2023 Regional Qualifiers
Savannah Regionals and South Georgia Regionals
2023 South Georgia Innovation Day Regional Qualifier
Read about the 2023 South Georgia Innovation Day
Elementary School Division Winners
1st Place
The Egg Saver
Students | Guthrie Sprague, Ruby McInnis, and Trinity Sloan
School | Cross Creek Elementary School
2nd Place
Train Hackers
Students | Caden Singletary, Brayden Greene, Anam Barkat, Ander Oliveto, and Preston Vanheingen
School | Cross Creek Elementary School
3rd Place
Littertron
Students | Milo Lindsey, Marrik NeSmith, Sarah Stewart, and Colton Cooper
School | Cross Creek Elementary School
Middle School Division Winners
1st Place
Organ Eezs
Students | Ava Dennis, Cassidy Watts, and Emma Brannen
Affiliation | Thomasville YMCA
2nd Place
Star Seer
Students | Janiya Ivey and Olivia Phillips
Affiliation | Thomasville YMCA
3rd Place
Meddie Reminders
Students | Lindsay Hinson
Affiliation | Thomasville YMCA
High School Division Winners
1st Place
Smart Feeder
Students | Dixie Rose Blue and Hailey Hudson
School | Thomasville High School
2nd Place
Smart Bird Feeder
Students | Hull Krech, Jr.
School | Thomasville High School
3rd Place
Wash n’ Go
Students | Rebecca Holt, Abby Kennedy, and Avery Hurst
School | Thomasville High School
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2023 State Finals | K-12 InVenture Prize
Back in-person, the 2023 K-12 InVenture Prize State Finals event was held on Georgia Tech's campus this year with 102 teams (227 students) competing at State Finals. Judging was held live through the RocketJudge platform with 67 judges evaluating student teams and determining which teams are awarded prizes and a spot to the national competition at Invention Convention Worldwide.
K-2 Division Winners
Team Read, Write, Recycle
1st Place
Students | Elias Fakkas, Avery Riddick, and Madison Rodgers
Teacher | Valerie King
Kennesaw Elementary School | Cobb County
We all know recycling is important, but did you know how much schools contribute to waste? Our invention is a simple, engaging game that will teach young kids how important recycling is and get them thinking about starting a recycling program in their schools.
Slippy’s
2nd Place
Students | Sebastian Guevarra, Elias Daoudi, and Antonio Figeroa-Sanchez
Teacher | Michele Dunn
Kennesaw Elementary School | Cobb County
Slippy's wet floor caution signs will keep your buildings safer because they won't accidentally fall down.
The Mind Fisher
3rd Place
Students | Mai-ly Hoang, Jasmine King, and Kadiatou Toure
Teacher | Audrey Jinks
Powder Springs Elementary School | Cobb County
An easy-to-use sensor to tell when a fish is on the line. It is easy for kids and elderly people to use without small parts, batteries, or switches.
Elementary Division Winners
The Curb Cutter
1st Place
Students | Michael Fisher, Klara Payne, and Gabriela Renteria-Parada
Teacher | Kristen Moore
West Side Elementary School | Marietta City
People in wheelchairs oftentimes have a hard time accessing everyday places. I have designed The Curb Cut, a portable wheelchair ramp that allows the user to enter a building or go up over a curb that previously would have been inaccessible. By creating a ramp that allows a person in a wheelchair to easily get up two-three stairs with near effortless help from a friend or kind passersby, people can get places with ease.
The Fish Weigh
2nd Place
Students | Warren Tate, Klara Payne, and Gabriela Renteria-Parada
Teacher | Stephanie Hurst
Murdock Elementary School | Cobb County
This invention will let fishermen know when they are at their weight limit for the number of fish they can catch for each day.
The Easy Clean Gravel
3rd Place
Students | Evan Oh and Annisten Baxter
Teacher | Tabatha Dearman
Kedron Elementary School | Fayette County
The EZ Clean Gravel Kit helps aquarium owners clean their fish tanks quickly, effieiently, and most importantly, hassle free! By easily containing the fish and removing the pan, fish gravel can be transported to the sink to be rinsed and quickly returned to the tank.
