Several companies and research projects were honored with more than $46,000 in cash prizes April 23 at Demo Day, Colorado State University’s annual celebration of entrepreneurship.

Hosted by CSU Ventures, Demo Day drew more than 450 people and showcased the work of eight colleges and 31 departments, the Colorado School of Public Health and CSU Pueblo. Attendees browsed 106 research posters, as well as posters and displays for 30 CSU-affiliated startup companies.

Awards

Company Showcase ($9,000 total to CSU affiliated start-up companies)

People’s Choice Award ($3,000)

Access Sensor Technologies, represented by Kai Fuller, John Wydallis, Mollie Phillips, Thomas Reilly and Mark Schleiger

Customer Discovery Travel Awards ($6,000)

DashStrap, represented by Company Principal Karthik Palusa

SurgiReal, represented by Company Principal Andrew Hendrickson

Sponsored by CSU Ventures, LAUNCHPAD and the Energy Institute as part of the ICorps Sites Customer Discovery program. The Customer Discovery Prize supports a startup or technology working to understand its target market. The prize provides up to $3,000 travel funds for two companies.

Poster Showcase ($37,800 total to students/faculty)

Innovation in Augmented or Virtual Reality ($3,000), sponsored by Office of the Vice President for Research

A Collaborative, Immersive Environment: Expanding the Value of Virtual Reality

Jordan Nelson, Tod Clapp

Department of Biomedical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences

Innovation in Software ($3,000)

Real-Time Sensor-Based Groundwater Monitoring

Kayvan Karimi Askarani, Thomas Sale

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Walter Scott, Jr. College of Engineering

Innovation in Programmatic or Educational Outreach ($3,000)

Smart bandage capable of rapid identification and monitoring of bacterial wound infection

Abhishek Bhattacharjee, Yan Vivian Li

Department of Design and Merchandising, College of Health and Human Sciences

Excellence in Interdisciplinary Human-Centered Design Thinking ($3,000)

Presented in honor of the grand opening of the Nancy Richardson Design Center

Chronic Rotator Cuff Model Generation: A Pathway To Regenerative Therapies

James Johnson, Kirk McGilvray

Department of Mechanical Engineering, Walter Scott, Jr. College of Engineering

Excellence in Energy, sponsored by the Energy Institute

First Place ($750)

The Cyan Project – Delivering Low Carbon Building Solutions in Emerging Markets

Darrell Suer, Maren Meyers, Hellen Castro, and Dillon O’Hare

Global Social and Sustainable Enterprise MBA program, College of Business

Second Place ($300)

Quantifying the Environmental Impact of Colorado’s Cannabis Industry

Hailey Summers, Jason Quinn

Department of Mechanical Engineering, Walter Scott, Jr. College of Engineering

College Innovation Awards

The Institute for Entrepreneurship Game Changer Award ($3,000), sponsored by the College of Business

In Line Analysis of Beer Production Using NIR Spectroscopy with Artificial Intelligence-based closed loop control system

Harish Monoharan, Meagha Chilakalapudi, Ramana Kumar

Institute for Entrepreneurship, College of Business

Innovation in Natural Resources ($3,000), co-sponsored by the Warner College of Natural Resources

A Separation of Soil Organic Matter that is Meaningful, Measurable, Modeled, and Mass-Producible

Michelle Haddix, M. Francesca Cotrufo

Natural Resource Ecology Laboratory, Warner College of Natural Resources

Innovation in Liberal Arts ($3,000), co-sponsored by the College of Liberal Arts

The Days after Colorado’s Darkest Day: Historic Archaeology, Digital Humanities, and Heritage Tourism’s Role in Saving Rural America

Raymond Sumner, Jason LaBelle

Department of Anthropology, College of Liberal Arts

Innovation in Health & Human Sciences ($3,000), co-sponsored by the College of Health and Human Sciences

Dressing for Success: It’s in the Details

Haleigh Chwirka, Matthew Malcolm

Department of Occupational Therapy, College of Health and Human Sciences

Innovation in Natural Sciences, sponsored by the College of Natural Sciences

Bacteria Detection Made Simple: The Next Revolution in Food Safety

Cody Carrell, Chuck Henry

Department of Chemistry, College of Natural Sciences

Innovation in Engineering ($3,000), co-sponsored by the Walter Scott, Jr., College of Engineering

Predicting Bone Fracture Healing with bioMEMS Sensors

Jake Wolynski, Kirk McGilvray, Christian Puttlitz

School of Biomedical Engineering, Walter Scott, Jr. College of Engineering

Innovation in Agricultural Sciences ($3,000), co-sponsored by the College of Agricultural Sciences

Building Environmental Assessment Metric (BEAM)

Peter Means, Keith Paustian

Natural Resource Ecology Laboratory, College of Agricultural Sciences

Innovation in Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences ($3,000), co-sponsored by the College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences.

Enabling Diagnoses for Undiagnosed Diseases: Novel Genomic Screen for Structural Variation

Jared Luxton, Susan Bailey

Department of Environmental and Radiological Health Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences

People’s Choice Awards ($750 total)

First Place ($500)

Eye of Horus (EoH): A Real-Time Automated Surveillance System to Protect Citizens

Mihir Pakhale, Mahdi Nikdast

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Walter Scott, Jr. College of Engineering

Second Place ($250)

WASTEd: The Spirit of Fort Collins

Chris Castells, Susan Golicic

Mitch Shanahan, Elisha Nguyen, Stephanie Lachman

Global Social and Sustainable Enterprise MBA program, College of Business