33
Past Winners - 2007
AccessAbility team members are (front) Manasi Deshpande, (left to right) Mickey Ristroph, Shailie Thakkar, Tarun Nimmagadda, and Matt Stolhandske.
The first year of the Social Innovation Competition, students from the University of Texas, Texas A&M University, Rice University and St. Edwards University were invited to compete. From a selection of 284 contestants, four finalist teams competed live for the $50,000 prize.
Congratulations to Team AccessAbility for taking first place!
After many hours of debate, with what turned out to be an extremely competitive field of exceptional ideas, the judges came to an agreement and chose four finalists. Each team presented their innovation and a panel of distinguished judges selected our grand prize winner and three teams for second place.
Congratulations to all who participated in our first year!
Watch
AccessAbility, University of Texas at Austin
Team members: Manasi Deshpande, Tarun Nimmagadda, Mickey Ristroph, Matt Stolhandske, Shailie Thakkar
Bridge Academy, University of Texas at Austin
Team Members: Sarina Hickey, Pegah Javidpour, Marialena Rivera
PAIR, Rice University
Team members: Chethana Biliyar, Matt Campbell, Elaine Chang, Stephen Dictor, Christina Lagos, Rajen Mahagaokar, Pamela Mathai, Payton Odom, Ying Shi, Jane Sundermann, Achala Talati
SunNight Solar, Rice University
Team Members: James Rapore, Timothy Burke
See Past Winners by year:
| 2007 Social Innovation Competition Final Presentations and Award Ceremony | 05/04/07 |
Winners
1st Place: $50,000 Grand Prize
AccessAbility, University of Texas at Austin
Team members: Manasi Deshpande, Tarun Nimmagadda, Mickey Ristroph, Matt Stolhandske, Shailie Thakkar
People with disabilities often face daily struggles navigating through a world built for able-bodied individuals. AccessAbility provides users with pedestrian-scale searchable maps, offering detailed accessibility features such as hill gradients, curb cuts, ramps, automatic door entrances and wheelchair-accessible bathrooms.
2nd Place: $10,000 Prize
Bridge Academy, University of Texas at Austin
Team Members: Sarina Hickey, Pegah Javidpour, Marialena Rivera
Due to their migratory lifestyles, children of migrant farm workers often lack the stability and support that is crucial to a successful academic career. The first charter school of its kind, Bridge Academy aims to dramatically improve the lives of these children by providing a stable and nurturing learning environment with a unique three-tiered rotational teaching plan to keep students with the same teacher for three years in a row.
2nd Place: $10,000 Prize
PAIR, Rice University
Team members: Chethana Biliyar, Matt Campbell, Elaine Chang, Stephen Dictor, Christina Lagos, Rajen Mahagaokar, Pamela Mathai, Payton Odom, Ying Shi, Jane Sundermann, Achala Talati
Uninformed of the educational opportunities available in the U.S., middle school and high school refugee students frequently fall into a cycle of settling for low-wage jobs. PAIR offers these refugees two new learning centers and a unique, interactive Web site, maximizing the number of refugees enrolling in college while simultaneously developing their confidence, computer skills and a more positive outlook on expanded horizons.
2nd Place: $10,000 Prize
SunNight Solar, Rice University
Team Members: James Rapore, Timothy Burke
With the majority of households in the developing world not having a reliable source of light after the sun goes down, SunNight Solar offers a sustainable cost-effective source of light for those in need. From just one day of sitting in the sun, the SunNight Solar flashlight can provide four to five hours of illumination, without fumes, smoke or fire risk, thus addressing environmental issues, illiteracy and poverty at the same time.
See Past Winners by year: