Favorite: Varroa Tech
SIOY Finalists
1 of 7
Varroa Tech
Varroa Tech
2 of 7
Dry Rise
Dry Rise
3 of 7
LUNIR Watchbands
LUNIR Watchbands
4 of 7
BRIZI
BRIZI
5 of 7
Indel Industries
Indel Industries
6 of 7
R3ALITY
R3ALITY
7 of 7
SudStream
SudStream
1
of
7
Showcase Results
Finalists
Honorable Mentions
Crowd Favorite
These 7 teams presented to a live audience and judges in the Final Competition on Feb. 27. Each team was awarded $4,000 for making it to Finals, with the first place team receiving a total of $12,000, 2nd place $10,000, 3rd place $8,000, and and the Finals Crowd Favorite winning an additional $2,000.
Brizi
- Ventilated car seat inserts to keep infants cool
DryRise
- A device that tracks how full a bladder is and wakes the user before they have a bedwetting incident
Indel Industries
- Using novel technologies to engineer a treatment for a mutation linked to over 50% of human cancers
LUNIR Watchbands
- An innovative buckle and watchband that fits every wrist size, adjusts easily, adaptable to all watch pieces
R3ALITY
- A compact 3D printer designed to print in any orientation, anywhere (yes, even in space)
SudStream
- An integrated shower and soap delivery system to streamline the showering experience
Varroa Tech
- A biotechnical solution to remotely detect and monitor parasite levels within beehives
Each of these teams is awarded $500 and is eligible to enter next year's competition with the same project.
CompraSi
- An app that empowers local vendors in underserved Guatemalan communities to network through WhatsApp
Crimson
- A robotic crop harvesting assistant that navigates autonomously
Easey Cream
- A cream that can heal eczema
FidgiTech
- A modular fidget box that can be reconfigured at will
Showcase attendees voted, and this team came out on top, winning $500.
Varroa Tech
- Finalist and Crowd Favorite - congrats!
The BYU Ira A. Fulton College of Engineering hosts this student competition each year in partnership with the BYU Rollins Center for Entrepreneurship & Technology. The annual Student Innovator of the Year (SIOY) competition has kickstarted now-successful companies Owlet, Khione, Myostorm and more across its 15-year history. Competitors are in the running for part of the total $50K in prize money.
Student teams sharpen their innovations throughout the year through activities like the IP Info Session and Speed Mentoring, making their presentations to the public and judges at a showcase on February 10. Finalists are selected to present their ideas on stage in a final event on February 26. Winners and audience favorites receive thousands of dollars of prize money to help make their ideas a reality.
Kickstart Your Idea
2024 SIOY Video
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Be mentored by BYU College of Engineering alumni and other industry professionals. Deliver your idea or product pitch, answer questions, and receive high-quality feedback from the mentors. You may just find a mentor for your team for the duration of SIOY and beyond.
Showcase is the heart of the Student Innovator of the Year (SIOY) competition where students from across campus share their innovations and receive valuable feedback from the public and industry professionals. This event also serves as the preliminary judging competition to determine the seven teams that will advance to the SIOY Finals competition. You are invited to attend this fair-style event, vote for the Crowd Favorite, and enter to win a prize!
Attend the SIOY Finals on Thursday, Feb. 26, vote for your favorite team, and enter to win a raffle of epic prizes!
Seating opens at 2:30. Pizza 🍕 will be served 2:30-3:15 while supplies last.
The seven finalist teams will give their presentation to judges in front of a large crowd. Each finalist team will receive $4,000 just for competing in the final event. Finals competition winners will receive additional cash awards of 1st place- $8,000, 2nd place - $6,000, 3rd place - $4,000, and Crowd Favorite - and more.
The Makerspace offers 3D printers, 3D scanners, Laser cutters, Micro Imaging Rig, Sewing Machines, Virtual reality and gaming consoles, wide format printer, wide format scanner, workspace, hand tools, and crafting resources.
CougarTech offers operating system installs, virus removal, software installs, hardware diagnostics, hardware upgrades, hardware repairs, data backup, data recovery, data migration. Students must pay for services.
Equipment and Tech Services offers laser cutters, microform, VR, experiential lab, computer accessories, computers and tables, GIS and mapping, instruments, multimedia production equipment, multimedia viewing, printing and copying, and studying tools. See website for entire list of services and products.
The Engineering Building Hardware Proving Grounds is a project work area with storage cabinets for engineering students only available by reservation.
