Eighteen Syracuse student startup teams captured $40,000 in funding from this year’s RvD iPrize competition sponsored by the iSchool and hosted by the Blackstone LaunchPad. Dean of the iSchool Raj Dewan and Dean of SU Libraries David Seaman joined longtime SU faculty member Gisela vonDran in making the awards. The event honors iSchool dean Raymond Von Dran who served from 1995 until his passing in 2007. He was a longtime academic entrepreneur and staunch supporter of student innovation. To honor his memory and ensure that her husband’s infectious spirit for innovation continued, Gisela generously created the awards which have been awarded annually to top performing Syracuse University students.
This year’s winners included:
Life Sciences, Health, and Wellbeing
- Bearett Tarris, Natural Gait, $4,000
- Anthony Mazzacane, Paul Franco and Zach Stahl, Hydro Health, $2,000
- Justin Monaco and Bruno Gonzalez-Hauger, Illumenar, $1,500
Sustainability and Social Impact Ventures
- Jared Anderson, Emergency Preparedness Project, $2,500
- Simran Lakhani, Sense A, $2,500
- Claire Chevalier, Can Make Compost, $2,500
Consumer Products and Services
- Noah Mechnig-Giordano, Happy Loose Leaf Tea, $3,750
- Damaris “Koi” Munyua, Slay-Stainable, $3,750
Software and Technology
- Justin Gluska, Bus Point, $6,250
- Travis Ghirdarie, Many Hands, $6,250
Creatives and Digital Ventures
- Brandon Henry, Beyond The Box, $2,500
- Zebedayo Masongo, The Grnwood, $1,000
- John “Jack” Rose, Bladepoint Media, $750
- Kellan Godfrey, Remote Start, $750
Nearly 40 teams competed in this year’s event. They included:
| Aidan Mickleburgh | Abridgd |
| Alexander Rolinski | Sice-Me |
| Anthony Mazzacane, Paul Franco, Zach Stahl | HydroHealth |
| Amanda Smith | SusBots |
| Bearett Tarris | Natural Gait |
| Ben Delmarsh | Here’s My Life |
| Brandon Henry | Beyond the Box |
| Brian Burton | Umani |
| Catherine Forrest, Trishla Jain, Abdullah | Secwins |
| Claire Chevalier | Can Make Compost |
| Damaris “Koi” Munyua | Slay-Stainable |
| Gabe Ruoff | Zephyr-Pay |
| Elizabeth Goldblatt | Drake Riley |
| Hafiz Awais Afzal | Rahnumai |
| Jack Rose | Bladepoint Media |
| Jared Anderson | The Emergency Preparedness Project |
| Justin Diaz | Eco Bamboo |
| Justin Gluska | Bus Point |
| Justin Monaco, Bruno Gonzalez-Hauger | Illumenar |
| Kai Patricio | u-cycl |
| Kaifeng Chen, Luo Bei, Daniel Lim | Reality |
| Kellan Godfrey | Remote Start |
| Kelly Davis | Wo-manly |
| Lexi Cianfrani | Club Match |
| Matthew Castagnozzi | Psych-Tek |
| Natasha Lauren Brao | Holy Egg |
| Noah Mechnig-Giordano | Happy Loose Leaf Tea |
| Sajjad Albadri, Sajjad Alhashami | QPuff |
| Samantha Ching | CoHabit |
| Selim Dangoor | Munch Jerky |
| Shaming Ma | Douyou Delivery |
| Simran Lakhani | Sense A |
| Travis Ghirdarie | Many Hands |
| Xuhong Fang | Learn Z |
| Yuki Jiang | Color Rush |
| Zach Katz | Indie Watch |
| Ze Zeng | Paymenta |
| Zebedayo Masongo | The Grnwood |
| Yuki Jiang | Color Rush |