Seraphina Callaghan and Lauren Farabaugh placed third and won $5,000 at the Zingale Big Idea Competition at Allegheny College earlier this month.
“We pitched an industrial marker system that is resistant to high heat, utilizing inorganic thermochromic pigments,” they said. “Our product addresses the widespread safety negligence surrounding temperature exposure. It provides visual feedback of temperature changes with clear indicating colors.”
Students from several different universities competed at the event. The first-place prize of $15,000 went to a student from Allegheny.
“We presented an innovative business pitch to a panel of judges, placing in the top 10 out of 30,” said Callaghan. “We then advanced from the semifinals to the finals, modified our pitch, and presented it to a larger panel of judges.”
Callaghan and Farabaugh also finished in second place and won $500 dollars at the SF-U-Pitch competition in March. They said they are grateful for these opportunities to present their ideas, as well as the money they won to help fund their project.
“The judges provided us with excellent constructive feedback,” they said.
John Miko, Associate Dean of the Shields School of Business, was impressed by the SFU team’s strategic planning.
“They identified a problem and utilized the skills they have learned in their engineering curriculum to design a safer solution,” he said. “Beyond their technical engineering skills, they used business planning fundamentals to put together a very feasible business plan that has real promise.
“I am really proud of these two young ladies.”
