51 students, 10 teams, 16 hours – 2022 Fall ND Engineering Innovate-o-Thon!

2022 Innovat-o-thon participants group photo

Fifty-one undergraduates from across campus came together to compete in the 2022 Fall Notre Dame Engineering Innovate-o-Thon, a 16-hour innovation challenge sponsored by Marmon Holdings, Inc.

Ten teams researched, developed and presented a prototype solution to a real-world business problem proposed by Marmon executives.

The event kicked off at 5 p.m. on Friday, November 11, when the mystery challenge was revealed. Teams then worked well into the night on ideation and concept development to engineer a new product.

The following morning, teams pitched their prototypes. Each team had 10 minutes to present and defend their solutions, followed by five minutes for Q&A.

Marmon awarded more than $8,000 in prizes to three teams: Slay STEAM Team (first place), Overnight Greatness (second place), and Delta Cheg (third place).

Slay STEAM Team (first place)
Slay STEAM Team (first place)
Overnight Greatness (second place)
Overnight Greatness (second place)

Maria Warren, assistant teaching professor of aerospace and mechanical engineering and faculty mentor to the Slay STEAM Team, tweeted: “I was really impressed by the students’ character. They brought out everyone’s ideas during brainstorming, made decisions as a team, and even took the time to make me a thank-you card in the midst of the time crunch.”

Edgar Bolívar-Nieto, assistant professor of aerospace and mechanical engineering and faculty mentor to the Overnight Greatness team, tweeted: “Cool to see that our group had future computer scientists and chemical engineers. The teams scored 100 percent in friendship and professionalism.”

The event was organized in collaboration with Notre Dame’s  Engineering Innovation Hub, the collaborative, experiential learning facility located in Fitzpatrick Hall of Engineering.

Marmon Holdings is a global industrial organization comprising 11 diverse business sectors and more than 100 autonomous manufacturing and service businesses.

— Karla Cruise, College of Engineering