April 4, 2018 at 5:30 p.m.
Hope-area student advances in innovation competition
North Dakota State University has announced that a Hope-area student was part of a second-place team for the school's Innovation Challenge '16 award.
Mary Hedrick, a senior majoring in chemistry from Hope, is part of a team "Advanced Bone Technology," which entered its artificial bone idea in the products track. The team is designing an artificial substitute for human for use in the development and testing of new implants, medical devices and surgical procedures. It combines 3D printing technology with proprietary materials to fabricate an artificial bone.
Innovation Challenge '16 is an annual competition featuring new, unique or re-imagined products and services developed by NDSU students. The students compete for a total of $27,000 in cash prizes during the competition. The Innovation Challenge is presented by the NDSU Office of the Provost, in partnership with the NDSU Research and Technology Park.
A total of 25 projects were selected as finalists by an independent panel of judges. There are four tracks, including:
Team members include Hedrick; Felicia Marquez, a junior majoring in mechanical engineering from Rochester, Minnesota; Reed Erickson, a freshman majoring in mechanical engineering from Fargo: Andrew Dalman, a graduate student in mechanical engineering from Minneapolis; Ben Ferguson, a junior in mechanical engineering from Alexandria, Minn.; and Joel Hedlof, a senior in mechanical engineering from Wilmar, Minn..
The team's adviser is David Wells, NDSU professor of industrial and manufacturing engineering.
Chuck Hoge, interim executive director at the NDSU Research and Technology Park, said the purpose of the challenge is to encourage innovative thinkers.
"We want to enhance student awareness for innovation as a precursor to entrepreneurship and empower them to pursue entrepreneurship as a career choice," Hoge said. "At the same time, this is an effort to engage the business community with our students."
Final presentations were set for Feb. 25, and an awards luncheon was Tuesday, March 1. The team won second place and $1,000.[[In-content Ad]]
