(Canyon)—Designers of a device to help eliminate back injuries, a solar-powered, submersible water-well pump and a bib designed to protect, educate and entertain babies have been selected as the inaugural winners of the First$tep Innovation Challenge.
Each of the winning design teams received $1,000 and could be granted up to $10,000 total if their innovative products continue to prove viable.
Administered by West Texas A&M University's Enterprise Network in concert with the Amarillo Economic Development Corp. and the Amarillo Inventors' Association, the First$tep Innovation Challenge is a quarterly grant competition aimed at bridging the gap between early innovation and proven market capability.
The grants can be used for new product evaluations, patent searches and application costs, test marketing, prototype development and any other uses deemed appropriate by the program's review committee, according to Don Taylor, director of the WTAMU Enterprise Network.
"The First$step Innovation Challenge is a competition, and awards will be based on the strongest, most potentially viable ideas and best presentations," Taylor said. "Many innovative ideas never come to fruition because too many resources are consumed getting up that first step.
"We are rewarding creative innovation - funding the innovation, not the individual - and our goal is to create new basic jobs and bring new money into our local economies."
The program's review committee scrutinized each of the initial entries for viability of the ideas, the intended target markets, realistic market potential, financial commitment and potential for business growth and job creation.
The first winners are: Derek Neill and Wade McKinney of Canyon for their Verte-Shield, which helps eliminate the likelihood of a back injury; Jay Moreland of Amarillo for the Lazarus Pump, capable of reaching deep water with solar energy; and Michelle Valdez for the Bib Caddy, which keeps a baby’s favorite things close at hand and germ-free.