The Malott Innovation Awards are the culmination of ME463, Purdue's capstone class for seniors in Mechanical Engineering.  Teams of students work closely with faculty members and industry partners to create prototype products, continually refining and improving them using the knowledge from their engineering courses over the last four years. At the end of the semester, the students present their final prototypes to a panel of Purdue ME alumni who work in various industries; this panel selects the award winning teams.

The top teams from the Spring 2026 Malott Innovation Awards are:

1st place: Health in One Hand, Hailey Welp, Cecilia Kutheis, Jessie Skidmore, Anna Radulski, Oscar Proffitt, Stephanos Maramaldi. Health in One Hand focuses on developing a temperature-controlled organ transport device that improves rudimentary solutions to increase reliability while minimizing cost. Our design integrates phase change material for temperature control, spray foam for insulation and shock absorbency, a second seal to ensure thermal retention and RTDs and user interface for temperature monitoring. The design will consist of a custom machined Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene insert to seal spray foam to ensure sterilizability. These subsystems work together to maintain a constant temperature range of 4 to 8 degrees C to last over 20 hours. This design aims to extend organ viability, reduce risk during transport and provide a reusable, cost effective alternative to expensive perfusion systems.

2nd place: IntelliJUMP - Smart Jump Rope for Competitive Athletes, Meghna Iyer, Kacey Craney, Maggie Holman, Sam Knowlton, Grace Mendoza, Haseung Jun. Competitive speed jump ropers reach 400+ jumps per minute - the world record stands at 422 - yet competitions still rely on human judges with hand clickers, where judge fatigue and reaction lag introduce errors that decide podium finishes. Existing options all fall short: standard handles offer zero data; existing smart ropes are too bulky for competitive use; camera apps fail at competition speeds. IntelliJUMP solves all three shortcomings at once - embedding a microcontroller and IMU inside a competition-profile handle slimmer than any smart rope on the market. Onboard detection capable of accurate counting at competition cadence pairs with a Bluetooth app delivering jump count, elapsed time, consistency score, and live speed trends - giving athletes the feedback loop to train smarter. Competitive jump ropers are an underserved niche. IntelliJUMP is the first tool to deliver accurate performance data at competition speeds - where camera-based solutions fail.

3rd place: RIPP: 3D Resin Printer With Integrated Post-Processing, Alexa Barron, Gabriel Boyd, Jacob Levin, Quin Dumouchelle, Ryan Faley, Yashas Gentela. RIPP or the 3D Resin Printer with Integrated Post-Processing is an innovative solution to a simple problem: resin printing is messy and cumbersome, making it difficult for beginner users to get involved. This 3-in-1 3D printer offers a hands-free approach: it prints, washes, and cures a part within the same device! Unlike current printers, where the user needs to set up three separate machines, deal with hazardous liquids, and waste expensive chemicals, RIPP makes the process simpler and safer. RIPP uses a novel flying enclosure to autonomously enclose the part after printing is complete. The system is then sealed shut to be washed and cured, where ultrasonic transducers and high-power UV lights ensure high-quality post-processing. The used wash fluid is recycled using the built-in distillation system and re-used, reducing waste and cost. The finished part is then ready for immediate use.
 

About the Malott Innovation Awards

The Malott Innovation Awards are supported by an endowment created in 2007 by Thomas J. Malott (BSME '62, HDR '02), to foster an innovation culture among Purdue Mechanical Engineering students.  Malott is the former president, CEO and director of Siemens Energy and Automation.  His career included executive positions with Parker-Hannifin and the Ransburg Corp., as well as serving on several corporate boards.  He was an inaugural member of the Purdue Foundation Development Council and was awarded the Outstanding Mechanical Engineer and Distinguished Engineering Alumnus awards in 1991 from the university.

Source: Beth Hess, bethhess@purdue.edu

Writer: Jared Pike, jaredpike@purdue.edu