Syracuse University Sweet Sixteen Finalists Announced for the Campus ACC InVenture Prize Competition

Judges have announced the Sweet Sixteen finalists for the Syracuse University campus round of the ACC InVenture Prize on Friday, Feb. 22. All students, faculty and staff are invited to watch the open pitches in Bird Library and join in a reception celebrating student invention.

The event is the culmination of National Entrepreneurship Week and a celebration of #OrangeInnovation at Syracuse University.

The Feb. 22 campus competition schedule is:

• 2:30 to 3 p.m. – Check in and hospitality in the Blackstone LaunchPad powered by Techstars, first floor of Bird Library
• 3 to 4:30 p.m. – Team pitches in 606 and 608 Bird Library
• 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. — Open reception and concurrent closed judging to pick the first-place winner who will go on to the finals at North Carolina State University on April 16-17
• 5:30 p.m. – Judges announce the winner in the Peter Graham Scholarly Commons

The Sweet Sixteen founders are (in alphabetical order):

• Alec Gillinder and Quinn King, MedUX
• Angelica O’Hare, Prioritage
• Brianna Howard and Nikita Chatterjee, Paani
• Caleb Obiagwu, SYRE Tech LLC
• Charles Keppler & Serena Ogie Evah Omo Lamai, Fibre Free
• Daniel McMurray, SWIP
• Emma Sargent, C29
• Jaclyn Hingre, Halo
• Jianqiu Jiang, Watson FitPet
• Josh Jackson, Promptous
• Kelsey Davis, CLLCTVE Agency
• Matt Shumer, OptechVR
• Michael Yacubov, Compress-Aid
• Patrick Riolo, Artemis Wand
• Peter Mignacca, TowelVAC
• Teodoro Delellis, GiraTech

Judges for the event will be Central New York business, industry and civic leaders, along with members of the Syracuse University innovation ecosystem.

In total, 14 student teams from ACC member institutions will battle “Shark Tank”-style in the finals of the 4th annual ACC Inventure Prize Competition April 16-17 in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Participating universities are Boston College, Clemson University, Duke University, Georgia Institute of Technology, North Carolina State University, Syracuse University, the University of Louisville, the University of Miami, the University of North Carolina, the University of Notre Dame, the University of Pittsburgh, the University of Virginia, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, and Wake Forest University.

During the two rounds of competition, judges will evaluate each team on their quality of idea, business model, entrepreneurship and probability of success. The final round will be broadcast live by PBS affiliates along the East Coast. While in Raleigh, student participants will engage in a variety of innovation and startup activities and will present their work following the final competition to audience members, the public and potential investors.

To learn more about the ACC InVenture Prize, visit accinventureprize.com/.