Students’ creative ideas to improve waste management became award-winning inventions at the sixth annual FIRSTÌý³¢·¡³Ò°¿Â League Global Innovation Award presented by XPRIZE ceremony, held yesterday at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) in Alexandria, Virginia. Dean Kamen, inventor and founder of FIRST® , honored 20 FIRST® LEGO® League teams for their innovative solutions during the ceremony which included parents, students, Coaches, patent experts, Sponsors, and waste management experts. FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) is a not-for-profit organization that inspires young people’s participation and interest in science and technology.
FIRST LEGO League teams from 21 countries across the globe submitted their inventions for the FIRST LEGO League Global Innovation Award,presented by XPRIZE, the global leader in designing and implementing innovative competition models to help solve some of the world’s grandest challenges. A panel of expert judges reviewed the submissions and then selected a winning team and two runner-up teams after meeting with teams over the course of the two day event. The winning team received a cash award of $20,000 and the two runner-up teams each received $5,000.
WINNER – Styro-Filter by The Incredibots of Gahanna, Ohio
The Styro-Filter is a device in which Styrofoam waste is successfully converted into activated carbon that can be used to purify water. Using a low temperature, enclosed process to carbonize Styrofoam and etch it using chemical reagents, the process produces activated carbon with a surface area of over 100 square meters per gram. The activated carbon is then placed into the Styro-Filter, producing purified water. The patent-pending Styro-Filter process has the potential to reduce the nearly two billion pounds of non-recyclable Styrofoam that is thrown away each year in the United States.
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