What are the goals of the $30,000 Lemelson-Caltech Student Prize?
The prestigious $30,000 Lemelson-Caltech Student Prize, which seeks to serve as a catalyst for burgeoning inventors, is awarded annually to an inventive undergraduate or graduate student each year at Caltech. The award publicity can expose winners to science, business, and investment communities, which often results in the further development of their careers through invention.

What is the Lemelson-Caltech Program’s mission?
The Lemelson-Caltech Program recognizes outstanding inventors, encourages sustainable new solutions to real-world problems, and enables and inspires young people to pursue creative lives and careers through invention.

Who is eligible to apply?
All Caltech undergraduate and graduate students who are currently enrolled are eligible to apply for this award regardless of major. Students that are scheduled to graduate from Caltech during the spring term in which the award is presented are also eligible. Students who will graduate prior to the spring term are not eligible. Only individual candidates may apply; teams are not eligible.

Is the candidate required to have any patents?
No, the candidate is not required to have any patents.

Does the candidate forfeit intellectual property rights by submitting an application?
The Lemelson-Caltech Program asks the judging panel to acknowledge that student applications are distributed solely for the candidacy of the Lemelson-Caltech Student Prize and should not be reproduced for other purposes. Candidates are advised to consult Caltech’s intellectual property policies as directed by the Office of Technology Transfer and the United States Patent and Trademark Office to ensure protection of their intellectual property, if applicable.

Is the winner required to use the award money for research?
No, the money is an unrestricted cash gift.

What are the requirements for the winner?
The winner is required to participate in a press conference at Caltech that will publicly announce him/her as the winner, which is scheduled for March 5, 2009. The winner is also required to participate in EurekaFest, an annual multi-day celebration of the inventive spirit, which will be held at MIT from June 16-19, 2010. The program may request the winner to participate in future public education activities as applicable.

When is the deadline to apply?
The deadline to apply for the 2010 Lemelson-Caltech Student Prize is Friday, December 4, 2009.

Who are the judges?
The judging panel is composed of members of PIVOTT, Caltech alumni from a variety of disciplines such as mechanical engineering, bioengineering, physics, medicine, and finance.

What criteria are used to judge the candidates?
The judges assess candidates using the following criteria: breadth and/or depth of inventiveness, creativity, experience and ability to serve as a role-model for youth, potential for societal benefit and commercial success of inventions, and supporting letters. No criterion is considered paramount. Judges are asked to take a holistic view of each candidate with respect to the goals of the Lemelson-Caltech Student Prize.

What makes an excellent application?
An excellent application is well presented, complete, and follows instructions (e.g. word count). The material should be written for a technically literate audience, similar to the writing style in Scientific American or Technology Review.

How many student prizes are awarded at Caltech each year?
There is only one $30,000 Lemelson-Caltech Student Prize presented annually. The judging panel may also choose to award $1,000 to one or two finalists, if selected.

The Lemelson-Caltech Program is funded by the Lemelson-MIT Program, which also funds the $30,000 Lemelson-Illinois Student Prize at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and the $30,000 Lemelson-Rensselaer Student Prize at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. The Caltech program has been further underwritten by a generous contribution from Dr. Michael W. Hunkapiller (PhD '74).