South Dakota Mines has won both the student and open
division categories at the South Dakota
Governor’s Giant Vision Business Competition. The competition is the biggest
of its type in the state and Mines students or alumni have taken home top
honors at the competition for eight years in a row.
The wins at Giant Vision conclude a year of top
honors for Mines student business competitors. Mines has taken home first place
at every statewide business competition this year. This includes top honors at
University of South Dakota (USD) and Dakota State University (DSU) competitions.
In 2022, Mines students have won $43,000 in prize money at business plan
competitions. These winnings total five times more prize money than all other state
university winners combined.
“Congratulations to this year’s winners. These
students are fantastic examples of the culture of entrepreneurship and
innovation that thrives on our campus,” says Mines President Jim Rankin. “We’re
proud of the work of our students, faculty and alumni have set by turning
high-tech ideas into businesses that transform the state economy. We’re also
thankful to Governor Kristi Noem and all the organizers of the Governor’s Giant
Vision Competition for inspiring and supporting the next generation of
innovators through this annual event.”
Governor’s Giant Vision
Winners
Whytneigh Duffie, a Ph.D. candidate in the Karen M.
Swindler Department Chemical and Biological Engineering, took home first place in
the student division with her business, Disappex LLC.
Duffie’s business involves a new type of
high-resolution 3D printer resin that dissolves in water. The product can be
used in the injection molding process for manufacturing in a wide range of
industries. The applications could include precision casting of parts that are
difficult to machine, end-of-life disposal of a part or device to prevent
reverse engineering of sensitive technology, and a wide range of medical uses
from new types of casts for broken bones to wound coverings to drug delivery.
Duffie also won the 2022 Braun Student Inventor Award, which includes a $5,000 cash
prize and a free patent application. She claimed the top spot at this year’s
i2i Business Competition at USD. In
total, she has claimed $10,000 in prize money in business competitions in the
state.
Maryam Amouamouha, a Ph.D. candidate in the Karen M.
Swindler Department Chemical and Biological Engineering, won the business
competition with her company, AMBER
LLC. The company makes on-site wastewater purification systems that can replace
traditional septic systems and provide clean water discharge from any home or
business. The invention requires no
excavation and is designed to drop in place. Amouamouha takes home $20,000 in prize
money for winning the business competition.
“These two students represent the best innovators in
South Dakota. We’re proud that these winners are women and minority
entrepreneurs who are at the top of their student careers. They are fantastic
role models for all of us at Mines and for all future students,” says Joseph
Wright, associate vice president for research affairs at Mines.
Mines undergraduate student Philip Litecky also placed
4th in the student division, winning $2,000 with his company Li-Tech Lures, LLC.
Henry Wegehaupt, Mines alumnus and former student winner, placed 4th in the business
division, bringing home $3,000.
The Governor’s Giant Vision Business Competition and
Governor’s Giant Vision Student Competition were established to help citizens
realize that South Dakota is the very best place to start a successful
business. The event is sponsored by the South Dakota Chamber of Commerce &
Industry. The competition was designed as an opportunity for entrepreneurs to
compete for seed money and a chance to achieve their dream.
University of South Dakota
(i2i) Business Model Competition
Mines took home first and second place at the University
of South Dakota Beacom School of Business annual Invent to Innovate (i2i)
Business Model Competition held on April 8 in Vermillion, SD.
Whytneigh Duffie also captured first place in this
competition with her business, Disappearing 4D Advanced Materials.
Mines student Kaleb Roth, an undergraduate in the
Department of Mechanical Engineering, took home second place at the USD
competition for a new and innovative campfire starting device he invented, called
the Forever Fire. It uses a human-powered generator to power electronic parts,
which can produce an electric arc in all weather conditions.
Dakota State University
Collegiate Business Plan Competition
Kaleb Roth and his
invention, Forever Fire, won first place at the Dakota State University
Business Competition. Whytneigh Duffie,
and Disappearing 4D Advanced Materials, took home second place at DSU. Philip Litecky, with his company Li-Tech
Lures, was also a finalist at DSU. He produces fishing lures engineered to
target panfish. Litecky is student in the Department of Mechanical Engineering
at Mines.