Great ideas come in all shapes and sizes, and they come to all kinds of people—college students included. College is a great time to test out an idea because students are surrounded by support, as well as other students and faculty they can collaborate with. Student inventions don’t always succeed, but that’s the beauty of inventing—failure is fine, and sometimes it precedes success. So check out some of these great new inventions by college students and maybe you’ll get an idea or two.

  • The first comes to us from engineering students Eric Nguyen and Abiyaz Chowdhury at The Cooper Union in New York. They developed a device that converts a single toilet flush into what’s known as a dual flush. A dual flush system saves water by giving people the option of a full or half flush. More than a quarter of the water that is consumed daily inside American households is used by the toilet. Water consumption is quickly becoming an issue around the world, but also here at home in western states like California.

    • There are other tools available to make the conversion, but they cost more and require tools and labor to install. The device developed by the students hardly takes any time at all to install.

  • The next invention was developed by Erica Tyburski of the Emory University School of Medicine. She created AnemoCheck, an inexpensive and disposable test that allows people to check themselves for anemia. Anemia affects 83 million people in the United States, and 2 billion worldwide. Many people don’t have the resources to store or transport the blood for testing, so there is a great need for AnemoCheck.

    • The device works by pricking a finger to obtain a drop of blood, much like blood sugar tests for diabetics. The blood is then drawn into a tube with a chemical solution that reacts with hemoglobin present in the blood. This results in a color change and an answer within 45 seconds.

  • The third invention comes from students Jihu Kim and Min Joon So, also of The Cooper Union. Humidifiers are a must in the dry winter season, but they can be extremely difficult to clean. Not anymore. The new, radically redesigned humidifier has a simple cube shape that’s easy to access and clean. The base contains all of the electronics, so it doesn’t come in contact with the water and requires no cleaning.

    • Not every student invention becomes mass-produced, but that doesn’t stop them from trying. And you shouldn’t give up on your idea either. If you feel like you’re almost there, but just need a little help along the way, then contact Pivot today. We specialize in helping turn people’s ideas into reality, and we’d love to help you with yours. Check out some of our testimonials, and you’ll see that we have the knowledge and experience you need on your side to make your invention happen.