2023 FAU Wave Ceremony

FAU WAVE COMPETITION AWARDS CEREMONY

Friday, April 14, 2023

WELCOME WELCOME

Thank you for joining the celebration of student innovators’ accomplishments.

The FAU Wave program is an applied research and entrepreneurial competition that challenges students to develop projects that solve real-world problems. Only one student project will take home the Dr. Eric H. Shaw FAU Wave Excellence in Innovation Award. The outstanding social entrepreneurship project will win the Community Engagement prize awarded by FAU’s Office of Community Engagement.

This year, marks the inaugural collaboration with Palm Beach State College. Now Palm Beach State students can compete and connect with FAU resources and networks.

Here’s a look at a few of the projects created this year - all while the students managed their demanding work and school schedules:

• cube satellite to manage space farming

• smart recycling bin

• immersive reality event platform

• pet care nonprofit

• student organization to support foster children

• and more.

Congratulations to the 2022-23 FAU Wave student innovators.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

FAU Wave students display unbridled ambition and passion, propelling them to have an impact in their community.

The Wave program would not be possible without the generosity and dedication of its supporters. The FAU Wave team would like to thank:

• Donor Dr. Eric H. Shaw

• FAU Adam’s Center for Entrepreneurship

• FAU Division of Research

• FAU Innovation and Business Development

• FAU Office of Community Engagement

• FAU Office of Technology Development

• FAU Office of Undergraduate Research and Inquiry

• FAU Tech Runway

• Palm Beach State College

• And special sponsor, TreMonti Consulting LLC.

Now let’s take a look at the student innovations …

SCHEDULE SCHEDULE

SPOTLIGHT FAU WAVE ALUM SPOTLIGHT

After many late-night study sessions, during Brandon Feinstein’s first year at college, he resorted to picking out unhealthy food options from a vending machine when there were no other alternatives. This lack of alternatives led him to create Fit Oven, an intelligent vending machine designed to refrigerate, heat up and dispense nutrient-rich, gourmet healthy meals.

With the mindset of an entrepreneur, Feinstein said, “Let me see what I can do to change the way people perceive vending machines,” and proceeded to found Fit Oven, to help others maintain healthy eating habits, after he himself struggled to lose weight.

During the COVID-19-related shut-down, Feinstein started working on his business plan and learned more about FAU’s entrepreneurial resources to help him bring his innovation into commercialization. “I wanted to start taking advantage of the resources that FAU offers, so I started with FAU Wave,” Feinstein said. Through FAU Wave’s program he was awarded seed funding to start Fit Oven. “The FAU Wave program helped me understand the efficacy of my company and understand on a personal level that I am creating a sustaining business,” he said.

Feinstein was also introduced to competitions and programs, including the Frank and Ellen Daveler Entrepreneurship program, the National Science Foundation (NSF) I-Corps, University of South Florida’s Jabil Innovation Technology Challenge, FAU Tech Runway’s Venture program and FAU Adams Center for Entrepreneurship Business Pitch Competition.

“Brandon always has a plan and an unwavering determination when discussing his entrepreneurial goals,” said Regina Thompson, assistant director, strategic and economic initiatives. “I believe there is great potential for Fit Oven and I see Brandon’s company expanding into office building lobbies and airports as a quick and healthy food option while traveling.”

Feinstein’s passion to develop the company grew when he won $8,000 in the University of South Florida’s 2021 Franklin and Ellen Daveler Entrepreneurship program. “That was the time when I thought to myself ‘my God, I can really do this, people see it, I see it,” Feinstein said.

In 2022, Feinstein also won the $10,000 first prize in the 14th annual Business Pitch Competition held by FAU’s College of Business and the Adams Center for Entrepreneurship.

At the start of Tech Runway’s program, Feinstein entered the NSF I-Corps’ program to conduct commercialization research by interviewing prospective customers. “I-Corps was a rude awakening for me on so many levels,” Feinstein said. “I soon realized after interviewing customers that people don’t associate a hot meal with a vending machine, rather a Snickers bar or a Coca-Cola.” Through the I-Corps program, Feinstein said he learned that many people are interested in Fit Oven and that he needed to adjust his marketing strategy to attract more customers and change a consumer’s mindset to view vending machines as a healthy meal option.

Feinstein since launching his company, has built his business model for the vending machines and plans to place them in various locations, especially in gyms, airports, hospitals, universities and corporate office buildings. He also plans to partner with food banks and homeless shelters in the future to donate any near-expiration food from the vending machines.

“I always had mental health struggles,” Feinstein said. “I always dealt with obesity and through the FAU Wave program, it really allowed me to gather my confidence and drive my entrepreneurial focus into starting a company.”

