Gainesville, FL — Judges for the 15th Annual Cade Prize for Inventivity named this year’s fifteen finalists. Finalists will compete to win $10,000 in their respective categories — Agriculture + Environmental, Healthcare, Technology, Energy, and Wildcard — and are invited to compete in the final round of live judging at the awards ceremony on Wednesday, September 25, 2024 at the Cade Museum for Creativity and Invention in Gainesville, Florida.
At the event, finalists will mingle with attendees, show off their innovations in an expo-style format, and meet one-on-one with the judges. After a round of live judging, the winners of the categories will be announced and the final five will present their pitches live on stage to compete for the Cade Prize for Inventivity™ Grand Prize and take home an additional $50,000 in cash along with hours of free product consulting and legal services.
This year’s finalists include:
| Category | Inventor & Innovation | State |
| Agriculture + Environmental | Coral Lok by Ocean Rescue Alliance International – System for rapid attachment of coral to natural habitats or artificial structures for marine restoration. | FL |
| Agriculture + Environmental | Wiggle Brew – Organic fertilizer and soil amendments designed to fight pests while simultaneously feeding plants. | FL |
| Agriculture + Environmental | Blue Chemistry by Cordelia Biosciences – Biomanufacturing system for producing chemicals from coral reef microbes. | FL |
| Energy | Smart Particles by SynMatter – Smart materials that create sustainable, higher performance and longer-lasting products. | FL |
| Energy | SiMod by Moye Consultants – A simultaneous battery and capacitor design tool. | FL |
| Energy | Energy Transfer System by The Standard Hydrogen Corporation – A renewable energy driven system that generates, stores and utilizes hydrogen to provide electrical services including EV charging and resiliency, as well as fuel and energy for non-combustion vehicles using the same infrastructure. | NY |
| Healthcare | RahmSD Guardian by Rahm Sensor Development, Inc. – Zero-touch monitoring of heart rate, respiratory rate, and body temperature. | FL |
| Healthcare | iSperm by CellARTs – Personalized solutions for male reproductive problems. | CA |
| Healthcare | PainPredict by SRC Biosciences – Early Pain Detection (EPD) tool that combines continuous neonate monitoring with deep learning to predict the onset/offset of severe neonatal pain. | FL |
| Technology | AiWover by Sarah Ostadabbas & Northeastern University – AI-guided, cloud-based baby monitoring system. | MA |
| Technology | MRGN – AI-powered business intelligence platform that automates business decision-making by analyzing market factors and corporate data in real time. | NY |
| Technology | Disability Claim Builder by Unbound Disability Claims – A platform to streamline the Social Security Disability (SSD) application process. | FL |
| Wildcard | MagLev by VeriChem – Drug detection tool that preserves sample integrity and improves the accuracy of drug detection. | FL |
| Wildcard | Optima Planner by OptimaMinds – Agenda planner application embedded with NFC technology that captures handwritten data to sync with digital calendars. | RI |
| Wildcard | Gravitational Load Transposition Effect (GLTE) by Illinois Institute of Technology & Dusault Engineering — A novel load balancing system for building structures. | IL |
As a national competition, the Cade Prize accepted applications from inventors and entrepreneurs from a total of 19 states and with affiliations ranging from research universities, the private sector, and technology transfer organizations.
“The applications we received this year were excellent, which made choosing our finalists even harder. We’re not just looking for great ideas, but for innovations that have significant market potential and a chance to make a big impact,” said Cade co-founder and Cade Prize judge Richard Miles.
Final judging will take place at the awards ceremony on Wednesday, September 25, 2024 from 6:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at the Cade Museum for Creativity and Invention in Gainesville, Florida. Tickets are on sale at cadeprize.org.
This year’s prize is sponsored by Scott R. MacKenzie, The Community Foundation of North Central Florida, The Florida High Tech Corridor, OneSixOne Ventures, Saliwanchik, Lloyd & Eisenschenk, 3D Musketeers, NVision Strategies and Hyatt Place Downtown.
About
The Cade Prize for Inventivity — named after Dr. Robert Cade, lead inventor behind Gatorade — celebrates inventors and entrepreneurs, who, through an innovative invention, demonstrate a creative approach to addressing problems in their field of expertise. Learn more at cadeprize.org.
Media Contact
Julie DeCarmine, jdecarmine@cademuseum.org