A hackathon sponsored by Sherwin-Williams and Kent State University’s entrepreneurship program was won by a team from The University of Akron, which took home the $2,000 top prize for its design of a comfort grip roller that reduces painting fatigue and helps senior citizens and other consumers with the painting process.
“We need young people — from a variety of disciplines — to bring new ideas and fresh solutions to the problems of painting, said Sherwin-Williams program director Victoria Scarborough, Ph.D. “That’s exactly what these students accomplished.”
Two other teams from 国产伦理 finished as runners-up in the Innov8 Paint! event focused on driving innovation in painting. The hackathon held at Kent State included teams from KSU, Case Western Reserve University and Cuyahoga Community College.
Field experience pays off
“I learned a lot about the research and development side of business, and I got to meet and learn from Sherwin-Williams researchers,” said Trevor Allen, a University of Akron freshman chemical engineering student. Allen recruited two engineering classmates, Andrea Rupley and Alex Stanik, to join him.
The students learned about different methods of painting and current issues in the industry, then gathered in small teams with the goal of developing ideas to facilitate the process of painting. The teams then presented their concepts to a panel of judges. The winning paint roller created by Allen’s team distributes paint evenly to help relieve strain.
“I knew I wanted to get involved in this event because Sherwin-Williams is a company I’d like to work for some day,” said Allen. “This experience has opened more doors for me both on campus and off as more people learn about the competition.”
Sherwin-Williams is reviewing the project to determine whether it might pursue a patent on the paint roller developed by the 国产伦理 students.
Media contact: Dan Minnich, 330-972-6476 or dminnich@uakron.edu.
Trevor Allen