Middle Division Winners
Plapper
1st Place
Student | Lara Otico
Teacher | Kathie Lanman
JC Booth Middle School | Fayette County
Plapper is a product that makes use of the Kudzu vine, an invasive plant species, and turns it into sustainable plastic and paper products. This product is a form of bioplastic that is often made from corn or beets. Instead of using plants that are grown to have this polymer, we can use kudzu leaves. This greater reduces the amount that is found in forests.
The Pocket Extender
2nd Place
Student | Aliena Fry
Teacher | Laura Ike
Garrison School of the Arts | Chatham County
The Pocket Extender is designed to meet the challenge of insufficient pocket space in women's pants.
The Muddy Buddy
Students | Prince Thomas and Japheth Adoga
Teacher | Yerisson Cardena
Amana Academy | Fulton County
Lack of building resources and Water. Solve 2 problems in 1 invention. Solved with materials in your everyday life.
High Division Winners
Sustainable Eating to Save Our Planet
1st Place
Student | Roshan Kolachina
Teacher | Seth Bishop
McIntosh High School | Fayette County
I developed a mobile app for users to log their meals and view the greenhouse gas emissions associated with the production of these meals, set sustainability goals, and view weekly and monthly trends.
Solar Pod
2nd Place (tie)
Students | Joy Li, Tianjie Lu, and Rachel Li
Teacher | Jackson Huckaby
North Oconee High School | Oconee County
SolarPod is a sustainable cooking device that relies on a sand battery to store solar energy. This mechanism effectively addresses the most significant obstacles of increasing clean energy: limited availability and high cost. With this storage system, the use of clean cooking energy can be increased worldwide.
Door Bully
2nd Place (tie)
Students | Rohan Kumar and Wiliam Susskind
Teacher | John Mobley
Paul Duke STEM High School | Gwinnett County
The safety of students in the increasingly dangerous environment of schools is the top priority of Door Bully. With Door Bully, educators can swiftly lock doors in an emergency with just a quick movement. Designed to slide out of the way of the shackle, the Door Bully not only provides secure lock-down, but also enables fast entry for first responders, ensuring the quickest possible response to a crisis situation.
ConVo Bot
3rd Place
Students | Naomi Hackett and Nadia Hackett
Teacher | Adam Mayes
Atlanta International School | Fulton County
App with NLP chatbot in order to serve as a safe space for individuals with social anxiety.
Specialty Award Winners
Photocatalytic Aerosol Can and Catalytic Converter
IronCAD Award (tie)
Students | Max Habeger, Maleeq Ellsberry, and Aly Kajani
Teacher | Austin Russell
The New School Atlanta | Fulton County
With this innovative catalytic converter and aerosol spray can, carbon and CFC emission can be greatly reduced using photocatalysis to convert harmful chloroflurocarbons and CO2 pollutants into more environmentally safe products. This will help cut down overall harmful effects and reduce global warming and ozone depletion.
Rollo
IronCAD Award (tie)
Students | Alexia Waters, Escher Friedman, Rohan Manginelli
Teacher | Lisa Rogers
Smyrna Elementary School | Cobb County
Our product is a game named “Rollo” which is a gamified app that you pay one U.S. dollar to unlock one of four worlds.
Plapper
Manufacturing Award
Student | Lara Otico
Teacher | Kathie Lanman
JC Booth Middle School | Fayette County
Plapper is a product that makes use of the Kudzu vine, an invasive plant species, and turns it into sustainable plastic and paper products. This product is a form of bioplastic that is often made from corn or beets. Instead of using plants that are grown to have this polymer, we can use kudzu leaves. This greater reduces the amount that is found in forests.
The Curb Cutter
Health and Medical Technology Award
Students | Michael Fisher
Teacher | Kristen Moore
West Side Elementary School | Marietta City
People in wheelchairs oftentimes have a hard time accessing everyday places like supermarkets, doctor’s offices, and gas stations. I have designed The Curb Cut, a portable wheelchair ramp that allows the user to enter a building or go up over a curb that previously would have been inaccessible. By creating a ramp that allows a person in a wheelchair to easily get up two-three stairs with near effortless help from a friend or kind passersby, people can get places with ease.
