Randall Family Big Idea Competition

Four students standing side by side
ReSolution, a self-cleaning contact case, took home the top prize of this year’s Randall Family Big Ideas Competition.
A person in a blue jacket standing outdoors in front of a panther statue
As a master trainer at the Pete, Kunal Gandhi noticed that improper form during exercise was resulting in injuries. The app he developed to help recently won an award from the NFL.
a sleek white device with four holes
Even a dollar-store toothbrush can be a smart toothbrush with a new invention from fourth-year dental student Sohail Rana and colleagues from the Swanson School of Engineering. Their toothbrush holder and app were developed through a number of Pitt innovation initiatives.
A black smartphone connected to a charger and the Canal Battery Guard.
Developed in a Pitt engineering classroom, the Canal Battery Guard mediates between your phone and charger to keep the battery working better for longer.
A person scrolls on a smartphone
The teams in this year’s Randall Family Big Idea Competition couldn’t be stopped—competitors asked the organizers to go digital, and they obliged. See the winners.
HiberSense on a phone with multiple boxes containing temperatures
Powered by Pitt innovation pathways, HiberSense is a smart heating and cooling system that collects data on temperature, humidity, occupancy and air-quality and “learns” using predictive analytics to anticipate the desired temperature room by room.
three young men standing next to the Panther statue on campus, looking up. One is holding a phone with the app on the screen
Created by a group of Pitt students, Inrstellar is a new dating app that emphasizes compatibility over looks. Pitt assistant professor of psychology Amanda Forest, who studies relationships and interpersonal communication, offers her thoughts.
Maliha Zahid headshot with blue jacket and blouse
This fall's competitions awarded more than $600,000 for faculty and student researchers. In addition, mentoring opportunities in the competitions offer researchers help in commercialization, which takes products from the lab into spaces like a doctor’s office or a factory.
At the 10th annual Randall Family Big Idea competition, 13 student teams were awarded a total of $100,000 for their inventions and innovations. A new Big Idea Center was also announced, set to open in the 2018-19 academic year.