RESERVATION INSTRUCTIONS:
Engineering students may use their CAEDM password to log-in on the college reservation website. Near the top of the page, click on arrow to the right of "College Resources" Select "Hardware Proving Grounds," click on desired cabinet, and input the information for approval.
Services include: free rental of hardware or equipment like electronics, motors, sensors, and gauges. Also offers workspace rentals, project consultation, and access to certain testing equipment (tensile testers, wind and water tunnels, heat treating ovens, digital microscopes, etc.). Students are trained according to the equipment they want to use and their prior experience.
https://ece.byu.edu/shop A one-stop location for all electronic needs: rent or purchase many types of chips, sensors, and equipment. Services include laser cutting, PCB milling, and 3D printing.
HOURS OF OPERATION:
Mon. - Fri.: 8am-5pm
CONDITION OF USE:
Students cannot take anything off campus. All students must complete safety training through ytrain.byu.edu (search college and then find ECEn checkout room). For purchasing and loan policies, see: https://ece.byu.edu/shop/policies.
Labs
MFGEN 101 Lab
101 CTB
https://mfgen.byu.edu/labs The MFGN 101 Lab is mostly a machine lab that offers metal aids, metal mills, and CNCA equipment. It also has a metal shearing machine. The MFGEN 101 Lab is only open to students who are in or have taken MFGEN 220 or ME EN 382.
https://cleanroom.byu.edu/ A class 10 cleanroom used for research in solid state, optoelectronics, photonics, nanotechnology, micro-fabrication, MEMS, micro-fluids, etc.
Contact Jim Fraserhere for use of the BYU Cleanroom.
HOURS OF OPERATION:
Mon. - Fri.: 7am-5pm If students are part of the ECE dept. or have a professor who is, they have 24/7 access.
CONDITION OF USE:
Complete training tutorialshere. Attend a 3hr in-lab training, it occurs every 2nd and 4th Thursday from 1-4pm. Contact Jim Fraser and let him know you are attending.
Prototyping Lab
EB 117
The Prototyping Lab has 3D printers, waterjet, laser cutting, CNC machines, mills, woodshop, welding equipment, lathes, and hand tools. Click here to book.
Any student can access the lab but they must follow strict safety standards: - Students must wear close-toed shoes, long pants, and bring their own safety googles - Regardless of machine experience, students must always ask for lab assistant help when running a machine
Plastics & Composites Lab
115 SNLB
The plastics and composites lab offers casting, thermoforming, injection molding, extrusion, compression molding, roto-molding, and most composites processing methods. Sells some limited in-house stock materials for those processes. Does NOT offer part design, material procurement, or mold creation. (Prototyping lab can help with molds!)
HOURS OF OPERATION:
Varies each semester according to TA schedules, contact lab to get schedule.
CONDITION OF USE:
Available to all students but they must learn about the materials and processes before using the lab. TA's can help but students should come well-informed. Students are welcome to contact Dr. George and his TA's to ask about which materials or processes to research for a given product. (Some equipment requires specific training. When applicable, TA's will indicate and aid in the training process.)
From products for ‘plant parents’ to AI-powered learning platforms for teachers, this year’s Student Innovator of the Year Competition covered a lot of ground. Held every year at BYU, SIOY showcases student innovators vying for bragging rights and cash to get their ideas off the ground.
James Orgill wanted to use his chemical engineering degree to help others learn about science, but he never imagined that he would become a popular YouTuber.
The BYU Ira A. Fulton College of Engineering continually encourages females to participate in their programs and events. As one of the largest competitions in the college, SIOY holds many opportunities for competitors, but few females have made it to the finals. This year, that changed, and SIOY had its first female team compete at finals.
Every year innovative students at BYU give their best shot at developing new technologies that can make the world a better place. With $50,000 in prize money on the line, the 2022 Student Innovator of the Year Competition once again delivered potentially life-changing results.
Across the nation, female engineering students face the daunting issue of being in the minority. However, at BYU, mechanical engineering student Amanda Lytle Bartschi produces inspiring results for other women in engineering as she defeats the odds and wins awards for her work.
Known for launching BYU students’ great ideas into real businesses, this year’s Student Innovator of the Year Competition launched its winner’s idea even further--into space, that is.
Have questions? Don't hesitate to contact us! We genuinely want to help students get involved with this unique and valuable opportunity to be fostered into the next innovator.