MAGNET held its annual Mspire competition today! Our judges heard from 11 entrepreneurs who are competing for up to $75,000 in prizes and services to support their innovative endeavors. The entries range from med tech, to food innovation and included many power innovations in the mix. Thank you to the dedicated panel of judges who participated in this year's competition.  Winners will be announced on September 19 at MAGNET. 

• The first pitch came from Evan Delahanty of Peaceful Fruits, who is trying to reinvigorate fruit snacks by including 100% fruit based ingredients to offer a healthy, tasty alternative for young families and fruit snack enthusiasts of all ages!
• Auxilium Health, Inc. introduced their next-generation wound care technology. Aparna Agrawal, PhD explained their technology that aims to reduce wound-healing complications and improve patient outcomes.
• Petra Power is a precision manufacturer of reversible solid oxide cell systems. In today's Mspire pitch, Phillip C. is presenting their plan to build the foundation for the future, utilizing fossil fuels more efficiently today while supporting the development of a mature hydrogen infrastructure across the globe!
  
• OneVue LLC, is on a mission to eradicate preventable blindness worldwide. Ibrahim Seven, PhD presented their technology and plan for advanced optics to Mspire judges.
• Lexi Knight explained how Solar Sprout offers an integrated solar panel solution that generates electricity and boosts crop yields by 30% or more. This dual functionality solution was pitched to Mspire judges.
• Aqua Gel Ponics (AGP Substrates, LLC) aims to reduce labor and waste costs for commercial aquaponic farmers, revolutionizing aquaponic plant production. Cori Byrge explained the advancement of sustainable agriculture, specializing in biodegradable plant substrates, to Mspire judges.
• Thomas Hawkins of Smokey Hawk Soliton pitched magnetic propulsion systems that would make space exploration more affordable and sustainable (and less hazardous!) to the Mspire judges.
• Michael Haritakis and Chad DiGennaro of UGen pitched their patented physical movement sensor technology that would allow monitoring of biomechanics and rep completion, optimizing a patient's recovery.
• Amy Mucha of Daisy Makes presented her versatile 3-D cake popping system that enhances both speed and consistency for beloved cake pops. This system could make cake popping easier, faster and more enjoyable for everyone!
• Accelerate Wind and Erika Boeing wants to help building owners save money and move towards net zero energy with wind turbines that are designed to be installed at the edge of a roof where wind speeds are fastest and paired with rooftop solar. 
• Alan Long presented Galvanix's focus on commercializing proprietary technology for sustainable neodymium metallization to support a domestic Rare Earth magnet supply chain. This metal is essential to permanent magnets used in electric vehicles, windmills, computer hard drives, and more.