Announcing Our 2024 CIC Undergraduate Winners

The Collegiate Inventors Competition^® (CIC) has been recognizing and rewarding the country’s most creative and innovative college students since 1990.

On Oct. 16-17, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) headquarters in Alexandria, Virginia, hosted the 2024 competition. Finalists presented their inventions to Judges including National Inventors Hall of Fame^® Inductees and USPTO officials, gaining expert feedback and encouragement while competing for cash prizes and patent acceleration.

Congratulations to Our 2024 CIC Undergraduate Winners!

Representing University of Wisconsin–Madison, our Undergraduate Winners are Zach Spears, Molly Paras and Lauren Fitzsimmons, who invented The Nerve Ninja!

In procedures like delicate carpal tunnel release surgeries, there can be direct damage to nerves and tissue from surgical instruments that have not progressed in decades. The Nerve Ninja enhances safety and efficiency in such procedures by combining the precision of a scalpel blade with the utility of surgical scissors, allowing surgeons to safely and easily dissect and cut tissue.

As our Undergraduate Winner, The Nerve Ninja team received a cash prize of $10,000 and a USPTO Patent Acceleration Certificate.

“I’m incredibly proud of the progress that our team has made since our first prototype,” said Fitzsimmons. “Our progress throughout this process is a testament to our hard work and dedication to this project, and for that I am so incredibly proud of our team.”

“Seeing how far we’ve come is amazing, and it will be amazing to see if that journey and how we move forward is able to improve the life of even just one person down the line,” Paras said. Spears added, “I hope that our product or some iteration of our product can help patients around the world.”

Congratulations to Our 2024 CIC Undergraduate Runners-Up!

Our Undergraduate Runners-Up are the FetalCare Port System team: Selena Shirkin, Eric McAlexander, Gloria Kalnitskaya and Ayeeshi Poosarla, representing Johns Hopkins University!

Fetal surgery can correct life-threatening fetal abnormalities in the womb, but without specific surgical tools designed for fetal use, surgeons must adapt instruments meant for other procedures. To address this issue, the FetalCare Port System is tailored to the uterine environment and supports safer, more efficient surgeries by reducing risks of membrane punctures and pre-term births.

The FetalCare Port System team brought home a $5,000 cash prize to advance their innovative journey.

“I’m most proud of how we addressed such a difficult, multifaceted problem with such an elegant, simplistic solution,” said McAlexander.

“This competition provides a unique platform to gain recognition for our work, receive valuable feedback from industry leaders, and secure resources to further refine and implement our invention,” Shirkin said. “Additionally, being part of a community of like-minded inventors and innovators can inspire new ideas and collaborations, helping us push the boundaries of what’s possible in our field.”

Who Are Our 2024 CIC Graduate Winners?

Learn about our Graduate Winners by checking out our blog, and find out more about CIC by visiting our website.