More than 300 students, faculty and other community members gathered in the Colorado State University Lory Student Center Ballroom April 18 for Entrepreneurship and Innovation Day, where winners of CSU Demo Day were announced.

For the first time, the celebration combined CSU Demo Day and the Venture RAMS Business Showcase in a joint effort of CSU STRATA and the Institute for Entrepreneurship in the College of Business, to highlight innovations originating from students and faculty across the entire CSU community.

Attendees heard from keynote speaker Molly Kocialski, regional director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, who spoke about the critical role that universities play in the development of intellectual property and innovation across the nation. Kocialski also emphasized the importance of the contribution of IP-based business to the growth of the U.S. economy and job creation. The Demo Day awards were followed by a networking hour and remarks from President Amy Parsons about the culture of innovation and entrepreneurship at CSU.

CSU STRATA recognized 13 awardees out of 64 submitted posters, for a total of $14,500 in cash awards for their innovative work.

The CSU Institute for Entrepreneurship in the College of Business received 30 applications for the Venture RAMS Business Showcase and seven finalists were selected to pitch their business idea with 6 receiving cash awards totaling $13,000.

Demo Day Award Winners

Innovation in Agricultural Science

Sponsored by the College of Agricultural Sciences ($1,000)

Main presenter: Jinlong Han – postdoctoral fellow

Vamsi Nalam – assistant professor of agricultural biology

“Interference of Potato Virus Y Transmission by Aphids Using Small Peptide Inhibitors”

Innovation in Engineering

Sponsored by the Walter Scott, Jr. College of Engineering ($1,000)

Emilio Molina Rueda – third-year doctoral student in mechanical engineering

“The AirPen: A Wearable Monitor for Particulate Matter and Volatile Organic Compounds”

Innovation in Natural Science

Sponsored by the College of Natural Sciences ($1,000)

Tomojit Ghosh – postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Mathematics

“Data Driven Biomarker Selection Sparse Centroid-Encoder”

Innovation in Health and Human Sciences

Sponsored by the College of Health and Human Sciences ($1,000)

Katey Lam – sophomore undergraduate in interior architecture and design

“Architectural Virtual Library: Development of Educational K-12 Resources”

Innovation in Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences

Sponsored by the College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences ($1,000)

Main presenter: Natalie Wickenkamp, graduate student in microbiology

Rebekah Kading, Christopher Snow, Julius Stuart, Kaleb Davis, Ashlyn Chen, Arielle Glass, CVMBS

“Tracking Mosquitoes Using Edible Microcrystals”

Innovation at CSU Pueblo

Sponsored by Carrington Coleman ($1,000)

Chris Moody – undergraduate student in the Institute of Cannabis Research at CSU Pueblo

“Taking performance to the next level: Infused Fitness Performance packs”

Game Changer Award

Sponsored by the Institute for Entrepreneurship at the College of Business ($1,000)

Pacific Gringas – first-year master’s student in Impact MBA

“Connecting Food Trucks and Kitchens”

Innovation in Animal Health

Sponsored by Zoetis ($500)

Main presenter: Elizabeth Steinike – fifth-year undergraduate student in biomedical and mechanical engineering

Spencer Kapayo, Katie Evans, Drew Rackow, Roberto Ortega, Su Nguyen, Heather Young

“Canine Exoskeleton for Rehabilitation”

Excellence in Energy

Sponsored by the Energy Institute ($1,000)

Main presenter: Darcy Hunstiger – second-year doctoral student in cell and molecular biology

Andrew Paton, Nolan Bunting, Derek Herrera

“Cyano-SUGAR: Optimizing Cyanobacteria for Sustainable Low-Water Cultivation”

Excellence in Software

Sponsored by Cooley ($1,000)

Amanda Spitzer – doctoral student in psychology

“Overcoming Accessibility Barriers for Colorado Students Using CSU-AVL”

People’s Choice Award

Sponsored by Meunier Carlin & Curfman ($2,000)

Lauren Little – junior undergraduate student in management and marketing

“Lodgeit”

People’s Choice Award Runner Up

Sponsored by Haukaas Fortius ($1,000)

Thaisa Baldo  – postdoctoral fellow of chemistry

Joowon Park – first-year graduate student in analytical chemistry

“Quantitative, Rapid, and Simple COVID-19 Diagnostic Device”

Innovative Excellence

Sponsored by Casimir Jones and Patterson + Sheridan ($2,000)

Main presenter: Sydney Spiegel – undergraduate research assistant in mechanical engineering

“Tensegrity Wheels for Small All-Terrain Robots”