Compressed Air and Gas Institute
Compressed Air and Gas Institute

  1. The Contest

    1. Description
      The CAGI Innovation Awards is a contest that invites engineering students to compete to have their design honored as an innovative use of compressed air or gas. Students will submit designs for judging by industry experts and professionals in the field of compressed air and gas systems and equipment.

    2. Design Categories
      Each entrant will create a design in one of the following device categories (entrant’s choice):
      • Machine Tool Application
      • Motion Control Device
      • Consumer Product
      • Other (Specify)

  2. Submission & Judging

    1. Requirements
      Entries can be submitted online at www.CAGI.org (PDF format preferred), for distribution to judges. Each entry should include, at a minimum, the following:
      • Statement of design category
      • Description/essay: how the design satisfies each of the assessment areas: innovation, marketability, presentation
      • Description/essay: how and why the final design was developed
      • Supporting calculations
      • Schematic drawing(s)

    2. Suggested Schedule
      Following is a general schedule that has been developed to assist teams with their progress to ensure submission of entries are made by or on the deadline date, March 16, 2010
      • October:
        • Identify Team Members
        • Establish Contact with Mentors
        • Review Contest Rules
        • Review Resources Provided by CAGI (e-learning modules, publications)
        • Consult with Professors on Project
        • Develop a Detailed Schedule / Timeline
      • November:
        • Brainstorm with Team Members & Mentors on Project Design
        • Identify Project Design (ensure design satisfies each of the assessment areas: innovation, marketability, presentation)
      • December:
        • Finalize Outline of Project / Initiate Work on Essay
      • January:
        • Prepare Essay, Calculations & Schematics
      • February:
        • Complete Draft of Project Presentation
        • Review Project Presentation with Individuals Not Familiar With Project (ensure project concept is understood as presented)
        • Review Presentation for Spelling, Grammar and Computation Accuracy
        • Submit Presentation to Mentor for Review and Feedback
      • Early-March:
        • Finalize Entry for Submittal
      • March 16, 2010

      Teams may submit their chosen design category, description of design, outline or work plan, and draft of their entry submission at various times during the course of the contest to demonstrate progress on the project. The judges may award points to teams for submitting elements of the project throughout the contest time period, rather than all at once on March 16.

      PLEASE INCLUDE YOUR TEAM NAME AND COLLEGE/UNIVERSITY NAME ON ALL CORRESPONDENCE, INCLUDING ALL ENTRY MATERIALS.

    3. Judging Process
      Industry experts will be the judges of the contest, and they will evaluate each design submission in the following areas:
      • Innovation
      • Marketability
      • Presentation

      Each submission will be awarded points, from 1 to 10, by each judge in each of the assessment categories. Categories will be weighted: Innovation will make up 50% of total score, Marketability will be 30%, and Presentation 20%. Designs deemed to be unsafe or unnecessarily energy inefficient may be penalized points. The submission with the highest overall point total (all areas) wins First Place. Second highest score wins Second Place.

      Accuracy counts, and student submissions should be proofed carefully for mistakes in spelling, grammar, and computations. All drawings, flow schematics, equations, and constants should be defined and labeled thoroughly and accurately, to help communicate to the reader the team’s concept.

      Teams should emphasize the “marketability” aspect of the contest, including a competitive analysis of other related product designs, and a cost study, to help predict how the team’s product concept would be received in the marketplace.

      Should no applicant meet the selection criteria, CAGI reserves the right to not award any prizes. CAGI retains all rights and control over the Innovation Awards contest. All entries will be handled confidentially. Upon request, entries will be returned to teams.

    4. Announcements
      The winning teams, participating schools, CAGI members, and industry will be informed about the contest winners by CAGI. Winning teams will be notified by postal mail, email, and/or a phone call of congratulations. A letter will also be sent to key faculty of each participating school, announcing the winners. Press releases announcing the winners will also be distributed to relevant trade publications, education publications, and local media of the participating schools. The contest results will also be published in the CAGI member newsletter, CAGI website, and other relevant association publications and events.

    5. Resolving Disputes
      The decision of the judges will be final and their evaluations will remain confidential.

  3. Awards

    1. Two prizes will be awarded in the following amounts:
      • First Place: $8,000 will be awarded to the winning school’s participating department, and $2,500 will be awarded to the winning student team
      • Second Place: $4,000 will be awarded to the winning school’s participating department, and $1,500 will be awarded to the winning student team

  4. Establishing Teams

    1. Number of Teams per School
      There is no minimum or maximum number of teams per school.

    2. Team Size
      Team size can vary…any size is acceptable.

    3. Class/Age Requirements
      All team members must be enrolled in an undergraduate engineering program during the semester/term they contribute to the design. Projects submitted by graduate students are not eligible.

  5. Mentors

    1. Mentor Volunteers
      CAGI members will be assigned as mentors to each team that enters the contest. Once teams are formed, teams are encouraged to schedule monthly meetings and weekly conference calls, or email correspondence with their volunteer mentors to discuss contest rules, timeline, responsibilities, brainstorm strategy, mechanics, etc.

      The contest timeline includes a Mentor Preview. Each mentor will take a first look at the team’s entry materials, provide any feedback to the team, and confirm with CAGI that the preview has occurred. This will help ensure each team’s entry conveys the topic, includes all necessary facts and computations, and can readily be understood by someone not familiar with the product concept.

  6. Timeline

    7. Date Task
    June 1, 2009 Announcement of competition
    Sept. 24, 2009 Deadline for commitments by schools
    Oct. 15, 2009 Deadline for student team registrations
    Oct. 16, 2009 Welcome Kit sent to student teams
    February 15, 2010 Mentor Preview
    March 16, 2010 Deadline for contest entries
    April 2, 2010 Completion of Judging
    April 12, 2010 Announcement of winners
    April 30, 2010 Prize disbursement

  7. Publicity

    1. Public Relations
      The public relations effort will help increase awareness nationwide of the contest, the participating schools, and the winners through editorial coverage in academic publications, trade publications, related websites, plus local media. Of course, CAGI publications will also run stories on the contest and winners.

    2. Website
      Our website, www.CAGI.org, will help promote the contest, provide contest details and rules, enable teams to submit their entry online, and later feature the winning teams.

  8. Finances

    1. Registration Fees
      There is no registration fee from the students or school, to eliminate barriers to entry and encourage participation in the contest.

    2. ASME
      Local chapters of ASME have been contacted as possible co-sponsors of the Innovation Awards, to help the contest get noticed by students and further encourage participation.

  9. Educational Opportunities

    1. Course Credit
      Offering credit hours to students for participating in the contest is encouraged. But this will be at each school’s discretion (not mandatory) and will need to be structured within the individual university’s coursework.

    2. Integration with Current Curriculum
      We suggest that your college or university utilize the contest within current curriculum to help increase participation. Senior Projects and other coursework requirements can be “freshened up” by using the contest.

    3. Online Tutorials
      Student teams will receive free access to the CAGI e-learning system or “Smart Site”, providing them access to online tutorials on compressed air and gas, a resource for developing their contest entry. Free “seats” will be set up for each team and student participant. The Online Tests can be taken by the students if desired, but only for self-assessment of mastery. The Online Test results will not influence the contest and awards.

    4. Guest Speakers
      CAGI would be happy to provide a guest speaker for your university classroom or ASME chapter event. Providing professional guest speakers can help students receive practical, real-world knowledge. Please contact CAGI to arrange for a speaker.