Students at the University of Pittsburgh are active, experiential learners who view acquiring knowledge not as an end, but rather a means to apply their insight and creativity to solve problems and make an impact.
Nowhere is this better exemplified than the annual Big Idea Competition hosted by the Big Idea Center (BIC), Pitt’s hub for student innovation and entrepreneurship.
In its sixteenth year, the 2024 Big Idea Competition was the most rigorous yet. What once was the only opportunity for Pitt students to step into innovation and entrepreneurship has become the Big Idea Center’s signature competition for student-led teams who have been committed to turning an idea to reality.
This year’s competition, which awarded nearly $80,000 to nine winning teams, featured a wide array of student innovations, including applying artificial intelligence to create a recruiting platform for STEM talent, to efficiently connect lost items with their owners, and to improve the efficiency and quality of cell cultures.
Several teams in the competition proposed new medical devices to better identify blood clot-related diseases in patients, improve efficiency and patient outcomes in the surgical suite, and to detect electrolyte levels in critical care situations, while others tackled environmental, life, educational, and social impact challenges.
“The Big Idea Competition is a rigorous, immersive, hands-on learning opportunity where Pitt students acquire skills in innovation and entrepreneurship that they can then apply in many aspects of their lives,” said Rhonda Schuldt, director of the Big Idea Center, part of the Office of Innovation and Entrepreneurship.
Thirty teams applied to the competition, up 50% from 2023. After a judged application review round, 24 teams were accepted into the competition in February and competed in the semi-final pitch round on March 1. Seventeen of these teams moved on to the competition’s final round where they were paired with an experienced volunteer mentor to continue refining their value proposition and go-to-market strategy, as well as polish their pitch, which they presented to a panel of expert judges at the final presentation round on April 5.
The $25,000 grand prize winner for 2024 is team Malleous, composed of Ben Leslie (ENGR ’24) and Rohit Mantena (A&S ’26). They are working alongside Pitt assistant professor of neurological surgery, Michael McDowell, to develop and commercialize a surgical instrument that combines suction and retraction tools into one device while maintaining the retractor’s malleable and bendable properties.
“Leveraging the mentorship the Big Idea Center provides through its entrepreneurs in residence was instrumental in creating a pitch that allowed us to tell our story,” Leslie said. “Their feedback, suggestions, and advice were invaluable as we created our pitch and took the next steps to continue to grow and develop as a startup.”
Leslie said the prize funding will be used to create production-level prototypes and perform additional testing to validate the device’s benefits with potential customers.
For Joe Maggiore of co-second place team, Conduction, participating in the Big Idea Competition was a valuable way to learn the art of pitching a startup idea in a “simulated environment, while still getting the safety of an educational setting.”
Maggiore and fellow MD-PhD candidate, Julia Aapfelbacher, are developing a music education software platform that allows students to compose music and then hear them performed by live musicians.
“We have quite a few schools that are looking for very specific features [in] our software,” Maggiore said. “Our plans are to use the [competition] funds to develop our software further and gain more insights into what educational components can be added to really enhance the software for students and educators.”
Throughout the 2-month competition, nearly 50 individuals volunteered their time and talent as application reviewers, mentors, coaches, subject matter experts, and judges. From this volunteer pool, more than 50% consisted of Pitt alums, including previous Big Idea Competition award winners, who are giving back to the help cultivate the next generation of problem solvers and change makers.
Are you a Pitt alum or industry professional interested in getting involved? Sign up to be a mentor, coach, or supporter of innovation and entrepreneurship at Pitt.
The Big Idea Center (BIC), located at the corner of Forbes and Meyran avenues, is a place where Pitt students of any level, freshman to postdoc, from any discipline can come to explore the world of innovation and entrepreneurship and what it can mean for them. Through the BIC’s experiential programs and competitions, students can develop innovative and entrepreneurial skills and knowledge, which can be applied to all aspects of their personal and professional lives.
For students who have a startup idea, the BIC serves as a launchpad for student startups, providing the education, mentoring, networking, and funding they need to help bring their ideas to life.
Notable Pitt student/alumni startups such as Four Growers, Aeronics, Trek Gum, HEARTio, Polycarbin, Biointerphase, Trellis Legal, Epistemix, and more have used the Big Idea Competition as a springboard to start their own companies right here in Pittsburgh.
Here are the award-winning teams for the 2024 Big Idea Competition:
Grand Prize ($25,000)
Malleous
Ben Leslie (ENGR’24) and Rohit Mantena (A&S ’26)
A novel surgical instrument that combines suction and retraction tools into one device while maintaining the retractor's malleable and bendable properties. This innovation both increases surgeon efficiency and effectiveness by reducing surgical duration and reduces surgical risks to patients, all while saving hospitals millions of dollars annually.
