Competition Categories
Competition Categories
Throughout the year, the Pitch Nights award many students funding and mentoring and each student that wins during a Pitch Night is given the chance to be considered for our largest awards, given out annually at the Innovate! Celebrate! celebration in April. More information regarding these awards will be sent to winners in the spring semester.
Joan F. & John M. Thalheimer ’55 Student Entrepreneurs Competition
The Thalheimer Student Entrepreneurs Competition awards resources to students interested in launching innovative ventures with early stage business models. These include, but aren’t limited to, for-profit startup ideas in any industry, field, or area of interest in technology, science,
non-technical, retail, environment, Internet, products or services, etc.
Michael W. Levin ’87 Advanced Technology Competition
The Levin Advanced Technology Competition seeks to provide resources to student innovators enrolled in the college of engineering, who want to move their early stage technology venture to the next level. The winners of this competition have previously won the Thalheimer competition or have advanced their technology or commercialization efforts to a higher level.
Hans Baer ’47 International Social Venture Competition And Domestic Social Venture Competition
For those who want to make a difference - around the globe or on Bethlehem’s south side. Whether it’s a new technology or innovative service, not-for-profit or profit-for-a-purpose, these competitions seek proposals from students who want to make a big difference & have a plan to do it.
Davis Projects for Peace
Davis Projects for Peace is an invitation to undergraduates at the American colleges and universities in the Davis United World College Scholars Program to design grassroots projects that they will implement during the summer of 2020. The projects judged by the Davis Foundation to be the most promising will be funded at $10,000 each. The objective is to encourage and support today’s motivated youth to create and try out their own ideas for building peace. All applications for the Social Venture Competitions will be automatically considered for the Davis Projects for Peace. If you want to be considered as a nominee for the Davis prize, you must apply with a Social Venture and pitch at a EUREKA event prior to January 15, 2020.
Joan F. & John M. Thalheimer ’55 Grand Prize for the EUREKA! Competition Series
The Grand Prize is an overarching award that recognizes the student venture from any of the EUREKA! Competitions that shows the most entrepreneurial promise. This year, the winners of the 3 competitions listed above pitched live during our annual Innovate! Celebrate! awards dinner and were judged by 3 area experts.
2020 - 2021 Winners
June 2020
Stage 1:
Steven Escobar-Mendez '22: K'ulmaj sets to help the Judicial Branch of the US in supplying trained law informed dialect translators
Isaac Howenstine '23G: Course scheduling wizard for college students
Katie Koslan '21: My project is a water quality project based in Southside Bethlehem working to provide free or low cost testing kits and filtration systems to the community in order to determine if there are high levels of lead in the water supply then work to remediate the issue in the future.
Annie Norris '22: A performance and practice friendly electronic music stand that helps musicians carry, and keep organized, their large repertoire of sheet music.
Weilin Pan '23: This is an online interactive club expo for first-year international students to feel more connected to Lehigh.
Stage 2:
Kiara Damon '21: Warm, athletic gloves designed strictly for cheerleaders to allow enough warmth and flexibility to continue normal stunting/ tumbling in cold temperatures.
Graham Patterson '20 & Brian Quispe '20: A smart animal trap using image recognition and remote closing/resetting.
Alex Romanowski '23 & Chase Mattingly '23: MicroActive uses a microscope shell, and slide management and notation app to make the microscope experience more interactive than virtual microscopes and more affordable than traditional microscopes.
Michael Rich '23: We offer a no code, self customization tool for companies who need full-scale software applications, for example scheduling management.
Connor Sept '22: I am creating a swim training device that is a flexible leg strap designed to reduce medical risk and increase speed.
Stage 3:
Andrew Fedun '21: Dreamboard brings students the ultimate functionality in personalization, turning any wall into an interactive canvas
Sareena Karim '22: Foli-Q is a start up for a personalized natural hair product including an advanced bioengineered hair testing service
Nick Owens '22, Hank Portney '21, & Cater Schmalzle '22: A mobile app designed to connect students with events and organizations at their school.
EUREKA! People's Choice Pitch Competition | April 2020
Joan F. & John M. Thalheimer ’55 Grand Prize Pitch Competition | April 2020
Congratulations to:
Enterprise Award: Justin Gelwicks '23, Wooden Lacrosse Stick Project
Joan F. & John M. Thalheimer ’55 Grand Prize: Ben Mesnik '20, Gaming Tips Project
Check out photos from all our EUREKA! Pitch Nights!