TEAM PROJECTS

(alphabetical by project title)

Ace Space

Students:

Jose Sanchez, Rodolfo Rivas Matta and Christopher Rodriguez

Mentor:

Shihong Huang, Ph.D.

Project:

Ace Space is a platform for immersive, virtual reality (VR), and hybrid events. Young adults who use blockchain technology and augmented reality and VR enthusiasts as well as event managers, will use this platform to create and attend immersive events.

Ace Space’s custom 360 cameras give users an enhanced 360 experience regardless of their geographic location.

Ace Space revolutionizes the event industry. If one lives in Florida and would like to attend a concert in Chicago, the person would buy the ticket on Ace Space to access the event in immersive reality as if he were there in person. No lines, no airfare costs, hotels and meals. It’s all accessible from home.

Ace Space has the added innovative feature of harnessing blockchain technology and the use of NFTs to manage visual content, platform access, as well as goods and services. Welcome to the future of events.

AutomaticAI

Student: Christina Pappachan

Mentor:

Hari Kalva, Ph.D.

Project:

AutomaticAI is an app that allows media professionals and novices to automate the video editing process. While there are several artificial intelligence (AI) video editing applications, there is nothing that allows the user to use prerecorded audio commands in a video, such as “cut” and then output that video with those changes made. AutomaticAI allows users to edit the video while recording the video. This is a great tool for media professionals, as it will allow them to be more efficient and not waste time performing menial editing tasks. This app also helps those new to video editing. Media novices will be able to create videos quickly and simply, as no knowledge of video editing is required.

Augmented Reality for Visual Therapy in Ophthalmology

Student:

Shagundeep Singh

Mentors:

Harshal Sanghvi, Shailesh Gupta, M.D., Ankur Agarwal, Ph.D., and Abhijit S. Pandya, Ph.D.

Project:

People with visual field defects (VFD) have complications with their scope of vision. Although there is no cure for VFD, there are treatments which include surgery and visual therapy.

Surgery is an expensive option which can be unaffordable. Visual therapy is done in a lab setting per an optometrist’s prescription for the treatment of an ailment. Yet, a significant portion of patients do not respond well to treatment because they receive therapy only in a lab setting and then experience challenges in their everyday lives.

Augmented reality for vision therapy will allow patients access to therapeutic virtual environments for treatment of VFD in addition to acting as a disease detection method using artificial intelligence. This will produce a low-cost remedy and an effective replacement for the current remedies. This approach would be used in conjunction with rehabilitation facilities and optometrists who other VFD therapies on a prescription basis.

Binmo: An Automated Sorting Bin

Student: Danny Alice

Mentor: Charles Cooper

Project:

Sanitation workers play a critical role in maintaining clean and healthy communities by collecting, disposing and sorting waste from plastic materials. However, their job can be physically demanding, dangerous and time consuming. With this understanding, Binmo was created. Binmo is a smart waste bin supporting a sustainable and efficient waste management system for sanitation workers. When plastic is placed inside the machine, Binmo sorts it by reading its engraved recycling symbol and then disperses it into a separate bin. Sensors, machine learning algorithms and a built-in camera work in tandem to automate the plastic sorting process.

Binmo reduces the frequency and physical effort required by sanitation workers to sort plastic materials from waste bins while reducing plastic in landfills and oceans. Thus, making it easier to recycle and upcycle plastic. Tired of sorting plastic? Let Binmo do it.

Care to Help Pet Fund

Students:

Gabrielle Ruiz and Rachael Griffin

Mentors:

Christopher Strain, Ph.D., and Timothy Steigenga, Ph.D.

Project:

About 40% of pets in the United States receive annual veterinary care. This leaves 60% of the pet population without proper care needed to maintain their quality of life. A common challenge is transportation to and from the vet clinic. That’s where Care to Help Pet Sitting comes in.

Care to Help Pet Sitting is one of the first organizations to offer pet transportation to and from important appointments. Trained sitters will accompany pets during their medical appointments to take notes and keep the pet owners in the know. To make providing care for pets even easier, Care to Help provides a wide range of at-home services, including “per task” visits assisting in any situation, such as medicating a pet.

Care to Help’s mission is to provide aid for animals through reliable at-home care and efficient transportation to make the pet owner’s lives a little easier.

Carpal Tech 2.0

Students: Rachel Kavalakatt

Mentors:

Oje Marques, Ph.D., and Monica Maldonado, Ph.D.

