From improving accessibility for people with hearing loss to advancing organ transplant communication and creating safer cycling equipment, University of Iowa engineering students have made the most of competing in the Hubert E. Storer Engineering Student Entrepreneurial Start-Up Award competition.

Now is the opportunity for the next generation of engineering innovators.

"Many engineering students have great ideas but aren't always sure how to take the first step," said Kalindi Garvin, director of career services for the UI College of Engineering. "The Storer Award is about helping students see themselves not only as engineers, but as entrepreneurs and businesspeople. Developing an idea, evaluating a market need, and communicating a vision are skills that serve engineers in any industry."

Applications are now open for the annual competition, which provides up to $5,000 in seed funding to help College of Engineering students transform concepts into businesses through a “shark tank” style business pitch competition. The deadline for applications is Nov. 20. Presentations are Dec. 7 from 5 to 8 p.m. at the Seamans Center. 

Apply by Nov. 20

Established in 2002 through an endowed gift from the late Hubert E. "Bud" Storer (1959, BS Industrial Engineering), the award reflects the entrepreneurial spirit of an alumnus who launched Storer Equipment Company in 1962, not long after graduating. While Storer died in 2013, his business remains a force in commercial and industrial HVAC and facility management in the Texas-Louisiana-Arkansas region.

More than two decades later, the competition continues to support the next generation of engineer-entrepreneurs.

Technical expertise and ideas alone are often not enough to bring a promising idea to market. Engineers who understand customer needs, business models, and product development are increasingly positioned to invent technology that succeeds commercially. 

Past winners illustrate the range of possibilities.