ASU, Harding Teams Take Top Spots at Governor's Cup
In case you missed it, the 2015 Donald W. Reynolds Governor's Cup awards luncheon was held Wednesday in downtown Little Rock, and teams from ASU and Harding took home top honors.
ASU's Agricultural Innovations ended an 11-year run by teams from the UA and won the graduate division, while Harding's TIRE took home first place in the undergrad division. Each team, of course, also received a check for $25,000.
Ag Innovations developed a sensor-driven, automated irrigation system, and TIRE (Tire Inflation and Regulatory Equipment) created a tire-inflation regulatory system for mountain bikes.
The UA won four total awards, but so this year did ASU. JBU and Harding took home two each. The UA set the bar high for this competition, begun in 2001, and now schools across the state are rising to meet it.
The top two teams overall in both divisions will represent the state at DWR Tri-State May 27-28 at the Mirage in Las Vegas. Joining Ag Innovations and TIRE in Vegas will be Kordate Solutions from the UA and JBU's Charlie's Choices.
Here's coverage of the event from Arkansas Business, and here are pressers from the UA and AEAF and Arkansas Capital Corp.
And here are the full list of winners:
Undergraduate AT&T Elevator Pitch Award – $2,000
TIRE – Harding UniversityGraduate AT&T Elevator Pitch Award – $2,000
Saf-Tech – Arkansas State UniversityUndergraduate Delta Plastics Innovation Award – $5,000
Conner Innovation – University of ArkansasGraduate Delta Plastics Innovation Award – $5,000
Agricultural Innovations – Arkansas State University1st Place Agriculture Award – $5,000
Baby Booster – University of Arkansas2nd Place Agriculture Award – $3,000
Agricultural Innovations – Arkansas State UniversityUndergraduate Business Plan Winners
1st Place – $25,000
TIRE – Harding University2nd Place – $15,000
Charlie’s Choices – John Brown University3rd Place – $10,000
Opt-In – John Brown UniversityGraduate Business Plan Winners
1st Place – $25,000
Agricultural Innovations – Arkansas State University2nd Place – $15,000
Kordate Solutions Inc. – University of Arkansas3rd Place – $10,000
Baby Booster – University of Arkansas
[Editor's note: A correction was made in the order of the graduate winners. baby Booster was announced as second at the luncheon but actually placed third.]