September 5, 2007

Students can convert beans to bucks in soybean contest

The contest, co-sponsored by Purdue Agriculture and the Indiana Soybean Alliance, challenges teams of three to four participants to invent new, environmentally friendly products from soybeans.

"We encourage students from all majors and departments to participate," said Jennifer Nordland, contest outreach coordinator. "Some of the most successful teams in the past have branched out to several majors and designated specific team member roles."

A call-out for prospective participants will be held from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sept. 19 in the atrium of the Food Science Building. Students at the call-out who sign up to participate will receive free lunch from Jimmy John's Gourmet Sandwiches.

Finished products will be judged in Indianapolis in April.

Projects will be judged by a point scale rubric, with scores landing on a tiered system. This means that multiple teams can earn a first-, second- or third-place prize.

First-place tiered team(s) will receive $7,500, their adviser's department will receive $6,000, and the adviser will receive $2,000. The second tier team(s) will receive $4,500, and the third-place team(s) will receive $1,500.

All supplies and lab fees are covered for every participating team, as well.

"Past participants of this contest have had a lot of doors opened up to them," said Bernard Tao, Purdue professor of agricultural and biological engineering and competition administrator. "Throughout the contest there are networking opportunities with several large companies, and the products are well publicized."

This publicity has led past contestants to earn more than just their prize money.

"If a company purchases a team's product, Purdue will pay for the patent, and students will receive royalties from the sales," Nordland said.

Students also can use the contest as a resume builder, and in the past contestants have benefited from participating long after their time at Purdue.

All of our past contestants have landed top-notch jobs right out of college," Nordland said. "Some have even gone on to start their own businesses."

Each team must have three participants and no more than four. One contestant per team may be a graduate student.

"Even if students don't have a team, they can still participate," Nordland said. "We will help put teams together."

In addition to helping put teams together, Tao also will be available to help students.

"Dr. Tao is not judging the competition, so he is able to answer questions and help participants with projects," Nordland said.

Students who can't attend the call-out or want more information about the contest should contact Nordland at (765) 496-8326 or nordland@purdue.edu, and visit https://cobweb.ecn.purdue.edu/~tao/ssc/
website.htm

Writer: Jennifer Stewart Cummins, (765) 494-6682, jsstewar@purdue.edu

Source: Jennifer Nordland, (765) 496-8326, nordland@purdue.edu

Beth Forbes, forbes@purdue.edu
Agriculture News Page

CUTLINE:

Winners of a previous Soybean Utilization Contest included (from left) Melinda Durack, Amanda Stewart, Rylie Vance and Brian Costigan. The ink in their markers, called Soy Marx, contained 25 percent soy product. (Purdue University photo/Tom Campbell)

A publication-quality photo is available at https://www.purdue.edu/uns/UNS/images/puetz.soycontest.jpeg

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