2005
Westerly Innovations Babcock Middle School Westerly, RI Problem: More than 400 million pounds of computers, cell phones, handheld games and other devices are thrown away in the U.S. each year, leaving two million tons of E-waste. Solution: Held an ‘E-Waste Drop-off Day’ where they collected 21,000 pounds of used computers and other E-waste, and provided […]
Multi-Sensory Fire Alarm River Bluff Middle School Stoughton, WI Problem: Children younger than five years old and teenagers have deeper sleep patterns than adults that may prevent them from hearing the sound of a fire alarm in time to get to safety. Solution: Combine water jets and a voice alarm contained inside a stuffed animal, […]
The Chade Bag Edward W. Stitt New York, NY Problem: There is a huge disparity in size among middle-school students, spanning a foot and a half in height and 100 pounds in weight, which can cause problems for some students not being able to see the blackboard and teacher. Solution: An inflatable backpack that folds […]
Auto-MAT-ic Saddle Brook Middle School Saddle Brook, NJ Problem: More than 1.6 million senior citizens are treated in emergency rooms every year due to falls in their homes, many occurring in the middle of the night. Solution: Develop a secure floor mat that automatically turns a light on for a set period of time when […]
Bruce E. Logan, Ph.D. Kappe Professor of Environmental Engineering Penn State University, University Park, Pennsylvania Dr. Logan and his research group are pioneering completely new ways to make electricity based on recovering energy from waste. They have shown that it is possible to produce electricity from waste organic matter in water, with a device called […]
Joseph Chaiken, Ph.D. Professor of Chemistry Syracuse University, Syracuse, New York A ten year-old left in a dark room with a flashlight for a few minutes will usually press the light up against his or her hand or some other body part to behold the red glow. The red glow shows that of the colors […]

Vickie Boutiette Westside Elementary School West Fargo, North Dakota Vickie Boutiette is the recipient of the sixth annual Freida J. Riley Teacher Award sponsored by the Christopher Columbus Fellowship Foundation and the Partnership for America’s Future, Inc. Mrs. Boutiette received the award at a luncheon in Clarksburg, West Virginia on May 3, 2005. Vickie is […]

Ronald Eaglin, Ph.D. Chair, Department of Engineering Technology University of Central Florida Orlando, Florida Dr. Ronald Eaglin has designed and is currently working on Florida Integrated Network for Data Exchange and Retrieval (FINDER), a successful project that links over 120 law enforcement agencies in the State of Florida. Beginning in 2000, a group of Florida […]

Edward L. Reber, Ph.D. Staff Scientist Idaho National Laboratory Idaho Falls, Idaho Through the years, Dr. Edward L. Reber has worked on many different projects including nuclear nonproliferation, basic nuclear research, and spent nuclear fuel characterization, among others. Dr. Reber and his team at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) are currently involved in the research […]

Timothy M. Swager, Ph.D. John D. MacArthur Professor and Department Head Department of Chemistry Massachusetts Institute of Technology Cambridge, Massachusetts Dr. Swager’s research interests are in design, synthesis, and study of organic-based electronic, sensory, and liquid crystalline materials. His research in electronic polymers has been directed at the demonstration of new conceptual approaches to the […]