On Monday night the 2016 iDesign Prize was awarded to University of Pennsylvania Integrated Product Design students Clementine Gilbert, Adriana Vazquez, and Allie Looney, and Engineering and Applied Science student Sujay Suresh. They claimed $50,000 for Lilu, a dual-purpose nursing and pumping bra that automates breast compression and increases the efficiency, output and comfort of using a breast pump for working mothers and mothers with concerns about their breast milk supply.
The team behind Lilu was one of five, narrowed from a field of 31, who pitched their product to a jury of leading designers, design entrepreneurs and venture capitalists at Meyerson Hall, 210 South 24th Street, Philadelphia.
“It’s a great night for Penn,” said Sarah Rottenberg, Associate Director of the Integrated Product Design Program. “Here you have students of the highest caliber collaborating across schools to innovate in ways that will positively impact people’s lives. All of the teams are accomplishing great things.”
The five finalists presented potentially life-changing solutions for millions of Americans of all ages, from adults recovering from knee surgery and those managing emphysema to girls experiencing their first menstruation and women in developing countries at risk of cervical cancer. By making breast pumping a truly hands-free experience, Lilu lets mothers focus on being productive, being with their baby, or just relaxing.
The final jury included: Turi McKinley, Participatory Design Director, frog, Inc; Elliot Menschik, Managing Partner, DreamIt Ventures; Lisa Roberts, designer, author and TV personality; Brett Topche, Managing Director, MentorTech Ventures, Fraser Stirling, Senior Vice President, Hardware Development, Comcast; Karl Ulrich, Vice Dean of Innovation, The Wharton School.
About the iDesign Prize
Established jointly in 2015 by the University of Pennsylvania’s Integrated Product Design Master's Program and the School of Design (PennDesign), the iDesign Prize nurtures the next generation of product design leaders and promotes the design of physical objects that solve a real-world problem. The $50,000 prize supports Penn students in successfully launching an innovative product design venture after graduation, using selection criteria of holistic design, engineering and business plan for its realization. The iDesign Prize is generously supported by alumni and PennDesign Overseers Jay Abramson (W’83, L’86), Laurence Goldberg (W’89), Mason Haupt (W’77) and Kevin Penn (W’83).
About the Integrated Product Design Program
The University of Pennsylvania's Integrated Product Design Master's program merges the disciplines of design, engineering and business for the purpose of creating compelling new products and experiences. The program is designed to train students in technology, business, manufacturing, aesthetics and human-product interaction and provide them with a framework for bringing these disciplines together to create something new.
About PennDesign
PennDesign is an inventive place of learning where the many fields of architecture, planning, preservation, landscape and the fine arts come together on shared ground. At PennDesign, we are dedicated to design that is creative in nature and transformative in impact. In a collaborative environment that fosters inquiry and experimentation, faculty and students seek to recast the distinction between theory and practice, expand knowledge and invention through research, and contribute works of value and beauty.
