The third annual Make-A-Thon kicked off over the weekend at Hunt Library with a total of 48 teams and 168 participants. Make-A-Thon is an annual event designed to allow students to find creative solutions to help improve sustainability measures.
This year’s sustainability themes concentrated on energy, water, waste, food and transportation. Students from all different disciplines are given 72 hours to come up with a product and pitch their idea in a science-fair presentation style on the third day.
Ten of the living and learning villages across campus are also represented in Make-A-Thon. Haley Huie, director of Albright Entrepreneurs Village, has been a part of the planning committee since the beginning and is encouraged to see the event grow each year.
“Make-A-Thon started as a partnership that was between the sustainability office, the libraries, and a couple living and learning villages,” Huie said. “It started as a springboard for students who wanted to make a difference. Originally it was going to be between multiple villages, but we changed that to include multiple colleges.”
A part of the mission behind partnering with the libraries is to give students the opportunity to access the materials and machines that are available in the Makerspace. Adam Rogers, head of Making and Innovation Studios, runs the Makerspaces in the library.
“Make-A-Thon was a natural extension to allow students from different backgrounds to access that type of technology,” Rogers said.
In teams, students came up with a wide range of ideas of how they wanted to use technology to create more sustainable products. On Saturday, students spent time in D. H. Hill Library to work on their prototypes and utilize the Makerspace and fishbowl room. The ideas ranged from a change in water pressure in a shower to solar-powered blinds to an app that would help you find available parking.
Some students were using software such as Fusion360 and Solidworks to model their ideas while others created app prototypes and used solar panels.
The event concluded on Sunday when a social media prize of Snapchat Spectacles went to team SmartPlant for the team’s use of social media to chronicle its journey. Other teams, including iBad Move, She Wolf, and Blockchain Bounty Hunters, all received a free consultation with Paradigm Innovations since judges found that their companies had promising ideas for continued development.
Autodesk, a partner of NC State, helped to sponsor the event as well and awarded team Generation S with 3D CAD mice for their use of the Fusion360 software to design their product.
There were three overall prizes as well for teams with the most points. Members of the team Veggie Nuggets received third place and were awarded with VR goggles. Second place went to Blockchain Bounty Hunters, and they each took home GoPro cameras. Team MPG won first place, and its members were awarded with FlashForge 3D printers.
Chester Miller, director of the Engineering Village, closed out the event by thanking the students who participated, as well as the 12 sponsors who helped make the event possible.
“To have folks who are really not affiliated with NC State but are stakeholders that champion what we are doing here and seeing that we are finding more innovative ways to create opportunities for you all [students] to think and do,” Miller said.
Ryan Kelley, a fourth-year student studying mechanical engineering, works on an "Internet of things upfit" meant to improve the efficiency of working parts in factories during Make-a-thon in the D. H. Hill Makerspace on Saturday, Jan. 27, 2018. Make-a-thon is an annual three-day challenge at NC State for which student teams work together to research design, prototype, and build new sustainability solutions.
