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Shreya Mathur, a 12th grade at Brooks DeBartolo Collegiate High School, took 2nd Place in the competition for her invention, “Stress Master”. It enables the user to access any part of their body with a hand-held massager by a 360-degree pivot unit. She also won the Bailee’s Choice Award. 

The competition took place at the University of South Florida Marshall Student Center earlier this month, and included student inventors from throughout Florida. The students had participated in other Invention, Innovation, Entrepreneurship and or STEM Education programs and were invited to participate with their invention. Winners of the state finals advance to the National Invention Convention held at The Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation next year. 

“Florida is full of talented and bright young learners, and this celebration of invention gives students the opportunity to share what they have created,” said Tracy Zuluaga, coordinator of the Florida Invention Convention. “This competition gets students involved in authentic, project-based learning while demonstrating creativity, collaboration, communication, and critical thinking — all important 21st Century Skills.” 

The event, now in its second year, has grown to over 7,000 participating students statewide. The Florida Invention Convention is sponsored by USF College of Engineering, the National Academy of Inventors (USF Chapter), Moffitt Cancer Center, the Intellectual Property Law Firm of Saliwanchik, and Lloyd and Eisenschenk. The event is organized by Bright Young Minds Coalition, a Florida non-profit that champions invention and entrepreneurship education in schools and youth organizations.

UPDATE: The original posting indicated that Shreya Mathur won 3rd place – BBJ, The Dispatch