The four finalist teams will pitch their ideas live to a panel of judges for the $10,000 grand prize in the Y-Prize Grand Finale on February 3, 2020…Read More
2019 Y-Prize Finalists Pitch Ideas to Heal Metal, Harvest Energy in Remote Locales
Y-Prize
Y-Prize Winners Avisi Technologies Land $225K Federal Grant for Glaucoma Treatment
The winners of Penn’s 5th annual Y-Prize Competition, Avisi Technologies, have secured a $225,000 National Science Foundation grant to continue developing their eye implant VisiPlate.…Read More
2019 Y-Prize Winners’ Goal: Reduce Deaths from Hospital-Acquired Infections
The 2019 Y-Prize winners introduced a plan create a new, improved catheter designed to stop costly and deadly infections at the source.…Read More
2018-2019 Y-Prize Finalists Take One Technology in Four Different Directions
The finalists in Penn’s seventh annual Y-Prize Competition have collectively proposed one of the most diverse slates of applications in recent memory, spanning infection prevention, saltwater desalination, green energy, and tissue engineering.…Read More
2017 Y-Prize Champions Win Penn President’s Innovation Prize
The team will receive $250K to help them bring their revolutionary glaucoma treatment to market.…Read More
2018 Y-Prize Winners Reveal Their Secrets to Successful Teamwork
Michael Lee and Henry Zhou of Cellview Sciences share how they balanced their team’s expertise in business and science to win Penn’s 2018 Y-Prize Competition.…Read More
2017-2018 Y-Prize Finalists Focus on Medical Applications, Aeronautics
This year’s Y-Prize finalists pitch their ideas live on January 30.…Read More
6th Annual Y-Prize Competition Now Open
Since 2012, the Mack Institute has helped host the Y-Prize Competition, a contest in which members of the Penn community compete to propose the best commercial applications for an emerging technology.…Read More
2017 Y-Prize Winner VisiPlate Offers Innovative Glaucoma Solution
Penn’s 2017 Y-Prize winner proposed using ultrathin aluminum oxide implants to release eye pressure that leads to irreversible optic nerve damage.…Read More
Introducing the 2016-2017 Y-Prize Finalists
The finalists in this year’s Y-Prize Competition have proposed ideas that would improve greenhouses, expedite heat removal in electronics, block sun from cars windows, and even defend against glaucoma.…Read More
2016 Y-Prize Winner is Fermento!
The winner of the 2015-2016 Y-Prize competition is Fermento for their idea to use Penn-developed microfluidics technology to improve the production process of beer.…Read More
Introducing the 2015-2016 Y-Prize Finalists
The finalists in this year’s Y-Prize Competition have proposed ideas that would bring drug manufacturing right to the patient’s bedside, accelerate the production process of beer, and take the needle out of vaccine delivery.…Read More
Y-Prize Competitors Making News
Recent Y-Prize winners and finalists have used the competition as a launching pad to pursue even bigger and better opportunities.…Read More
Announcing the 2014-2015 Y-Prize Winners
The Mack Institute is thrilled to announce the winners in our third annual Y-Prize Competition.…Read More
Introducing the 2014-2015 Y-Prize Finalists
The Y-Prize is a competition in which student teams propose innovative commercial applications for technology invented by University of Pennsylvania researchers.We are thrilled to introduce the finalists in the 2014-2015 Competition.…Read More
Y-Prize Competitors Throw Their Hats in the Ring
While much of the country was staying up late on the first Tuesday in November to watch election results roll in, for Mack Institute staffers the night after was the real nail-biter. This was the deadline for entries in the Y-Prize, and our anticipation was well rewarded.…Read More
Collaborative Energy at the Y-Prize Kick-Off
The Y-Prize Competition asks students to take a fresh approach to the challenge of inventing new applications for Penn research. At last week’s Kick-Off, students from diverse corners of the Penn community gathered in the Singh Center for Nanotechnology.…Read More
Y-Prize Competition Kick-Off
The Mack Institute is proud to announce the opening of the third annual Y-Prize competition.…Read More
Perspectives on the Y-Prize: Grand Prize Winner Emily Plumb
“She was so passionate about the her goal—utilizing TRHex to get students interested in STEM subjects. Her enthusiasm was infectious! She utilized an existing technology in a creative way, and she did a great job of communicating her idea and bringing the business to life.” That’s how Michelle Proctor—Director of Innovation…Read More
Perspectives on the Y-Prize: Consultants Gavin Kenneally and Isabelle Park
A key goal of the Y-Prize Competition is to foster collaboration between various schools at Penn. Isabelle Park, an MBA candidate at the Wharton School, and Gavin Kenneally, a Ph.D. Candidate in Mechanical Engineering, describe the joys and challenges of working on a cross-disciplinary team. What role did you play in shaping…Read More