Twelve teams of Purdue University students waited anxiously in a reception room at Purdue’s Ross-Ade Stadium March 26 to learn which one of them would take home $20,000 for their six-month-long adventure developing a potential new use for soybeans. The annual Student Soybean Product Innovation Competition is sponsored by the Indiana Soybean Alliance, along with support of Purdue faculty and staff. Awards for the competition are funded through soybean checkoff dollars.
Ed Ebert of ISA works with the program and is master of ceremonies for the awards program. When the big moment came, Team Stroy captured first place. This is the 25th year for the competition, which has produced products familiar to almost everyone today, including soybean crayons and soy candles.
Team Stroy developed a completely biodegradable drinking straw. In fact, the team created several different versions of the product, including flavored straws. As part of the project, they not only conceived the idea and developed the product, but also did market research and created a marketing plan that could be used to take the product forward and put it on the market.
Members of the winning team include Natalie Stephenson, a senior in the Krannert School of Management from Fairland, Ind.; Morgan Malm, a master’s student in food science from Fort Wayne, Ind.; and Ruth Zhong, a senior in electrical engineering from Carmel, Ind. Members of this team study in various schools at Purdue, not just the College of Agriculture. The makeup of most of the other teams also stretched across disciplines. It’s become a hallmark of the program, officials note.
If past results are any indication, this may only be the beginning for the soy straw project. Look for more information on this event and other teams in the competition coming soon.