Project:

The treatment of carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS), a peripheral neuropathy affecting 8 million individuals and more than 62% of pregnant women every year, needs to be propelled forward by the incorporation of technology to facilitate treatment and prevention. Patients experiencing CTS suffer pain and weakness in their hands and cannot carry out daily repetitive tasks. Last year, a wearable biomedical device for CTS management called CarpalWear was designed. This year, a companion app to CarpalWear on smartphones and smartwatches is being developed. The app integrates the inertial data processing algorithm and biofeedback parameters of the original device with the hardware of the smartwatch to provide a more convenient experience for patients. The app provides instantaneous biofeedback signals when patients’ bend their wrists into positions harmful to CTS and prompts wearers to maintain a neutral wrist position while allowing comfortable range of motion for monitoring, management and prevention of CTS.

Emergency Delivery Tilt-rotor Aircraft (EDTA)

Students:

Nicholas Duenas, Alexander Gaudreau, Robert Gaudreau, Gabriel Loreto, Benjamin Martinez, Abram Mikhail and Gino Muto

Mentors:

Oscar Curet, Ph.D., Edgar An, Ph.D., and Tom Lawrence, Ph.D.

Project:

Emergency Delivery Tilt-rotor Aircraft (EDTA) applies the best attributes from both helicopter and airplane flight to provide supplies during emergency situations. The design implements vertical takeoff and landing capabilities for small drone applications while improving vertical and horizontal flight transition. The tilt-rotor aircraft features a tandem wing configuration and a quad propeller motor system. Its design allows for decreased overall weight which keeps the aircraft light with a high thrust to weight ratio. EDTA mitigates transition volatility caused by overuse of vertical thrust while utilizing a propeller and wing combination for horizontal flight to avoid control surface redundancy. Additionally, its quick aircraft disassembly allows for compact transport and reduced maintenance costs. EDTA also reduces mobilization costs making delivery of supplies more efficient. Emergency response agencies, like the Federal Emergency Management Agency, could benefit from EDTA’s reduced carbon footprint. Delivery options via drone eliminate large helicopter surveys, reducing the need for risky personnel recovery, and improving fuel consumption.

Henna for Hope

Student:

Mariam Rizvi

Mentors:

Christopher Strain, Ph.D., and Timothy Steigenga, Ph.D.

Project:

A current educational crisis exists in South Asia with women and young girls experiencing the greatest barriers in pursuit of education. Girls’ education contains a transformative power with the potential to break the cycle of poverty, provide women the voice to fight against injustices and promotes equity of entry into higher-level education and the workforce.

Henna design is a semi-permanent tattoo made from a natural dye that can be applied to the skin. It is a cultural art representative of wisdom and good health, but there has been a lost understanding of its historical context and cultural significance in the West.

Henna for Hope funds educational programs in South Asia through profits earned from henna design services provided in South Florida. The mission is to help break the cycle of inadequate education for South Asian women through the intersection of art and humanity, one henna design at a time.

Manonda Sustainable Fashion Students:

Léon Reilhac, Davide Viola and Alex Hofmann

Project:

Many young adults express interest in buying thrifted and vintage clothing, but the current options are lacking. Popular marketplaces such as Grailed, Depop and Poshmark are often considered untrustworthy, while premium options like Vestiaries Collective and ThredUP have huge numbers of unattractive items and lack a polished appearance.

To solve this problem, Manonda is a sustainable fashion venture curating selected unique high-fashion, vintage, luxury and modern clothing online. Manonda’s mission is to protect the planet and promote sustainability in the fashion industry. This is achieved by partnering with OneTreePlanted, donating a portion of profits, and using only recycled packaging. Manonda strives to set a standard in the fashion industry by not only neutralizing negative carbon impacts but also regenerating natural systems for a sustainable future.

MicroBioSphere

Students:

Laura Pulido, John Stella, Neil Olea and Santiago Rodriguez

Mentors:

Stefania Volpe and Abraham Harfouche

Project:

Engaging students in science requires access to collaboration as scientists. MicroBioSphere is a digital platform that joins students together to investigate patterns of microbial ecology across the biomes of the planet.

Following the MicroBioSphere experimental protocols, students can perform ubiquity experiments at home and upload their data to the MicroBioSphere interactive map. MicroBioSphere will connect students locally as well as internationally to fulfill experiments and share findings. A competitor, Earth Microbiome Project, does not include a digital space for social interaction and thereby does not stimulate a sense of synergy among users.

Aspiring scientists require peer relationships to develop a deeper connection to the field of research. MicroBioSphere encourages students to act as scientists when exploring microbiomes. By performing the ubiquity experiments, students gain a better understanding of the scientific method and could bond with one another by fulfilling a common experimental goal.

