News & Events

FINALISTS IN BEN FRANKLIN’S BIG IDEA CONTEST ANNOUNCED!

Over the course of the past two months, hundreds of people located in the counties of Bedford, Blair, Fulton, Cambria, Huntingdon, and Somerset in Pennsylvania visited BIGIDEA.BenFranklin.org to check out the rules and the easy application process for our recent $50,000 contest.  This week, our team had the difficult job of identifying just six finalists from all the applications received from the region’s emerging tech-entrepreneurs, innovators, and small manufacturers.

Ben Franklin Technology Partners, in partnership with the Startup Alleghenies initiative, is pleased to announce the finalists:

Timothy & April Kretchman, with Action Driven Education in Somerset County, are developing a web-based APP that empowers the development of an effective education for children with disabilities.

Sam Thurau, with HHG Drums in Blair County, is creating high-end snare drums using a unique solid wood construction and a novel manufacturing technique.

Duncan Everhart, with Hinterland Tools in Bedford County, is developing compound angle woodworking joints that are used on a table saw without the need for Trigonometry.

Ankit Patel, with Meerya in Bedford County, is developing a platform that gives drivers a versatile voice to help them communicate safely, effectively, and with less noise pollution.

Mary Kate Zima, with Nurse Navigator Solutions in Cambria County, provides external nurse navigation services to medical practices by leveraging a proprietary tech platform.

Travis Lodolinski and Derek Lengenfelder, with On Air in Cambria County, are developing a social audio platform that allows users to record voice messages adding real time sound fx.

Emily Korns with Utown Works in Somerset County, developed Virtual Main Street – an affordable, practical technology solution to retrofit Main Street retail stores to operate autonomously.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, Jilledwards@psu.edu / 717-948-6625