Second Place ($15,000 each)
Conduction
Joe Maggiore (MD-PhD ’26) and Julia Aapfelbacher (MD-PhD ’24)
A music education software tool designed to provide a new way to gets kids excited about music class, while allowing schools to stay under budget and meet learning objectives. Conduction allows students to easily compose original songs, then see their compositions come to life by real musicians.
noVRel
Sejeal Katiyar (ENGR ’24); Tanvi Mittal (CMU); Andrew Daoud (ENGR ’24), Sam Lord (ENGR ’23), Amogh Vellore (A&S ’25), and Garrett Martin
A neurosurgery-targeted device that aims to improve patient outcomes and reduce surgical time, by condensing bulky, essential surgical tools into a single Augmented Reality headset.
Third Place ($5,000 each)
StemPath
Andrew Liu (MD-PhD ’27) and Shruthi Venkatesh (MD-PhD ’26)
A comprehensive AI-assisted recruiting platform for STEM talent. By integrating the entire STEM recruiting pipeline, both candidates and hiring managers are empowered to make the best career match.
MitoAI
Diya Qu (MBA ’24), Qi Chen (SCI MS ’24), Binda Li (CMU), and Xinyu Wan (CMU)
A fully automated cell culture process that leverages AI for decision-making and robotics for liquid handling, integrating incubation, imaging, and liquid transfer of these cultures into a single system. Ultimately, MitoAI’s solution significantly reduces human labor and costs and enhances the efficiency and quality of cell culture.
Forevergreen
Jack Pearson (CBA ’24) and Joe Pearson (UPJ ’27)
An online platform to calculate one’s carbon footprint and connect them to impactful services to reduce their emissions. Forevergreen quantifies one’s personal environmental impact and provides solutions through quality reforestation projects, carbon credits, and simple habitual changes to empower each person to reach net-zero.
4th Place ($2,000 each)
DetectION
Bavya Mavila Chathoth (DMD ’26), C.J. Belleci, and Sara Trbojevic (ENGR PhD ’25)
A cost-effective, portable solution that provides timely detection of sodium and potassium levels through a simple capillary blood prick, eliminating the need for specialized expertise. With its innovative technology and smart features, DetectION is poised to revolutionize electrolyte detection in critical care, ambulances, and resource-limited settings, making it an indispensable tool for swift intervention and improved patient outcomes.
Greetings
Avi Moses (CBA ’24), Tyler Fritz (ENGR), Vy Nguyen (SCI), Matther Fraijo (SCI), and Silian Lihuang (SCI)
A friend-making platform for young professionals to solve the problem of feeling isolated in their city through weekly Greetings community events and interest-based groups.
Plyance
Hanzala Rehan (SCI ’24), Jared Peters (SCI ’24), Kian Salem, and Jack Mezger
An automated compliance testing solution to reduce bias and ensure fair practices in the lending industry. The platform streamlines the compliance process by enabling lenders to quickly assess their adherence to fair lending standards. Plyance reduces time and costs while promoting ethical lending practices that support underserved communities.
Video Round ($2,000)
Forevergreen
Jack Pearson (CBA ’24) and Joe Pearson (UPJ ’27)
Watch team Forevergreen’s winning video.
Other competition finalist teams included*:
BizBuzz
Neha Manoj (A&S ’24), Xiaobai Jiang (CMU ’25), Liantian Yang (SCI ‘26), and Srushti Dhile (SCI MS ‘25)
An app idea designed to bridge the gap between small businesses and their local customer base.
DeltaCuff
Cyrus Darvish (ENGR MS ‘25) and Pete Gueldner (ENGR PhD ‘25)
A medical product that provides early detection of blood clot-related diseases to improve healthcare outcomes for affected patients.
Eco-Trace
Ding Went (SCI ‘25) and Krishna Naik (A&S ‘25)
A revolution of the lost and found experience at universities through harnessing the power of AI and community to efficiently connect lost items with their owners. Their centralized software solution uses computer vision to automatically catalog found items, enabling students to easily search for and claim lost belongings via a user-friendly interface.
GradSteps
Pravanvel Balamurugan (A&S ‘27), Hitesh Davuluri (A&S ‘27), Ashka Shah (A&S ‘27), and Tanmai Kalisipudi (SCI ‘27)A fully automated undergraduate degree planner built to save students time, money, and stress through the creation of foolproof, customizable college course plans for them. The solution also benefits universities by providing powerful insights on academic trends and adding more value and personalization to advisor meetings.
Just Smile
Natasha Mody (ENGR ‘24) and Aqsa Owais (ENGR ‘26)
An accessible, preventative dental care solution that leverages machine learning technology to identify potential dental issues early on, both promoting proactive oral health practices and reducing the risk of more serious dental problems in the future.
Lost@Pitt
Jeffrey Zheng (SCI ‘25) and Tobias Beider-Shenk (SCI ’25)
A central, self-run lost-and-found solution that aims to reduce student stress over lost belongings, mitigate strain on university resources, and lessen waste from unclaimed items.
Studentsense
Hanan Perlman (EDU PhD ‘25) and Arun Balajiee (SCI PhD ‘26)A solution that aims to empower educators to notice the educational, social, and emotional needs of at-risk students and prompt targeted, timely interventions by school-based educators.
*One of the finalist teams requested to remain anonymous.