Young Connecticut Inventors Take Home National Awards

HARTFORD, CT – Connecticut’s delegation of 55 young inventors, chosen from thousands throughout the state’s Connecticut Invention Convention programs, brought home 13 awards from the first-ever National Invention Convention and Entrepreneurship Expo.

And one national champion was from Southington.

The event was staged from May 19 to 21 in Washington, D.C.

Lucca Riccio, an eighth-grader from Southington, was named national champion with his “Message Mask” product – a Bluetooth-enabled, noise-canceling CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure) medical device that helps patients communicate clearly with loved ones while receiving oxygen through the mask.

Lucca won the Most Marketable Product award, beating out more than 260 invited competitors from 15 states.

He has filed the product with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and is working on commercializing his product this year, Invention Convention Officials said.

A total of 43 winners took home honors from the inaugural NICEE 2016 event. Connecticut and Ohio took home the most awards with 13 each, followed by Idaho with seven. Eight states had students place at NICEE 2016.

"We congratulate all of the inventors for such an incredible showing at the first-ever Nationals," said Helen Charov, executive director of the Connecticut Invention Convention.

The list of national winners is here.

Click here for state Invention Convention winners.

Riccio’s Message Mask solves a key problem for patients using oxygen masks: having a hard time being understood due to the noise of the oxygen flow and mouth-covering plastic cover. Riccio thought of the idea when in the Emergency Room with his grandmother, as his uncle rushed across the country to her bedside.

"He wanted to talk to her, he was scared he would not make it there in time. But the phone could not pick up her voice over the noise of the machinery in the room, and I could not understand her through the muffled mask to tell him what she was saying," Riccio said.

"My Bluetooth-enabled noise canceling microphone would have picked up her voice and relayed it to the smartphone as well as to a local speaker, so everyone could hear," Riccio added.

"All of the products that we evaluated for the Most Marketable Product award were so incredible, and the inventors so poised and prepared,” said Christine Heckart, chief marketing officer for Brocade Communications Systems Inc., the firm which sponsored this Best-in-Show honor. "What made the Message Mask stand out was its ability to impact a large a group of people worldwide. This innovation could be used in homes and hospitals worldwide, helping patients, staff and families communicate with loved ones at a critical time in their lives."

Other Connecticut Invention Convention winners included:

• Arya Bairat of Milford (Grade 8) took the "Most Patentable" award and placed third in his grade category with "CO2E," an invention to convert pollutant CO2 emissions into energy.
• Sawyer Baran of Lebanon (Grade 8) won the Education Award for his I-Composer invention to aid the vision-impaired use of an I-Pad.
• Abkinav Kumar of Rye, NY (Grade 8), who participated in the CIC program this year, took first place in his grade division for his “Magneto Charger,” a more efficient way to increase the distance of wireless transfer of electricity using simple non-radiative methods.
• Natalie Lindstrom of Oakville (Grade 7) won the Best Logbook award for "Tape Tags," which help find the end of a roll of tape.
• Gabriella Margolies of Trumbull (Grade 5) won the Home Technology Award for her “Insta Rack” which creates an easier way to store bicycles.
• Eli Mathieu of Colchester (Grade 9) took first in the Grade 9 through 12 category and the Microsoft Accessibility Award with his "Listen4Me" invention for the hearing impaired.
• Ashton Rader of Enfield (Grade 5) brought home the Best Invention for Pets and Animal Care, with his Basset Bowl made to keep his dog’s ears dry.
• Robert Testa of Wolcott (Grade 4), won the Consumer Goods and Fashion Award, with his "Mr. Happy Tie," a tie with a hidden stethoscope to dispel children’s fear of doctors.
• Maggie Young of Plainfield (Grade 3) won the Best Prototype award for her "Lazy Bones," a base which holds bones for her dog to eat easier.
• Hannah Zink of Farmington (Grade 8) won the Agricultural Award with her "Test 36 Gum," a dissolve-in-your- mouth gum.

Over the past 33 years, more than 300,000 Connecticut school children have participated in the CICm curriculum.

The CIC was presented the STEM Achievement Award for 2016 by the Connecticut Science Center and the Sigmund Abeles STEM Advocate award by the CT Science Teachers Association

The Connecticut Invention Convention is a on-profit organization whose mission it is to foster interest in STEM - science, technology, engineering and math - careers in children in grades K through 12 through a classroom-based program of invention, innovation and entrepreneurship.

The program is conducted year-round in 246 schools in more than half the cities and towns in Connecticut, with local “invention conventions” held at schools or districts, culminating with a Finals event hosted by the University of Connecticut School of Engineering at Storrs.

Since its founding in 1983, it has supported more than 300,000 inventors in the program, and is the largest and longest operating program of its kind in the nation.

Photo Credit: Governor's Office