Everett Yang is a freshman studying computer science. They want to pursue a career in video game design — blending art and technology. That’s why they were inspired when they visited the Museum of the Moving Image in Queens.

The Museum of the Moving Image works to foster an understanding and appreciation of the melding of technology and media. Everett visited and was dazzled by the museum’s display on Jim Henson — the famous filmmaker and puppeteer, most well known for his creation of The Muppets.

Going to this exhibit inspired Everett to create a puppet of their own. They found iCREATE through their ITS 101 Introduction to Stony Brook class, and they were interested in the resources iCREATE has to offer. Once they decided to create their own puppet, going to the Innovation Lab seemed like the clear choice to make that idea into a reality.

They found a pattern and materials online and used the resources in the Innovation Lab to bring the puppet to life. The eyes are made of ping pong balls, and Everett used wire cutters to cut up metal hangers for the rods that control the puppets arms. Everett then attached the rods to cardboard bases in the hands, and used the sewing machine to sew it together.

Puppetry is a very ancient art form dating back to as early as Egypt in 2000 BCE with some historians hypothesizing that puppets pre-date actors in theater. However, the modern rise in popularity of puppets in the United States originated in the 1940’s with the advent of television. Shows such as Howdy Doody and the Charlie McCarthy Show appealed to both children and adults.

Everett wants to do more adult-geared comedy with his puppet, but wants to start off small, such as creating lip-syncing videos or sketches from The Muppets. If they do this, Everett will be sure to use the multimedia tools offered in the Innovation Greenhouse to create a YouTube channel.

Taking influences from ancient puppetry as well as modern, “The puppet doesn’t have a name or species,” according to Everett, “It’s up to interpretation.” Everett’s next step will be to create a puppet with legs.

Brian Yang is a senior with a double major in Biology and Economics and a minor in Chemistry. If that’s not enough, Brian also has recently taken up additional innovation projects — the biggest of which is building his own 3D printer. Brian received a commercial 3D printer as a gift.

Something in Brian was sparked, and a new passion was ignited. Brian began to learn more about 3D printers and the technology behind them, and was eventually inspired to create his own by the RepRap Project. The RepRap project — short for Replicating Rapid-prototyper — is an initiative to create low-cost 3D printers that can 3D print most of their own parts (You read that right. 3D printers are being made to 3D print more 3D printers.). It is now a global project with free designs and licenses for anyone to use.

When Brian realized that this was something he wanted to do, he knew that the Innovation Lab was the place to go. He designed all of the 3D printed parts of the robot himself using Autodesk Inventor, and went to the Innovation Lab to physically print as well as utilize other tools such as soldering irons, screwdrivers, pliers, and general help from the Innovation Consultants on how to execute the project and make sure it was unique.

Brian wanted to make his printer different than others already out there. He thought he could maybe do better. His printer is a parallel robot instead of the typical serial robots on the market. By using a different layout, he was able to both reduce the amount of frame and open up the print surface. The pros of these modifications are decreased costs and increased visualization. The disadvantage to this layout, Brian found, is that because the gantry is cantilevered, it is less stiff and can bend under the weight of the printer head. Brian hopes that experimenting with other designs will help others to think more innovatively when it comes to designing new types of 3D printers, and he hopes that his design will help to inspire others.

Brian is currently applying to medical schools and in the future wants to work as a doctor rather than an engineer. However, he recognizes that the fields are merging. “Biomedical engineering and bioengineering are creeping into medicine.” 3D printing organs is no longer a thing of the future. The world of technology is growing and expanding and Brian feels that, “Because of my work with 3D printing and iCREATE, I feel more prepared to deal with medicine in the 21st century.”

WolfieTank is a pitch competition similar to the NBC hit show Shark Tank. It is iCREATE’s annual showcase event in the Fall semester and simulates a business environment where budding entrepreneurs can have a platform to present their idea and receive critical feedback from professionals in the industry.

Our Featured Presenters:

• Benjamin Conard – Five North Chocolate
  • Benjamin packages his own dark chocolate at his company, Five North Chocolate, because he thinks farmers get lost in the supply chain and does not profit as much as everyone else in the industry. He is working hard to make fair trade dark chocolate more widely accessible in today’s market, to protect the future of the cocoa industry.

• Yehonathan Litman – MAPLE System
  • Yehonathan created MAPLE system for robots giving them the ability to localize themselves in any new space and can be customized to a user’s intended projects. Stepping up accuracy and fast positioning measurements are key for higher level functions in robots, so one day, they can possibly think just like humans.

• Magdalene Fogarasi, Adiba Chowdhury, Amy Young, Meaghan Cellio, Sanjay Jonnavithula – Blood Pressure Cuff
  • This group formed in order to promote a more non invasive method for assessing systolic and diastolic blood pressure. They invented a novel blood pressure cuff that is fully integratable with current pressure measurement technology (both digital and manual.) This would remove the need for Velcro components and is truly a one size fits all model.

