silhouette of a man presenting charts to an audience

UNLV Student Inventors to Present Their Solutions to Chart the Course to a More Sustainable Future

Yearlong President’s Innovation Challenge competition to culminate in a Shark Tank-style showcase event; $25,000 grand prize goes to winning team.

Six teams of student entrepreneurs will present their ideas for promoting sustainability May 1 during a Shark Tank-style showcase event as part of the second annual President's Innovation Challenge competition. (Josh Hawkins/UNLV)

The community is invited to attend UNLV’s second annual President’s Innovation Challenge showcase event on May 1 to hear interdisciplinary teams of UNLV undergraduate and graduate student entrepreneurs present their solutions to chart the course to a more sustainable future. One team will walk away with a $25,000 grand prize. 

When

4 p.m on Monday, May 1 

Where

Thomas & Mack Center Strip View Pavilion (parking map linked here)

Details

The President’s Innovation Challenge is a team competition encouraging social and business entrepreneurship to help solve major problems of our day in Southern Nevada and beyond. During this year’s competition, powered by Honeywell, teams have been challenged to find solutions to chart the course to a more sustainable future. 

This year’s competition commenced in fall 2022 with 16 teams submitting proposals. Six teams with the most competitive proposals advanced to the final round. At the culminating event on May 1, a panel of community and industry professional judges will award prizes, including a $25,000 grand prize.

The following six teams will pitch their ideas:

  • ECOVISION aims to encourage recycling and educate its user base on proper recycling through gamification in its proposed app.
  • Local Cup’s focus is to decrease waste in Las Vegas by introducing reusable cup vending machines in Downtown Las Vegas and on the Strip. Cups would be returned, sanitized, and resold or recycled. 
  • LutumPotentia proposes reducing the amount of food waste going to landfills by feeding the waste to black soldier fly larvae and then selling the dried larvae as a high-protein livestock feed and nutrient-rich fertilizer. 
  • Scarlet and Green’s app allows businesses, including casinos and resorts, to divert food waste from landfills to customers experiencing food insecurity.  
  • WellSpaTech aims to reduce the carbon footprint of wellness establishments by transforming existing hotel operations and guest room architecture into a technologically and ecologically advanced micro-spa setting. 
  • YouChef’s app allows users to scan the food in their fridge and retrieve recipes based on the available ingredients, reducing food waste.

Visit unlv.edu/graduatecollege/presidents-innovation-challenge for more information.

Media

Interview opportunities will be available before and after the event as well as by request. Please RSVP to Keyonna Summers, UNLV Media Relations, at keyonna.summers@unlv.edu.

Parking

If you’re a media member arriving in a personal vehicle, please print out and bring this parking pass with you to place inside your windshield dashboard on the passenger side.

Vehicles marked with the media outlet’s logo do not require a parking pass, and may use any spot except for those marked handicapped or reserved.

The Gray Lot can be accessed from University Center Drive or Tropicana Avenue. Find the location pinpointed on a campus map, along with building entrance directions, here.

Topics:

student success, environment

Campus Units:

Office of the President,  Graduate College

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