El Tejon
Member
Students at Purdue University win competition for inventing new soybean related product--a new "clay" target. Any THR members among the winning group?
Well, if Indiana is going to be mocked as the "Bean State" we might as well put those soybeans to work on something useful.
Pull!
http://www.jconline.com/apps/pbcs.d...=4YzE0Q6hIHKKT1SsjYKHxWM7KJ42xjBXCq152Vd1sxc=
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Purdue students score big with soybean invention
By BRIAN WALLHEIMER • [email protected] • April 19, 2008
Benjamin Hall couldn't pass up free Jimmy John's sandwiches last fall, and it's a good thing he didn't.
Hall, a senior in agricultural and biological engineering at Purdue University, was lured into a call-out meeting for the Student Soybean Product Innovation Competition. He wasn't really interested in soybeans, but he was hungry and there were free T-shirts, so he grabbed a friend and headed into the meeting.
"From there, things took off," Hall said.
Hall, along with David Conway, a senior in agricultural and biological engineering, John Mullen, a senior in health sciences, and Adrian Boeh, a sophomore in management, entered the contest. They created a soy shooting target, called an EcoDisc, just like a clay pigeon.
They won the competition, and then, just to see what would happen, they entered a couple more business pitches at the Burton D. Morgan Center for Enterpreneurship on campus. They won those as well.
"It's been fun and exciting," Mullen said. "It's nice to get some recognition for all the hard work."
The contests have brought a lot more than recognition, though.
In total, the group has won $29,500. They are in talks with the university to commercialize the product they developed. It could lead to a lucrative deal with a major manufacturer.
The Student Soybean Product Innovation Competition has been the starting point for several winning ideas: soy crayons, candles, lip balm, dessert topping and gelatin.
Jennifer Nordland, project manager for the competition, said this year's was the best in its 14 years. Five teams had entered projects, compared to a high of two in any other year.
"The top-tiered teams were the ones who made products that were really innovative," Nordland said. "It's for students to get real-world experience and take that into industry."
Other teams this year created waffle bowls to hold ice cream, after-sun lotion, a soy-based coal replacement option for coal-powered stoves and a soy-based liquor.
The EcoDisc team said the big benefit to using soy instead of regular discs is that soy will biodegrade in a matter of months, whereas petroleum-base discs will take years, even centuries, to break down.
The disc is so eco-friendly, it could be eaten by animals or fish after it is launched. To prove it, Boeh ate one.
"It tastes like popcorn kernels."
Well, if Indiana is going to be mocked as the "Bean State" we might as well put those soybeans to work on something useful.
Pull!http://www.jconline.com/apps/pbcs.d...=4YzE0Q6hIHKKT1SsjYKHxWM7KJ42xjBXCq152Vd1sxc=
*********************************************************
Purdue students score big with soybean invention
By BRIAN WALLHEIMER • [email protected] • April 19, 2008
Benjamin Hall couldn't pass up free Jimmy John's sandwiches last fall, and it's a good thing he didn't.
Hall, a senior in agricultural and biological engineering at Purdue University, was lured into a call-out meeting for the Student Soybean Product Innovation Competition. He wasn't really interested in soybeans, but he was hungry and there were free T-shirts, so he grabbed a friend and headed into the meeting.
"From there, things took off," Hall said.
Hall, along with David Conway, a senior in agricultural and biological engineering, John Mullen, a senior in health sciences, and Adrian Boeh, a sophomore in management, entered the contest. They created a soy shooting target, called an EcoDisc, just like a clay pigeon.
They won the competition, and then, just to see what would happen, they entered a couple more business pitches at the Burton D. Morgan Center for Enterpreneurship on campus. They won those as well.
"It's been fun and exciting," Mullen said. "It's nice to get some recognition for all the hard work."
The contests have brought a lot more than recognition, though.
In total, the group has won $29,500. They are in talks with the university to commercialize the product they developed. It could lead to a lucrative deal with a major manufacturer.
The Student Soybean Product Innovation Competition has been the starting point for several winning ideas: soy crayons, candles, lip balm, dessert topping and gelatin.
Jennifer Nordland, project manager for the competition, said this year's was the best in its 14 years. Five teams had entered projects, compared to a high of two in any other year.
"The top-tiered teams were the ones who made products that were really innovative," Nordland said. "It's for students to get real-world experience and take that into industry."
Other teams this year created waffle bowls to hold ice cream, after-sun lotion, a soy-based coal replacement option for coal-powered stoves and a soy-based liquor.
The EcoDisc team said the big benefit to using soy instead of regular discs is that soy will biodegrade in a matter of months, whereas petroleum-base discs will take years, even centuries, to break down.
The disc is so eco-friendly, it could be eaten by animals or fish after it is launched. To prove it, Boeh ate one.
"It tastes like popcorn kernels."
