Congratulations to Our 2024 Grand Prize and First Place Winners!

NETrolyze, a novel immunotherapy for triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), was named the $25,000 grand prize winner at a live finalist round held November 15 in New York. The first-in-class therapeutic injectable gel prevents the spread of TNBC, one of the most aggressive cancer types, enabling patients to avoid toxic chemotherapy and expensive treatments – potentially transforming their lives. Click here for the full list of 2024 winners. Also see the Top 100 highest scoring entries.

Help build a better tomorrow

Since Tech Briefs magazine launched the Create the Future Design contest in 2002 to recognize and reward engineering innovation, over 15,000 design ideas have been submitted by engineers, students, and entrepreneurs in more than 100 countries. Join the innovators who dared to dream big by entering your ideas today.

Read About Past Winners’ Success Stories

Special Report spotlights the eight top entries in 2023 as well as past winners whose ideas are now in the market, making a difference in the world.

Click here to read more

A ‘Create the Future’ Winner Featured on ‘Here’s an Idea’

Spinal cord injury affects 17,000 Americans and 700,000 people worldwide each year. A research team at NeuroPair, Inc. won the Grand Prize in the 2023 Create the Future Design Contest for a revolutionary approach to spinal cord repair. In this Here’s an Idea podcast episode, Dr. Johannes Dapprich, NeuroPair’s CEO and founder, discusses their groundbreaking approach that addresses a critical need in the medical field, offering a fast and minimally invasive solution to a long-standing problem.

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Thank you from our Sponsors

“At COMSOL, we are very excited to recognize innovators and their important work this year. We are grateful for the opportunity to support the Create the Future Design Contest, which is an excellent platform for designers to showcase their ideas and products in front of a worldwide audience. Best of luck to all participants!”

— Bernt Nilsson, Senior Vice President of Marketing, COMSOL, Inc.

“From our beginnings, Mouser has supported engineers, innovators and students. We are proud of our longstanding support for the Create the Future Design Contest and the many innovations it has inspired.”

— Kevin Hess, Senior Vice President of Marketing, Mouser Electronics

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Dan C. Surber

Senior Principal Systems Engineer
Raytheon Technical Services Co. LLC
Zionsville, IN

I am a Chief Systems Engineer for International and Mission Systems Integration programs with 10 years of service with Raytheon. Previously I was the Manager of Systems Engineering & Integration for the J.I. Case Corp. I also worked as an Avionics Systems Engineer for Boeing Helicopters (RAH-66 Comanche and V-22 Osprey), and as an Advanced Human Factors Engineer for General Dynamics (YF-22A Raptor, NASA X-30 NASP, AFTI/CAS F-16, RF-16 and F-111 AMP). I've flow 17 types of aircraft, hold an ATP Multi-engine and Commercial Pilot Single-engine rating with 5,000 hours of flight and flight simulator experience. I'm also a rated parachutist. In 1998 I retired from the US Army Reserve with 10 yrs in the Guard & Reserve forces, and 12 years of active duty. I graduated from the US Air Force Academy with a B.S. in History in 1974, from Air Command & Staff College in 1982, and from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in 1983 with a M.S. in Aeronautical Science. My doctorate was in applied systems engineering to product development in 2001, and I was part of the first group of systems engineers to earn to INCOSE Certified Systems Engineering Professional certification in 2004, and the Expert Systems Engineering Professional certification in 2010.