Young inventors compete at USF | News

Tampa, Florida - USF narrows its search for the next young inventor from 536 invention entries down now to 14 finalists. The USF Young Innovators Competition started four years ago by patent attorney Anton Hopen and his daughter.

"We've heard many times the kids are thinking out of the box. We haven't constrained them yet. The ideas they come up with can be counter-intuitive and unique," said Hopen.

Like any good inventor, 12-year-old Katie Burcaw, a 6^th grader from Martinez Middle School, finds a solution to a common problem - watering the Christmas tree. Katie said, "Sometimes it would spill all over. I'd have pine needles all over my hair, I'd have sap all over me. It was just a hassle. I had to stop it, that's why I invented the Tree IV."

The goal for her invention is to make watering the Christmas tree simple, practical and decorative. Katie attaches a plastic transparent tube to an ornament. The large plastic Christmas ball has a small hole in the top that acts as a flap where one pours the water into. But first, one drops the tube into the tree, hiding it, and then hangs the ornament.  

"You open this flap and pour the water," explains Katie.  The water travels down the tube into the tray. Katie said, "I wanted it to be hassle free. People with back pain or the elderly might not want to bend over, so this is easier and simple."

Katie shows other uses for her invention. She's developed a Dog Bone IV to fill the water bowl and a Plant IV to water plants. "We went through 10, 11 prototypes," said Katie.

Hopen said, "I want them to be inspired, to be pushed just a little bit more to study math, science, engineering and technology. Instead of seeing a very dry subject, they are seeing the exciting things they can do when they learn those skills."

Katie is looking forward to her next invention. "It's so cool to think it's mine, I made it and got this far and I could market it... and get a patent for it would be so cool."

The participants come from schools in eight counties. There will be three winners - one for elementary, one for middle, and one for high school. Each winner receives a thousand dollars and also another thousand dollars to their school's STEM program.