Perspectives on Innovation

Mike Cirella recently won the Cleveland Clinic Challenge: Implantable Micro-sensor for Displacement & Mechanical Load. Previously, he received awards for three Challenges: Thresholds for Perception of Color Differences, Manufacturing of a Porous Film, and Task Light Charging.

Open innovation (OI) is a powerful platform that fosters creative thinking about problems that may be far outside a Solver’s daily routine. It provides an opportunity to apply diverse experiences that often lead to solutions never before considered. So often the ‘dumb’ questions are not asked by individuals studying problems from the perspective of someone inside an organization. The power of OI is much like a brainstorming session, where no question or suggested solution is off limits, thereby opening up the possibilities for a truly creative, even unique, solution.

It is precisely for these reasons that I am an active Solver. I have submitted many more proposed solutions than I have won, but each effort leads me down a new path and expands my knowledge for the next Challenge. The process allows me to ask “why not” instead of “why,” or worse, not ask at all since it is so far outside the normal approach.

For me, the common thread that links my winning solutions is the “Eureka moment” I experience after reading the Challenge description the first time and relate it to a past experience and solution to a problem in an entirely different field. Of course, many hours of research, organizing and fine-tuning my submission follows that moment, but the creative idea is formed by thinking laterally; searching my experience database for a tool or method that can be applied to a problem in a completely different area.

The Task Light Charging (aka Bogolight) Challenge sponsored by the Rockefeller Foundation triggered my memory of how modern coin acceptors in vending machines function reliably in harsh environments by eliminating moving parts that wear and corrode. Since the task light required a rugged, off-grid method for re-charging its batteries that supplemented the existing photocell method, I applied wind and water power, converted to electricity via permanent magnets spinning past induction coils embedded in a plastic housing. No metal parts exposed and high inherent reliability.

The Manufacturing of a Porous Film Challenge had an obvious solution (to me) by applying methods used in the paper and plastics web production industries. Again, a past life experience at a company that manufactured polarizers for sunglasses prompted me to apply my knowledge of web rollers and controls and create a simple, inexpensive solution. Read the rest of this entry »

Subhabrata Sen and GVK Bioscience, the company where he works, have won five Novel Molecule Challenges in less than one year, and are currently working on four more.  The largest request he received was for over 100 compounds! Subhabrata became a Solver in 2009.

I’m an associate director specializing in parallel medicinal chemistry at GVK Bioscience, a contract research organization in Hyderabad, India. I was born in Kolkata, India, where I grew up very interested in science. My hobbies include painting (acrylic on canvas), reading, and collecting currencies of different countries.

GVK Bioscience is an extremely innovation-driven company, so we – particularly Dr. Balaram Patro, our senior vice president, and myself – were intrigued by InnoCentive’s Novel Molecule Challenges (NMC) program as another means of acquiring business for our company. The NMC program complemented our division’s core strength: combinatorial library design and synthesis of biologically active compounds. InnoCentive’s NMC program offers a new way of solving problems for companies by reaching out to an extensive audience of different backgrounds. At the end, innovation propagates and promotes the progress of our society and it’s very gratifying to be part of it.

Our library design and synthesis department designs and synthesize the compounds we upload for NMC challenges. Apart from initial guidelines from the Seeker, we utilize our in-house software to understand the synthetic feasibility of the molecules before uploading them to the InnoCentive platform. We also work toward novel routes for these compounds which can provide us access to a variety of molecules with new substituents pertaining to the scaffolds.

Being a son of a chemical engineer and a physics professor, I have followed my passion for science to the fullest. I obtained a Ph.D. in organic chemistry, mentored by Dr. Shon R Pulley, who first helped me realize the importance of innovation in science. I then had a fantastic opportunity to pursue post-doctoral studies with Dr. Albert I. Meyers at Colorado State University who truly expanded my scientific horizons. While working there, my belief in innovation strengthened all the more. I realized it was an integral aspect of science, and I began looking for applications of my scientific knowledge in industry. I developed my core competencies in combinatorial chemistry and natural product synthesis.

Following my post-doctoral studies, I have held a number of industrial positions. I initially joined Chemocentryx Inc., a biotech company located in the San Francisco Bay area in California.  After a couple of years and several patents, I returned to India in 2004. Since then I have worked for contract research organizations like Syngene, pharmaceutical giant Pfizer, and the chemical company, BASF-India.

Manish M. Pande became a Solver in 2009. Here he writes about his experience winning his first Challenge, Control of Bubble Size in Carbonated Beverages.

I am a metallurgist by profession, presently doing a PhD on a “clean steel” project jointly initiated by the MTM, K U Leuven and ArcelorMittal Gent, Belgium.

I obtained my master’s degree (M. Tech) and bachelor’s degree (B.E.) in Metallurgical Engineering from Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay, Mumbai (India) in 2006 and Visvesvaraya National Institute of Technology (formerly VRCE), Nagpur (India) in 2001. I spent nearly three and half years in the steel industries in operations and R&D before the commencement of my PhD program.

