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Contest pushes students to think up new uses for everyday objects

About 20 plastic bags, a little wax paper and an iron were all it took for three Cal State Long Beach students to take home a $500 first-place prize Tuesday afternoon at the Innovation Challenge Showcase.

The Innovation Challenge invited students to create new monetary and social value for one of three categories of objects: a light bulb, a CD or any item considered to be reusable waste.

Team Innovative Inertia beat out 35 other teams to win the Society for Innovation and Entrepreneurship’s (SIE) first Innovation Challenge.

Kyohei Mimura and sisters Tanisha and Tiffany Washington — the three members of Team Innovative Inertia — used plastic grocery bags to sculpt wearable shoes that they hope will protect the feet of underprivileged people of developing nations, as well as those in local communities.

“I think the inspiration for the shoes came from what myself and my team members [saw] all round us in the world,” said Tanisha Washington, a senior management and information systems major. “A lot of need.”

After structuring the shoes, an iron is used to heat the wax paper and plastic until it is hard and flexible.

The three objects that the teams would work with were kept secret until six days before the contest officially began.

Participating teams each had to produce either a three-minute video or a five-page report explaining how they created new value for their selected object and how it could be implemented.

The $300 second-place prize went to Jason Sean.

Sean developed “Encouraging Rolls” — toilet paper rolls that reveal an encouraging phrase when the roll is empty.

The $200 first-place prize went to Siva Mandadi and Sashidhar Arcot of Team Vision.

Mandadi and Arcot built a chest drawer, CD/DVD rack, shoe rack and laptop table out of used cardboard boxes.

“There really weren’t any guidelines as far as what to do on the video or report,” said Chris Chau, a senior financial management major and member of a participating team, Team Bravo.

Chin Chang, professor of electrical engineering, hopes the challenge will eventually lead to more projects joining the CSULB College of Engineering and College of Business Administration.

“There is a big portion of students interested in opening their own business,” Chang said. “We want to help them, not just with case studies, but actually help them start their business.”

Chang was one of five speakers at the showcase that included the deans of the College of Engineering and College of Business Administration.

Karen Gould, provost and senior vice president of Academic Affairs, gave an impromptu speech prior to the announcement of the winners.

Gould encouraged the teams to continue their entrepreneurial efforts, but to also help activities that promote them.

“If you do that … I promise that the provost office and Academic Affairs will step up as well,” Gould said. “We will turn this into a really exciting annual event, and you will have been the founders.”

The College of Engineering and the College of Business Administration provided SIE with the total prize pool of $1,000.

The panel of judges consisted of staff members from Student Life and Development and Student Services.

At the end of the showcase, spectators and participants surrounded team Innovative Inertia, eager to see the yellow slip-on shoes.

“Available at your local grocery store,” Tanisha Washington said, jokingly.

Team Innovation Inertia’s winning video:

The updated version of this story was posted at 9:37 p.m. on March 22

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