Solar Pod
Energy Award
Students | Joy Li, Tianjie Lu, and Rachel Li
Teacher | Jackson Huckaby
North Oconee High School | Oconee County
SolarPod is a sustainable cooking device that relies on a sand battery to store solar energy. This mechanism effectively addresses the most significant obstacles of increasing clean energy: limited availability and high cost. With this storage system, the use of clean cooking energy can be increased worldwide.
Sustainable Eating to Save Our Planet
Sustainability Award
Student | Roshan Kolachina
Teacher | Seth Bishop
McIntosh High School | Fayette County
I developed a mobile app for users to log their meals and view the greenhouse gas emissions associated with the production of these meals, set sustainability goals, and view weekly and monthly trends.
The Pocket Extender
Consumer Goods Award
Student | Aliena Fry
Teacher | Laura Ike
Garrison School of the Arts | Chatham County
The Pocket Extender is designed to meet the challenge of insufficient pocket space in women's pants.
The Plant Dock: The Garden that Protects Crops Against Floods
Agriculture Award
Students | Driola Hoti and Erica Bourque
Teacher | Seth Bishop
McIntosh High School | Fayette County
The Plant Dock is an original design that helps protect plants from the effects of flooding. It improves humans economically, environmentally, and as a society. Our design will revolutionize farms.
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State Finals Spotlights
Christin Salley
Keynote Speaker
Christin is a Ph.D. Candidate at Georgia Tech's School of Civil and Environmental Engineering. Christin's research is at the intersection of network dynamics, emergency response, infrastructure systems, equity, and risk mitigation /emergency communications to assess social systems within communities related to natural disasters using information science and machine learning. Christin is also passionate about pathways of engineering through investigating pursuits of engineering at the K-12, undergraduate, and graduate levels.
Cameron Schriner
IronCAD Representative
“IronCAD’s participation [in InVenture Prize] every year is about more than a sponsorship,” IronCAD Software Engineer and Educational Program Liason, Cameron Schriner said. “When envisioning a future based around design, engineering, and collaboration, the biggest constant is the new faces taking on those challenges. If those young minds start receiving encouragement early in life, their ability to reach new heights only improves. This program is an investment in the future that allows for a fun spin on social engineeringthat spreads beyond the direct contributors.”
Michael Frnka
GIPA Presenter
Michael has been active with GIPA since 2019 with the creation of the Georgia Science and Engineering Fair (GSEF) Special Award for Young Inventors as an element of the Patent Assistance for STEM Students (PASS) Program. He is a member of the GIPA IP K-12 Awareness Team which provides support to other GIPA elements, to the Georgia Department of Education STEM/STEAM Career, Technical, and Agricultural Education Office, and to other IP related educational programs.
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2023 U.S. Nationals | Invention Convention Worldwide
Select teams from the K-12 InVenture Prize State Finals advanced to represent the State of Georgia at the Raytheon Technologies Invention Convention U.S. Nationals.
Elementary School Division
The Curb Cutter
Michael Fisher, Grade 5
EZ Clean
Evan Oh and Annisten Baxter, Grade 5
The Fish Weigh
Warren Tate and Kalra Payne, Grade 5
Middle School Division
Plapper
Lara Otico, Grade 8
2nd place in 8th grade
Best In-Person / Live Presentation
Into the Pocket (The Pocket Extender)
Aliena Fry, Grade 7
The Muddy Buddy
Prince Thomas and Japheth Adoga, Grade 7
High School Division
The Plant Dock: The Garden that Protects Crops Against Floods
Driola Hoti and Erica Bourque, Grade 9
3rd place in 9th grade
Door Bully
Rohan Kumar and William Susskind, Grade 11
3rd place in 11th grade
Patent Application Award
Solar Pod
Joy Li, Michelle Li, Rachel Li, and Tianjie Lu Grade 12
1st place in 12th grade
Environmental and Sustainability Award
ConVo Bot
Naomi Hackett and Nadia Hackett, Grade 12
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