After weeks of hard work, the finalists in the 2018 HackMines Newmont Innovation Challenge are ready to showcase their ideas.
Mines students, faculty, alumni and community members are invited to watch from 3 to 4 p.m. Thursday, April 26 at Lockridge Arena as teams pitch their innovations to a panel of judges for a chance to win $17,500, plus additional funding from the $50,000 Newmont Innovation Fund.
“The connections made through this experience have been incredible and the opportunity to meet with people and interact with an industry I otherwise would not have considered has been incredibly valuable,” said finalist Gage Coprivnicar, a electrical engineering major. “The time with Bud Rockhill [from Traxion] and Werner Kuhr [Director of the Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation at Mines] in and outside of class has been invaluable business experience.”
In addition to the HackMines Newmont Innovation Challenge finalists, two Mines teams that competed earlier this year at the 54-hour BattleBorn Hackathon in Las Vegas will also be doing special presentations of their innovations.
In March, the team of Joshua Rands, Seth Asadi, Matt Wojnoski and Ethan Bond took second place at BattleBorn, claiming a $5,000 cash prize for BridgeBox, a system of sensors connected to mining equipment designed to help operators easily identify and check the “health” of the machinery and submit work orders if needed. A second team, led by Phil Ruban and Luke Epp, created a hardware and software solution called Reagent-X to automate inventory, reagent monitoring and communications to and from suppliers at mining operations.
“All of these teams demonstrate the ingenuity and hard work that Mines students are known for," said Werner Kuhr, director of the Center of Entrepreneurship and Innovation at Mines. "It is gratifying to see that they are now realizing the value of their work and actively working toward the production of viable prototypes that may actually be used in commerce."
The Innovation & Design Awards will follow the final pitch competition from 4 to 5 p.m. The winning HackMines teams will be announced, along with the winners of the 2018 CECS Capstone Design Showcase and the winner of the Innovator of the Year Award. The latest cohort of University Innovation Fellows will also have their official pinning ceremony.
To close out the evening, the Entrepreneurship & Innovation Alumni Interest Group will host a reception from 5 to 6 p.m. where attendees can mingle and network with fellow Orediggers. All Mines alumni, students, faculty, staff and friends are invited to attend, but RSVPs are appreciated.
The events are part of Mines Innovation Week, a new weeklong celebration showcasing the innovative, creative and entrepreneurial spirit of Mines students April 25-May 3.
CONTACT
Lexie Mitchell, Assistant Director, Mines Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation | lexiemitchell@mines.edu
Emilie Rusch, Public Information Specialist, Colorado School of Mines | 303-273-3361 | erusch@mines.edu
