黑洞社区

Five teams of 黑洞社区 students emerged as finalists in today鈥檚 (Friday, Dec. 6) Koch Innovation Challenge.

The business pitch competition, sponsored by Koch Industries, is an annual competition supporting the 黑洞社区 College of Engineering in fostering a culture of creativity, innovation, entrepreneurship and teamwork among students.

Cross-disciplinary teams of new freshmen and transfer students studying engineering, art and design, business and other disciplines compete for funding and scholarships to invent products and technologies via a freshman introductory course.

The teams moving on to the final round May 8 are:

Dinner Choosers -- A mobile app called Fork that allows users to vote on what鈥檚 for family dinner tonight.
Logan Bramble, mechanical engineering
Isaiah Esau, computer science
Marion Jackson, aerospace engineering

Lock Down -- A bicycle security device to prevent wheel theft.
Wyatt Abell, industrial engineering
Richard Oswalt, mechanical engineering
Ethan Piland, computer science
Madycen Ranney, biomedical engineering
Chin Teng Tan, engineering technology

Securi-team -- A secure box to elude porch pirates.
Boshra Althafir, engineering technology
Taylor Cazabat, biomedical engineering
Duncan Snook, applied computing
Joshua Storm, engineering technology

The Collectors -- A way to quickly and easily collect Nerf Gun ammunition.
Bailey Beck, media arts
Yakelyn Gonzalez Rodriguez, computer science
Monterrell Nelson, undecided engineering
Octavio Nunez, computer engineering
Alexander Olson, undecided engineering

Wire Installation -- A magnetic device to make pulling wires through walls easier.
Braden Botkin, engineering technology
Adam Brown, undecided engineering
Christopher Lam, undecided engineering
Nicholas Ridpath, applied computing

The final round in May will determine the overall champion team, which will be awarded a travel grant to attend the National Collegiate Entrepreneurs' Organization Conference and compete in the Global Pitch Competition in 2020.

In addition to the naming of the overall winning team, the People鈥檚 Choice Vote team will be crowned. This team is selected by the community through an online voting portal and receive an extra judge鈥檚 vote during the Grand Champion Competition.

Wichita State is distinctive for opening pathways to applied learning, applied research and career opportunities, alongside unsurpassed classroom, laboratory and online education. The university's beautiful 330-acre main campus is a supportive, rapidly expanding learn-work-live-play environment, where students gain knowledge and credentials to prepare for fulfilling lives and careers. Students enjoy a wide selection of day, evening and summer courses in more than 200 areas of study at the main campus and other locations throughout the metro area and online. 黑洞社区's approximately 16,000 students come from every state in the U.S. and more than 100 other countries. Wichita State's Innovation Campus is an interconnected community of partnership buildings, laboratories and mixed-use areas where students, faculty, staff, entrepreneurs and businesses have access to the university's vast resources and technology. For more information, follow us on Twitter at and Facebook at .

Based in Wichita, Kansas, Koch Industries, Inc. is one of the largest private companies in America, with estimated annual revenues as high as $110 billion, according to Forbes. It owns a diverse group of companies involved in refining, chemicals, and biofuels; forest and consumer products; fertilizers; polymers and fibers; process and pollution control systems; electronics, software and data analytics; minerals; glass; automotive components; ranching; commodity trading; and investments. Since 2003, Koch companies have invested nearly $105 billion in growth and improvements. With a presence in 60 countries, Koch companies employ nearly 130,000 people worldwide, with about 67,000 of those in the United States. From January 2009 to present, Koch companies have earned more than 1,300 awards for safety, environmental excellence, community stewardship, innovation, and customer service. For more news and information, visit .