Innovators Win with Solutions to Tool Storage, Earbuds, and Tire Traction
Olly | Adobe Stock
The UAF College of Business and Security Management awarded more than $45,000 in cash prizes to inventors at the 2024 Arctic Innovation Competition.
Redefining Solutions
The competition, now in its 15th year, invites innovators to propose new, feasible, and potentially profitable ideas for solving real-life problems, open to entrants from all over the world. An awards ceremony was held over the weekend in Fairbanks.
The top prize of $15,000 in the main division, for competitors ages 18 and up, was awarded to Finn Oestgaard a rugged tote box named Tute. A patent application is in progress and initial manufacturing is underway in Montana. Oestgaard’s startup company, FINN – Redefining Rigid Gear Storage, is selling directly to customers before extending into wholesale distribution. In addition to the 1st place prize, Oestgaard also won Sustainability and Arctic Kicker prizes worth $2,000 each.
Current Issue
May 2024
In the junior division, for ages 13 to 17, the $1,000 1st-place prize was awarded to Ear Buddies submitted by Danika Dawley. The inventor proposed a light fabric windscreen to be worn with audio earbuds. The product would attach directly to the ears, requiring no other fasteners.
In the cub division, for ages 12 and under, the 1st-place prize and $500 went to Grail Conley and Revy Conley for Get a Grip!, wire-mesh sheaths for vehicle tires to improve traction. The concept combines thin barbed wire for immediate traction with siping, or slices in the tire surface that increase contact surface.
Fan-favorite honors in each division, worth $100 each, went to Danielle Wrenn’s DART, which stands for Detection of Antimicrobial Resistance Toolbox, and Elijah Steer’s AI Consulting Services, with the 11th-grader proposing technology solutions that many businesses are only beginning to understand. Get a Grip! was doubly recognized as a fan favorite, as well.
An extra $2,000 kicker prize for college students went to the team behind Alaska Tank Sensor, the 3rd-place selection in the main division. Daniel Reichardt, Amber Reichardt, and Thimira Asurapmudalige devised a method of monitoring fluid levels in water or heating oil tanks using a submersible pressure transducer that relays data by WiFi.
Additional cash prizes were awarded to the inventors of special pliers for handling fiber optic cables, drone aircraft for rural transportation, a tactile book to teach drawing to visually impaired readers, and parking meters that double as chargers for electric vehicles.
The competition, sponsored by Usibelli Coal Mine, gives the community and competitors an opportunity to build lifelong friendships, business connections, and the confidence to turn their big ideas into reality.
Making History
The track of oil and gas development in Alaska shows the footprints of bold companies and hard-working individuals who shaped the industry in the past and continue to innovate today. The May 2024 issue of Alaska Business explores that history while looking forward to new product development, the energy transition for the fishing fleet, and the ethics of AI tools in business.