There are only 10 days left to enter the 2011 "Create the Future" Design Contest, sponsored by COMSOL  , Creo - a PTC product  , and Tech Briefs Media Group. The contest will award a Grand Prize of $20,000 USD for outstanding innovation in product design.

New this year is an Electronics Design category sponsored by Digi-Key Corp. Additional entry categories include Consumer Products; Machinery & Equipment; Medical; Safety and Security; Sustainable Technologies; and Transportation. Products that help reduce dependence on non-renewable energy resources, as well as products designed for other purposes using environmentally friendly materials or manufacturing processes, are considered in the Sustainable Technologies category.

Prevailing bridge building materials are concrete and steel. Both are non-sustainable, heavy, expensive, and energy-consuming. The LPSA engineering system is an environmentally sustainable alternative.
Last year's winner  in the Sustainable Technologies category was the LPSA (light prestressed segmented arch) engineering system for sustainable, durable bridges. The system reduces bridge building to assembling a kit of compact parts that can be easily manufactured and transported, resulting in considerable cost, energy, and capital investment savings.

The top entry in each category will receive a workstation computer from Hewlett-Packard. Prizes also will be awarded for the 10 most popular entries as voted on by Web site registrants. All qualified entrants will be included in a drawing for NASA Tech Briefs T-shirts, and the winning entries will be featured in a special supplement to NASA Tech Briefs magazine. All entries must be received by June 30, 2011 and there is no cost to enter.

Visit www.createthefuture2011.com  for details and the official entry form.

Topics:
Energy Green Design & Manufacturing Renewable Energy