Sometime back in 2009, a friend of mine suggested that I look at InnoCentive. I visited nature.com Open Innovation Pavilion, and the Challenge “Control of Bubble Size in Carbonated Beverages” was a familiar topic. I had worked earlier on metallic foams during my master’s thesis. I had a basic knowledge about the physics of foaming of metals, so I decided to give it a try. I proposed the method to manipulate the characteristics of bubbles in carbonated beverage and I was ecstatic to learn that the proposed method turned out to be the winning solution.

I feel that every problem posted by InnoCentive is an opportunity for the Solvers to push their thinking limits and come out with a solution that is of real practical significance. The statistics shows that there are over 250,000 registered Solvers from all over the world who have developed their thinking/approach to the problem in different educational environments. In such a scenario, even the participation of 0.001% of all the registered users, for a particular Challenge, makes it truly competitive. In this tough competition, proposing the right solution, which the Seeker finds suitable after already trying out all the possible resources/ideas to its disposal, is no mean feat. It makes the winner more confident about his/her creative abilities.

Congratulations to all such unique thinkers. I wish all the InnoCentive users good luck in solving the present and the future Challenges; and I encourage those who are not yet part of InnoCentive to join this global network. Become a Solver!

I have been working as an SAP Utilities consultant at Accenture for nearly 4 years in Mumbai. In my workplace, my primary role is to provide functional solutions to energy providers across the globe.

I came across The Economist: Pictures of Tomorrow Challenge on The Economist’s Android application. I first thought of one problem that has deeply affected my community: the poor transport management system. When I took part in the Challenge, I recalled how one of my acquaintances had slipped and lost his life while traveling on a train’s foot board. This incident wouldn’t have occurred if proper transport system was in place. People are forced to travel in extremely crowded trains and buses because there are no alternative modes of transport. My main idea was about improving the transport management system in Mumbai. Currently, the strain on trains and buses is enormous due to the ever increasing population. People are forced to travel using conventional modes of transport thus leading to overcrowding. However, if the vast coastline of Mumbai can be used for water transport and dedicated bicycle lanes can be kept for commuters, the problem of transport management can be solved. I feel that my idea won because this problem is being faced in many other cities across the world and hence everyone can relate to it.

After winning the Challenge, my family and friends felt extremely proud and it is great to see them happy. Also, office friends can’t stop raving about me and my manager dropped an email to our entire team of 40 people appreciating me. I feel an additional sense of responsibility now to achieve my goal of improving my community in 2012. With the cash prize, I indulged myself in some long overdue shopping and after coming to California, I intend to spend some part of my cash prize money over there.

I think that The Economist-InnoCentive Challenge series is a great boon for people who have a burning desire for the betterment of society and have great ideas to achieve that goal. This Challenge series gives them a platform to express themselves and achieve something constructive over a period of time.

Overall, last 3 months have been great and further strengthened my self belief that I can achieve greater goals in the future.

Outside my workplace, I have co-directed a short film of 30 minutes and I have also penned education-related articles for local newspapers. I taught computer skills to child abuse victims at St. Catherine’s School, affiliated to the Archdiocesan board of education. I am also a huge soccer fan and follow almost all of the European leagues. I am glad I am a part of this great community of InnoCentive Solvers for whom ideas are a form of currency!

Agung Nuswantoro is the winner of Humanitarian Air Drop

I was born in Malang, the second largest city in East Java, Indonesia.

Being an inventor has always been my passion, although the profession is not well recognized in my country. Most people become flustered if you say you are an inventor (some people confuse ‘inventor’ for the CAD software ‘Autodesk Inventor’).

Since my childhood, I’ve been very interested in science and technology. I don’t know why, but I find serenity in scientific things. And as I grew up, my interests spread to many fields including design, military, sports, psychology, sociology, politics, etc.

I like being creative and seeing the world with a different perspective. Questioning how things, people, or situations might appear or function from a different perspective. I also love reading and sketching; some of my other hobbies include disassembling things and then reassembling them or creating something new out of the parts.

I graduated with a degree in mechanical engineering, with a major in energy conversion. I worked for several years in R&D for an electronic manufacturing company. However, I found my job was only dealing with people, paper, and bureaucracy — no research and design as it should be. Therefore, I resigned. I currently work as a freelancer, but I consider my self an inventor.

I discovered InnoCentive while searching for design and innovation contests, a habit since I was in high school. I’ve always enjoyed participating in design and innovation contests. Although I don’t always receive an award, the experiences have enhanced my knowledge and skills. InnoCentive Challenges are different in many ways: it’s not about winning or losing — it’s about people pushing their limits and solving others’ problems, even without knowing each other.

My solution for the Challenge Humanitarian Air Drop came from the coal industry and used some aspects of a fire extinguisher system. Having an interest in military technology helped me a lot when developing the solution. I got my winning idea just about 10 days before the deadline, after trying several different designs over many sleepless nights.

Most Challenges on InnoCentive are definitely not simple problems; some are very exhaustive to think about, pushing the Solver’s creativity limit. But Solving is fun — it makes me learn new things and fuels my mind with creativity.

Right now, I’m working on several Challenges and waiting on others. What’s unique is that the “AHA” moment comes while thinking about several Challenges simultaneously. Though it’s not guaranteed that I will find a solution, thinking about solutions is itself very fun.

Thank you InnoCentive!