• Edward Buckler & Elliot Richards – Outland Analytics
  • Outland Analytics is developing a sensor detection system to monitor land for illegal vehicle use and timber theft. This product will monitor large areas of land for illegal vehicle use and timber theft, providing immediate notifications, thus allowing law enforcement and or security forces to respond instantly.

• Adam Wang, Eric Fung, and Brett Weinger – Toilet Flush Generator
  • This group created a multi-functional toilet, incorporating a power generator that converts the kinetic energy of water into electrical energy. The product uses a water motion active transducer (WMAT) based on a dielectric elastomer, which, when in contact with moving water, creates a potential difference that can be used to induce an electric current that can power electric appliances.

Wolfie Tank featured three judges: James Keane, Youn Jung Chung, and Jonathan Bernard.

James Keane is a 2008 graduate of Stony Brook’s MBA program and currently serves as the Global Director of Disruptive Growth Exploration at the world’s largest global brewer, Anheuser-Busch InBev, responsible for investigating, testing, and commercializing new technology and business models with the capability of disrupting ABI. Youn Jung Chung is the Founder of Dal Enterprises, an Amazon consulting services company. A Stony Brook University Class of 2015 graduate, she began her company shortly after graduation with $1500 and bootstrapped it to over 6 figures. She is a graduate of The Founder Institute, the world’s premier idea-stage accelerator, and a brother of Alpha Kappa Psi, the professional co-ed business fraternity. Youn loves giving back by hiring and mentoring Stony Brook students and connecting them with the larger startup ecosystem. Jonathan Bernard graduated Stony Brook University in 2015 and started working in accounting. After a couple years of internship/real world experience, he realized he wanted to follow his personal passions of cooking and growing food. Around that very same time, an urban farming accelerator had started called Square Roots, allowing him to spend a full year growing food and starting his own business in real time. Fast forward one year later, and he is now launching his very own startup called Street Leafs, which turns space into food, community, and an experience.

Wolfie Tank also featured multiple raffles and was a great space for students, staff, and other innovators to network, communicate, and collaborate.

InnovateIT 2018, a first-of-its-kind, on-campus, multidisciplinary event on March 2nd, brought together over 100 students, mentors, and volunteers at the iCREATE facilities to offer solutions to resolve a major global conflict.  Participants working in teams developed ideas from creating inventive ways to help with food pantries, recycling food products, prosthetics for children in need, food disposal, and much more.

This cutting-edge event was an iCREATE | Division of Information Technology showcase where students from around campus were encouraged to explore and utilize innovative tools and techniques in developing their own original ideas.  Despite an unexpected Nor’easter sweeping in on Friday, March 2nd and potentially bringing the event to a screeching halt, the organizers felt that it was imperative to offer an on-campus event for their dedicated participants.

The concept behind InnovateIT was conceived many months ago when a driven group of students from iCREATE decided to work collaboratively with the Director. Their mission: To put on a event that would be different from the standard, traditional hack-a-thon. Hack-a-thons are traditionally geared towards computer science programmers or engineers developing apps and / or connected products to solve a common issue or problem.  These usually drastically limit the interest and participation from other on-campus majors. One of the core elements and missions of iCREATE is to overcome this barrier of entry, and focus on offering interdisciplinary innovation across the campus so that all can participate and collaborate, regardless of their major.

At the InnovateIT 2018 opening ceremony, Director David Ecker discussed his childhood experience growing up in a house where his mother hand-made his Halloween costumes each year on a sewing machine.  As a student, he was interested in the food pantry on campus and had visited them twice to find out more about them. He shared the need to get out the word of this resource, and addressed the existing problem on how to make students feel more comfortable about going to the food pantry. From his experience, “It is a very humbling to go to such a place [like a food pantry], when you don’t have enough money.  It is very personal and hard to admit a problem.” He understood, and admitted how embarrassed he would be. This powerful opening rallied students to think creatively about their concerns, and how to conquer them.

At the event, there were many student teams looking to offer solutions with the stigma surrounding food pantries as a resource, as well as other social and world issues.  After working all night, energized teams proudly presented their work at 8am the next morning. One group was determined to develop their idea – working on an app to let users know when there was extra food from events on campus. Another team was working on a app to track social conscious companies.

Kelvin Rodriguez, a freshman participating at InnovateIT, found the event to be life-changing for his career. Passionate about his childhood dream in working with prosthetics, Kelvin seized the opportunity iCREATE offered to construct his very first prosthetic.

“I felt like I had found a purpose …. I found myself pushing to learning Arduino, 3D modeling, and planning out my future – all from this one mission [to design, 3D print, and assemble a prosthetic hand] I had assigned myself just a few days after the event.”

InnovateIT’s impact was felt by many through its staff and its mission to its participants.

“The staff of iCreate don’t just give you the materials to do it, but the support too. I know if I didn’t see the amazed faces of the volunteers, workers, and Director [David Ecker] who kept coming to check on my progress and making sure I had all the possible materials that they could offer, then I wouldn’t have ever found the inspiration and drive to come up with this mission. I am truly grateful, and I hope others who come by can find the resources offered by iCreate as inspiring and supportive as I have.”