We did it!
Today the Lemelson-MIT Program announced the recipients of 2018-2019 InvenTeamTM grants. Our Rolling Robots Outreach InvenTeam was among the 15 teams awarded up to $10,000 to develop their invention further.
InvenTeams are teams of high school students, teachers and mentors that receive grants up to $10,000 each to invent technological solutions to real-world problems. This initiative of the Lemelson-MIT Program aims to inspire a new generation of inventors.
“The InvenTeams program represents the future,” said Leigh Estabrooks, invention education officer from the Lemelson-MIT Program. “We place an emphasis on STEM-focused projects to develop interest in these fields among youth. With InvenTeams, our primary goal is to foster high school students’ passion for invention, in turn inspiring them to consider careers in science, technology, engineering or math.”
The Rolling Robots Outreach InvenTeam is working to solve a pressing problem of their fellow students, the lack of sleep experienced by teens. Sleep deprivation is a serious, widespread issue for students, severely impacting productivity and increasing health risks. The team has proposed to develop a device to monitor and improve sleep habits.
George Kirkman at Rolling Robots Outreach Inc. initiated the InvenTeam application process last spring and attended training at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in June 2018 to help prepare the final proposal. Dr. Kirkman has been working with the students, mentors and a review team of professional experts throughout the summer to finalize the grant application. The team has also reached out to community members with expertise in fields related to the problem that the students plan to address for insight and guidance on how their invention can best serve the community. A prestigious panel of judges composed of educators, researchers, staff and alumni from MIT, as well as representatives from the industry and former Lemelson-MIT Award winners, assembled this fall and selected Rolling Robots Outreach Inc. as one of this year’s InvenTeam grantees.
Over the next nine months, the Rolling Robots Outreach InvenTeam will develop its Device to monitor and improve the sleep of teens. In June 2019, the students will showcase a prototype of their invention at EurekaFest at MIT in Cambridge, Mass. EurekaFest, presented by the Lemelson-MIT Program, is a multi-day celebration designed to empower a legacy of inventors through activities that inspire youth, honor role models and encourage creativity and problem solving.
ABOUT THE LEMELSON-MIT PROGRAM
Celebrating invention, inspiring youth
The Lemelson-MIT Program celebrates outstanding inventors and inspires young people to pursue creative lives and careers through invention.
Jerome H. Lemelson, one of U.S. history’s most prolific inventors, and his wife Dorothy founded the Lemelson-MIT Program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1994. It is funded by The Lemelson Foundation and administered by the School of Engineering at MIT, an institution with a strong ongoing commitment to creating meaningful opportunities for K-12 STEM education.
