Innovation Showcase: Highlighting the next big things in innovation

Student and industry-sponsored projects will be on display at the College of Technology and Innovation (CTI) Innovation Showcase, an annual event taking place from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., May 1, on the Polytechnic campus. Projects will be displayed in the Sun Devil Fitness Complex. The event is open and free to the public.  

With a curriculum that blends real-world problem solving and theory application in a culminating capstone called an iProject, teams of CTI students work with industry partners to create innovative solutions to real problems faced by national and local businesses, organizations and government municipalities. Innovation Showcase gives these students an opportunity to display their projects to the public.

The types of projects showcase CTI’s vast array of STEM-related programs, including projects with areas in military tool design, alternative energy, wireless communication, water purification and technology education methods. Industry collaborators include SRP, Lake Havasu City, the Air Force Research Laboratory, Orbital, Wireless Industrial, WebFiling, Mesa Arts Center, Honeywell and others.

Along with giving students a platform to express their academic emphases, iProjects allow students an opportunity to experience a practical, real-world application of those interests and develop job-ready skills like budgeting, project management and teamwork.

Projects that will be displayed at Innovation Showcase include:

Hair Recycling, in partnership with PetSmart. Students developed a method of efficiently disposing excess pet hair from PetSmart’s grooming facilities and discovering ways in which the hair can be used for various applications.

iPad training for education, in partnership with CK-12. Team members worked with teachers and students at the ASU Prep Academy in order to discover ways iPads can be used in an educational setting.

Microalgae for Wastewater Stream Remediation, in partnership with SRP. Students researched the integration solutions to wastewater remediation to remove heavy metals from streams and groundwater.

Creating Healthy Pool Water, in partnership with Lake Havasu City. Students examined current methods of water purification while developing new approaches of purification and their implications on the environment.

Service Module Mockup, in partnership with Orbital. Team members manufactured a model of a satellite service module that will allow Orbital to test new manufacturing procedures as they develop a new fleet of satellite systems.

The CTI Innovation Showcase is in partnership with Intel and the Arizona Commerce Authority. For more information, visit technology.asu.edu/innovationshowcase.

Written by: Sydney B. Donaldson