10th Annual Product Innovations Showcase

Welcome to the 10th Annual Product Innovations Showcase, which is the culmination of a combined business and engineering fall semester course that focuses on product innovation development. Over the past ten years 1,000 students have developed 200 innovations.

The event will take place December 4, 2024 at Western New England University from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. in Rivers Hall. We hope you can join us, and mark your calendar for this milestone.

Event Contacts:

• Mary Schoonmaker, College of Business (mary.schoonmaker@wne.edu)
• Roger Blinn, College of Engineering (roger.blinn@wne.edu)
• Glenn Vallee, College of Engineering (glenn.vallee@wne.edu)

This Year's Product Innovations

Health and Wellness

• Cooling Sleeve (Pitch | Poster) is a cooling sleeve for rehabilitation after sports injuries, post-surgery recovery, or soreness. The sleeve is a wearable garment that is designed for comfort and evenly distributes cold therapy to specific parts of the body, such as the arms or legs.

  Patrick Harrigan, Bryan Kane, Dylan Larrow, Campbell Manolis, Zachary Smith, Austin Wing

• Foot Flex (Pitch | Poster) is a cost-effective solution for preventing foot contractures in long-term bedridden patients by facilitating Achilles’ tendon extension. It is designed to utilize the deep vein thrombosis (DVT) infrastructure that is already in hospitals and extended care facilities.

  Joseph Costa, Seraya Dauksewich, Jack Leavens, Gabriel Sayre, Adam Sherlin, Noah Skopas, Kyleigh Wheaton

Home Goods

• Dry Step (Pitch | Demo | Poster) is a compact and portable device that easily inserts into a shoe to efficiently dry wet shoes using a high-powered fan and heating element, significantly outperforming alternate/existing products.

  Stacey Arendt, Jade Bamford, Roslynn Clark, Alyssa Clemence, Rebecka Kukharchuk, Alivia LeCoultre, Nathan Miller

• Magnetic Outlet (Pitch | Demo | Poster) is a modular, adaptive, and future-proof outlet that exceeds all modern power delivery standards.

  Danielle D’Amours, Vincent LoBalbo, Michael Milazzo, Isiah Priest, Atilla Troy

• TeleCue (Pitch | Demo | Poster) is a telescopic pool cue that provides adjustable and customized length to suit different game styles, play areas, or specific shots.

  Tyler Borrell, Jacob Boucher, Kevin Brockel, Krystian Kryczka, Ryan Lynch, Steven Savoie, Zackery Wysk

• Wall Master (Pitch | Poster) is a versatile tape roller mounted on an extendable rod, allowing the user to apply painter's tape to a wall at a variety of heights. The roller is designed to be used not only for painting, but also for hanging posters, or heavy-duty tape.

  Aidan DeLuca, Owen Fanning, Franciso Maysonet, Skye Mazzarella, Tyler MacDowall, Aidan Smith

Industrial and Commerical Goods

• Apex Helmets (Pitch | Demo | Poster) is an innovative construction helmet that features built-in air quality, temperature, and sound sensors to enhance worker safety and comfort on the job site. Designed to monitor environmental conditions in real time, it helps ensure a safer and healthier work environment by alerting users to potential hazards.

  Ashley Armstrong, Nicholas Carlson, Colin Kieran, Brianna Lanci, Kaila Mank, Owen McCarthy, Nicholas LaPolt

• Beer Buddy (Pitch | Demo | Poster) is a weight-sensored coaster that alerts waitstaff when a drink is low and needs a refill, enabling faster service and increased sales.

  Spencer Dickinson, Zachary Difronzo, Gianna Fiore, Brandon Greger, William Hefferle, Elizabeth Heiney, Kyle Nelson, Gabriel Spry

• Cerberus (Pitch | Demo | Poster) is a novel method for tracking automatic rifle rounds fired to help military and law enforcement personnel remain aware of remaining ammunition during critical operations.

  Noah Huynh, Alex Lee, Douglas MacPhail, Christopher Morris, Brandon Pepin, Raffael Raduazo, Peter Patrakis

• Rocket Filament Dryer (Pitch | Demo | Poster) is designed to optimize the performance of 3D Printers by effectively removing moisture from filament as it is used, eliminating the delays of batch drying. This dryer ensures consistent quality in printed parts and projects, while reducing material waste and print failures.

  Nathan DiSalvo, Daniel Hocog, Natalie Loudon, Luke Michaels, Jeremy Okenquist, Kaitlyn Parisan, Denis Protsun

Pet Care

• Climate Crate (Pitch | Poster) is a temperature-controlled dog crate that can heat or cool a dog using heat pump technology, powered by an AC power supply. Through innovative technology and carefully selected materials, this product is semi-portable, weather resistant, and features easy to control remote technology, showcasing its safety, ease of use, and overall user and pet-friendly experience.

  Tyler Allen, Caitlin Guntly, Chris Lapointe, Meghan Letourneau, Alexander Wolfe

• Pet-Temp (Pitch | Demo | Poster) is an everyday temperature monitoring dog collar which alerts pet owners of excessive temperature environments through a mobile app in real time to ensure focus on pet health and safety.

  Ryan Bethin, Jonathan Dubour, Haley Fagan, Hudson Guilmartin, Joseph Michalic, Luke Stefaniak, Vy Vu
  

Outdoor Sports

• Armourdillo Thumb Guard (Pitch | Demo | Poster) is an innovation for the current lacrosse goalie glove made to enhance protection and mobility without affecting the playing capability of the athlete during use.

  Ralph Albanese, Kim Baumann, Valerie Connolly, Keara Conroy, Kali Grimes, Max Kupferschmid, Jonathon Salsbury, Carli Simons

• Club Caddy (Pitch | Demo | Poster) is a convenient device that alerts golfers when they have left a club behind. Universally fits any golf bag ensuring compatibility and functionality. 

  Charles Bemis, Nathan Clarke, Kyle Charria, Daniel Coveno, Ryan Johanson, Dennis Kotee, Ryan Larson

• Toasted Palms (Pitch | Demo | Poster) are winter gloves designed to be thin and durable with a Kevlar® outer layer and a secure, built-in compartment for disposable hand-warmers, providing consistent warmth, comfort, and dexterity in cold conditions.

  Ryan Darling, Ethan Flint, Zachariah Kuenzi, Ryan Pedersen, Zachary Schroeder, Nicole Sebastino