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For Immediate Release
May 20, 2015
Contact: Michele Mooney, 614-620-1507
$11,000 in Scholarships awarded at Invention Convention
Central Ohio Regional Finals
Columbus, Ohio—Aspiring inventors in grades K-8 brought their solutions to everyday problems to the 2015
Invention Convention Central Ohio Regional Finals presented by Time Warner Cable’s Connect a
Million Minds, on Saturday, May 9 at Columbus State Community College. Scholarships totaling $11,000 were
awarded to young inventors for their creations.
The grand prize award, the Edison Award scholarship for $2,500, was presented to Pierce Stephens from North
Fork school district for his invention, “Porta Fresh”. His invention purifies dirty or salt water to make it safe to
drink.
First Place Winners of a $500 college scholarship were:
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Grade 1, Walter Reynolds, Dublin City Schools, for his invention, “Flee the Fire”, an indicator that tells a
person if it is okay to leave a room in case of a fire;
Grade 2, Gretchen Reed, Columbus City Schools, for “Stay-Put Cheer Hairpiece”;
Grade 3, Grace Winks, Olentangy Local Schools for her invention, “Pringles Easy Slide”, which provides
access to potato chips without turning over the can;
Grade 4, Maria Brooke, Columbus City Schools for her invention, “Snow Shovel Boots” which attach to
boots to make a walk able path in the snow;
Grade 5, Seth Liyanapathirana, Olentangy Local Schools for “Apple Slice”, an invention that redirects
sound from an iPhone or iPad towards the user;
Grade 6, Lillian Jones, North Fork Schools, for, “Doggie In, Doggie Out”, an invention for a sliding glass
door that allows a dog to let itself outside or inside;
Grade 7, Grace Blanchong, Westerville Schools, for her invention, “Batter Up”, which protects a baking
pan from spilled or splattered batter; and
Grade 8, Malia White, Westerville Schools, for “The Gripper”, a custom headband that stays secure.
Devin Scott, a 6th grader from Lexington Schools, received the Kids Choice Award for “Aquaponics”, an
invention that enables the indoor growth of fresh fruits and vegetables. Second place awards were given in each
grade as well as ten Superior Awards and three Ohio Soybean Council Foundation's specialty awards, "Beyond
the Bean for Excellence in Agricultural and Environmental Innovation” worth $250, $500 and $1,000.
The Alumni Ambassador award was presented to Danny Staudt who participated in the Invention Convention
from 1999-2002, earning a Superior Award in 2002 for the “Hands Free Kite”. Staudt is a mechanical
engineering consultant and owner of Sci-Why Designs, located at the Columbus Idea Foundry.
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The Teacher of Excellence award was given to Jeanette Kuder from Bexley City Schools. According to one
parent who nominated her, “Ms. Kuder consistently goes above and beyond and devotes countless hours to
STEM programming at the school”.
A complete list of winners from the Central Ohio Regional Finals can be found at www.inventionconvention.org.
The Invention Convention awarded a total of $33,000 in scholarships throughout Ohio at three regional events.
About Invention Convention
The mission of the Invention Convention is to inspire curiosity, confidence, invention and creative problem
solving in our youth. Our goals are to enhance student performance in Ohio’s New Learning Standards
including math, science and language arts through administration of the Invention Convention program and to
increase the interest of Ohio’s students in science, technology, art, engineering and math (STEAM) careers. The
Invention Convention merged with the Ohio Academy of Science (OAS) in 2014 to offer programs that enhance
STEAM related skills for the full spectrum of K-12 students. Many students who graduate from the Invention
Convention often go on to participate in OAS's State Science Day & Believe in Ohio.
About Connect a Million Minds
In 2009 Time Warner Cable (TWC) launched a new philanthropic initiative, Connect a Million Minds (CAMM),
that challenged parents, mentors and others to connect over one million students to after-school STEM
activities to address this “inspiration gap”. To date, TWC has provided cash and in-kind investments far in
excess of its original $100 million commitment to inspire student interest in STEM. Program highlights include:
original PSAs that challenge public perceptions of STEM; a unique website, ww.connectamillionminds.com, where
parents and community members can pledge to connect young people with the wonders of science; “The
Connectory”, a one-of-a-kind online resource that makes it simple and easy for parents and students to find
informal science and technology learning opportunities in their communities; grants to support non-profit
organizations that bring stimulating, high-quality and affordable after- school STEM learning to students; TWC
employees, over 47,000 strong, who volunteer their time at community events like science fairs and robotics
competitions, and share their passion for engineering and technology with students at CAMM career days. In
May 2014, together with its partners, TWC exceeded its goal of connecting one million students to STEM
opportunities and today, continues connecting students to high quality STEM learning opportunities.
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