5 Student Teams Win 2026 Collegiate Inventors Competition

ALEXANDRIA, Va., Oct. 16, 2026 /CourierPR/ -- This week at the 2026 Collegiate Inventors Competition®, five undergraduate and five graduate student teams from nine colleges and universities across the United States showcased their innovative projects. The competition, established in 1990 by the National Inventors Hall of Fame, honors and rewards the research, innovations, and discoveries by college students and their advisers.

Among the winners, CPRight, a team from the University of Washington, emerged as the first-place undergraduate winner. The team, comprising Shubham Bansal, Prisha Hemani, Deeya Sharma, and Nikhita Vaddineni, advised by Tristan Jafari, developed CPRight, a single-use, wallet-sized patch designed to guide bystanders in performing effective CPR. According to the release, each year, more than 350,000 Americans experience a heart attack outside a hospital, and about 90% of them die. Bystanders are often willing to help but are unable to deliver high-quality CPR. CPRight addresses this issue by displaying simple LED cues to show rescuers whether compression depths and rates are effective, making it accessible and easy to use when seconds count to save lives.

In the graduate category, ClearView-Jaw from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine took the top prize. The team, led by William McKay, Zachary Spears, and Amogh Vellore, with advisers Anish Ghodadra and Matthew Spector, created a device to improve outcomes for head and neck cancer patients. The ClearView-Jaw device reduces harmful backscatter and shadowing while helping clinicians target tumors more precisely, lowering complications and improving patient outcomes.

The runner-up undergraduate award went to KAIRS (Knee Artificial Intelligence Rehabilitation Sleeve) from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The team, including Samanyu Dixit, Hieu Minh Doan, Sahaj Sapovadia, and Chinmay Singh, advised by Devin Hubbard, developed a wearable rehab system. KAIRS continuously monitors the range of knee motion and quality of movement during at-home exercises and everyday activities, providing individualized progress tracking for patients and remote monitoring for clinicians. This invention aims to improve rehab adherence, support clinical decisions, and enable personalized care plans for patients with limited access to physical therapy.

The People's Choice Award was awarded to NeuTrode, a flexible EEG electrode designed by the University of South Florida. Bridget Clift, Cristina Ramirez-Vargas, and Addison Whitehead, advised by Nathan Schilaty, created NeuTrode to maintain consistent scalp contact without the use of gels or liquids. The soft, comfortable design adapts to different hair densities, skin conditions, and head shapes, enabling faster setup, improved patient comfort, and steady, reliable signal acquisition.

In addition to cash awards, the winning teams also received a USPTO Patent Acceleration Certificate. The competition has featured more than 500 innovators who have created cutting-edge, world-changing inventions since its inception. The National Inventors Hall of Fame continues to support, recognize, and reward young inventors who embody creativity, courage, and persistence.