Mind Check South Florida

Students:

Androff Cesar and Alexia Betances

Mentors:

Natacha Nettles and Regina Thompson

Project:

Mind Check is a community service program designed to empower high school students with the tools and resources to live mindful and organized lives. Many stressors from school and daily life continue to affect students’ mental health. Mind Check offers a safe space for open conversations and engaging activities. Through a partnership with Florida Atlantic University’s Owls Care Health Promotion Program, Mind Check connects with local high schools to lead meetings on topics related to stress management, time management, and self-care.

Peer interaction is a key component of Mind Check South Florida. By integrating peer-to-peer engagement in our program, students share their experiences while learning from each other. This creates a sense of community while fostering an environment where students feel comfortable discussing sensitive topics. Mind Check is an opportunity in creating a better future for high school students.

OrbitGrow - CubeSat for Plant Life Science Research

Students:

Jake Pearman, Dayanara Ochoa Rossell, Jauvahn Darville, Isaiah

Negron, Andre Fernandes, Naba Allahkrah and Matthew Monnette

Mentor:

Oscar Curet, Ph.D., and Xing-Hai Zhang, Ph.D.

Project:

Indoor farming companies rely on plant scientists and researchers to conduct testing in-house to validate environmental parameters that generate the highest yield for a specific plant species. The time, money and space required to conduct these environmental tests limits a farm’s capability to focus their research on plant propagation, disease mitigation, and harvest optimization. This is a challenge on earth for indoor plant farms, but also in space for space researchers.

OrbitGrow presents the solution to this dilemma through the lowcost application of a CubeSat farm which houses a fully autonomous environment control system (ECS). The ECS can create various environments for a wide variety of plant types to autonomously test plant environments for earth and space, including light color and intensity, temperature, day and night cycles, CO2 exposure, and watering cycle and quantity. OrbitGrow increases productivity, decreases costs and provides near real-time and summary data on each plant’s viability.

Owls Speak Up for Kids

Students:

Sarah Meyer Bertheau, MaryAnn Singer, Valeria Suarez, Victoria Flores, Ava Mansman, Allison Acosta and Gabriella Bueno

Mentor: Regina Thompson

Project:

Owls Speak Up for Kids (OSUFK) is an organization that advocates for children in the foster care system in Palm Beach County. Events are hosted where members hand-craft gifts, design care packages and create support for the community. The mission is to reach 100% advocacy through financial donations and volunteer work hours. The vision is to help change their stories by empowering the foster youth and encouraging them feel seen, loved and wanted.

In Palm Beach County there are more than 1,500 foster youth age 18 and younger. Federal resources are scarce therefore OSUFK helps fill the gap. OSUFK operates under Students Speak Up for Kids (SSUFK), which is a countywide non-profit acting as the lead organization. OSUFK was the first student chapter advised by SSUFK. This parent organization has chapters throughout Palm Beach County high schools, however, OSUFK remains the only college chapter.

Permaculture Pods

Student:

Krystyna Medina

Project:

Permaculture Pods is a student-led social entrepreneurial program that focuses on providing gardening education while establishing a sustainable county-wide food network. It includes the installation of a school garden and composting bins that students utilize to grow food and harvest produce. The food grown will be used in culturally- relevant cooking classes, donated to families through a school food pantry, and provide students with the opportunity to learn about agriculture.

Schools have the opportunity to provide experiential learning and transition their school to a more “green -facility” by participating in composting. Permaculture Pods is a food system network that supports this mission by connecting schools for mentorship, collaboration, and resources that empower students to develop their skills in farming and gardening. Student participants will gain certificates of knowledge for growing their specialized item as well as have the chance to connect with local schools.

Water Skimmer

Students:

Noah Andronescu, Marvin Medina, Daniel Vongunten, Joshua Donjuan, Victor Zander, Sheena Williams and Zaki Ramnarine

Mentor:

Oscar Curet, Ph.D.

Project:

Stretching over 156 miles along the central Atlantic coast of Florida, the Indian River Lagoon is one of the most biodiverse ecosystems in the northern hemisphere , and is home to more than 4,300 native flora and fauna. Threatened by non-centralized pollution and diminishing water quality, the lagoon has been suffering from large algae blooms that destabilize the natural ecology, endangering all life equally.

Due to the decentralized nature of the pollutants, the Water Skimmer is a mobile water quality monitoring craft that proceeds current stationary probe systems and aids researchers in observing more regions of the lagoon. Equipped with turbidity, temperature, ultrasonic and anemometer sensors, the Water Skimmer gathers data over extended mission periods observing analytical trends and applying data for potential solutions.

NOTES