By NANCY VORIS
Indiana Correspondent

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Corn and soybean producers may see their markets increase, thanks to the cutting edge, entrepreneurial spirit of 33 Purdue University students competing in the 2009 Student Product Innovation Competition.

Twelve teams of students worked for months creating and testing new products, then producing marketing materials to wow a group of judges.

The field of competitors was the largest since the soybean checkoff-funded contest began 15 years ago. Nine of those teams also participated in the Indiana Corn Product Innovation Competition – sponsored by Indiana Corn Marketing Council (ICMC)– which is in its first year.

Last week the students set up shop at the Indiana Rooftop Ballroom for a gathering of the Indiana Soybean Alliance (ISA) and Indiana Corn Marketing Council.

The event was a little more than a science fair exhibition. Winners would take home thousands of dollars, along with glowing resume references and prestigious job offers.

Products judged in the competition included biodegradable garden containers, car wax, cork-like substance, de-icing solution, dissolvable cupcake liners, hydroplaning system, paintballs, toilet tissue paper, biodegradable cigarette filters, soy plastic cup and biodegradable shotgun cartridge casing.

ISA Director Mike Beard described the day of product testing performed by judges: “We waxed, shot, pinned, potted, de-iced, baked, skidded, smoked and wiped until finally we made a decision.”

At the end of the evening, Purdue’s TerraMat and Melt-A-Way Cupcake Liners teams tied for top honors in the soybean competition, earning $17,500 each. Melt-A-Way also received the People’s Choice Award.

TerraMat, a cork product that can be made of both soybeans and corn, was created by Jacob Smoker, a junior double-majoring in agricultural economics and horticulture production and marketing from Wanatah, Ind., and Mohamad Abiad, an agricultural and biological engineering doctoral student from Beirut, Lebanon.
Their faculty advisor was Osvaldo Campanella, professor of agricultural and biological engineering.

“We spent hours on the phone and in the lab, on conference calls and in meetings, trying to come up with an idea that would be new and innovative,” Smoker said. “One day while we were brainstorming in the lab, Mohamad noticed a synthetic cork board and suggested we try a natural, biodegradable cork product. We researched it and found that there were no corn- or soybean-based cork products on the market.”

TerraMat can be used in corkboards or floor mats. Smoker also put the product to the ultimate test: He took a bite.
“After a couple of bites he looked at me and said, ‘Hey, man, this is really sweet!’”

Sweet also came to the minds of judges as they sampled the beautifully decorated cupcakes created by the Melt-A-Way team. But instead of peeling off cupcake liners with cake stuck to them and looking for a waste can, they popped liner and all into their mouths. Creators were looking for a new alternative to wax paper when they switched gears.

“Our team was thinking about creating waxed paper from soybeans or corn, but we decided we wanted a more novel product,” said Erin Rosswurm, a junior in biological and food process engineering from Columbus, Ind.

“I was thinking one night about how waxed paper could be improved and came up with the idea for a cupcake liner. Our entire team has cooking and food science experience, so the project used a combination of our interests and backgrounds.”

Rosswurm’s teammates were Victoria Horton, a senior from Rochester Hills, Mich., studying biological and food process engineering; Marci Colglazier of Mitchell, Ind., a senior studying food manufacturing operations, and Anna Verseman, a senior in biochemistry from St. Paul, Ind.

Team advisor was Lisa Mauer, professor of food science.
“One of my favorite memories of the contest was our first trial run, when the cupcakes came out of the oven with no major problems,” Rosswurm said. “I was so scared that we would have smoking cupcakes or some 20 other disasters and that we’d have to start the process from scratch.”

The general reaction to the product was positive, she said. Most people were surprised that the liner had little to no flavor.
Earning a second place prize of $10,000 was the Bio-Butts team which created a biodegradable cigarette filter. Team members were Mark Endo of Glenview, Ill. and Aaron Gerber of Bluffton, Ind., both senior chemical engineering majors; Brian Hunter, a graduate student in hospitality and tourism management from Mill Creek, Ind.; and Jesse Singleton, a senior English education major from Boone Grove, Ind.

Sharing third-place honors of $5,000 per team were Heartland Wax and Nature’s Silk.

Heartland Wax team members were Craig Barcus of Plainfield, Ind., a senior biological engineering major; Allison Calahan of Avon, Ind., and Courtney Gray of Pendleton, Ind., both senior biological and food process engineering majors; and Heather Serwacki of Highland, Ind., a senior food process engineering major.
Team Nature’s Silk also won the corn-only portion of the contest with their process for biodegradable toilet paper. The tissue is made with fibers with a smoother texture than tree pulp fiber.
The product earned the team a cash prize of $10,000.

“We were sold on the idea of Nature’s Silk from the beginning,” said Jessamine Osborne, a senior from Evansville, Ind., double-majoring in cell molecular development and genetics. “The idea is simple, but perfect. We couldn’t figure out why this product wasn’t already on the market.”

Osborne’s teammates included Janie Stine, a junior in biological engineering from Indianapolis; David Jaroch, a doctoral student from Ubly, Mich., studying biomedical engineering; and adviser Jenna Ruckus, professor of agricultural and biological engineering.
“The participation in both the corn and soybean competitions this year was outstanding,” said Mark Henderson, executive director for both the soybean alliance and corn marketing council. “Developing new uses for our crops, as well as building interest among students to work with both corn and soybeans, is essential in building demand for the crops. This is a top priority for our state’s corn and soybean checkoff programs.”

Bernie Tao, ISA New Uses Chair at Purdue, said the contest is about more that just creating new products.

“The future success of our country depends on our graduates’ abilities to innovate and market more sustainable products,” he said. “That’s something that can be hard to teach in a classroom. These contests help the students take what they’ve learned in class and apply that knowledge to solve real-world issues.”