Big Ideas, Local Impact: Honors Students Shine at INNOVATE Challenge

A group of Stony Brook University's top undergraduates came together for INNOVATE: Honors Edition, an all-day innovation challenge designed to empower students to turn innovative ideas into actionable solutions for their community.

Held on October 17 in the Student Activities Center, the event brought together students from the Honors College, University Scholars, and WISE Honors programs for a full-day experience in design thinking, creative problem-solving, and collaboration.

"This program was about empowering Honors students to make a difference locally, to think about how they can use their knowledge and creativity to improve Stony Brook, Long Island, or New York State," said Hannah Estes, director of innovation and entrepreneurship in the Office for Research and Innovationand one of the event organizers. "Some students came in with ideas, others didn't. Watching them work through the process of identifying real-world problems and developing solutions has been incredible."

Ten teams developed and pitched projects tackling issues from healthcare accessibility and sustainability to campus convenience and wildlife conservation. The challenge encouraged students to frame problems, define users, and sketch out innovative prototypes before pitching their ideas to a panel of judges. Dominique Lee, industry expert, innovator and mentor, led the students through the day's objectives and goals.

For Catherine Sherman, assistant dean for the University Honors Programsin the Division of Undergraduate Education, the event reflected the mission of the Honors community. "Students teamed up across the University Honors Programs to ideate, innovate, and pitch ideas having real community impact," she said. "They presented thoughtful, researched plans and potential solutions to a range of pressing campus and local issues, from accessible healthcare to tracking dining location wait times on campus. It's been a celebration of the Honors student community in action."

Sherman added that the event builds directly on the values and skills embedded in the academic experience of the Honors programs. "The Honors Innovation Challenge complements the leadership and skills-based learning taking place in Honors curricula, such as the leadership courses in the University Scholars and WISE Honors Programs, and next spring, Ideas Labs in the Honors College," she said. "This impactful programming equips our Honors students with tools and experiences to be future change agents."

One team focused on addressing Long Island's deer overpopulation problem by establishing local deer parks to promote conservation and safety. "We have a problem with overpopulation and roadkill," said Tales Cheng, a freshman philosophy major in University Scholars, who paired with freshman computer science major Ken Weng, also in University Scholars. "Creating designated parks could help reduce accidents, support wildlife research, and even create community attractions."

For Christina Pan, a sophomore chemical engineering major in the WISE program, the challenge offered a chance to channel her summer internship experience at The New York Climate Exchange into an idea with local impact. "Right now there's a huge push for offshore wind," Pan said. "One of the biggest concerns is what to do with the blades afterward since they're made of materials that are difficult to recycle. Our idea was to repurpose these blades by transforming them into structures like shade canopies for bike racks or benches for public parks, all while engaging local artists and schools in the process."

Pan, who worked at the Harbor School during her internship monitoring water quality in New York Harbor, said the experience sparked her passion for sustainable design. "I think I want to go into either clean energy or clean water, definitely something in sustainability," she said.

Pan worked with teammates Leigha Chotalal, also a sophomore chemical engineering major in the WISE program, and Lily Kis-Horvath, a sustainability studies major in the University Scholars program who also interned at The New York Climate Exchange.

First-year mechanical engineering student Selena Chen and first-year biomedical engineering student Alyssa Ging developed an idea inspired by Chen's on-campus job at Intellectual Property Partners (IPP), where she helps market university patents to potential collaborators. "I noticed that a lot of inventions never make it to market because inventors and companies struggle to connect," Chen explained. "So we created an app, kind of like matchmaking meets TikTok, that connects inventors with companies who could help commercialize their patents." Both Chen and Ging are in the WISE program.

The app would allow users to post short videos showcasing technologies and connect with potential collaborators or mentors, helping bridge the gap between innovation and real-world application.

Students received guidance from mentors, including faculty and staff from the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences, College of Business, Career Center, and Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science. The event culminated in presentations before judges Michael Kinch, chief innovation officer; Jennifer Adams, director of innovation, SBU Libraries; Wei Yin, professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering and associate dean for Community Engagement and Outreach in the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences;and Jon Longtin, professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, who awarded prizes for Most Innovative, Best Presentation, and Best Impact.

For Derek O'Connor, manager of workforce development, the projects demonstrated what happens when academic excellence comes together with entrepreneurial thinking. "It's exciting to see Honors students apply not just what they've learned in their majors, but their interests in the community," he said. "They're learning how to pitch, how to commercialize, and how to bring an idea to life."

The challenge also aligns with Stony Brook's expanding focus on innovation education within the Honors curriculum. Sherman said that new courses like Ideas Labs, along with co-curricular experiences such as INNOVATE, "help our students think creatively, lead with purpose, and make meaningful change in their communities."

"These students are brilliant, driven, and so focused," said Estes. "They're learning that innovation doesn't just happen in a lab or a classroom; it happens when diverse minds come together to solve real problems."

- Beth Squire