Dan Hobson, winner of the “Inventor of the Year Award” at the DaVinci Inventor Showcase

2011 turned out to be a banner year for the inventors and their products at the seventh annual DaVinci Inventor Showcase. The event took place at the Noah’s Event Center in Westminster, CO amidst a record crowd of attendees.

Winning top prize at this years event was Dan Hobson, CEO of Ross Nanotechnology for their product, NeverWet™, a nano-tech coating that completely repels water. However, this standout technology was only one of many that captured the imaginations of everyone who attended.

With over 100 “celebrity judges” weighing in, the selection process involved considerable effort, both on the part of the judges and the team who tallied all the scores.

“We put a tremendous effort into the judging process,” said Thomas Frey, Executive Director of the DaVinci Institute. “We ask some very credible people to take valuable time out of their lives to participate in judging the inventions. And it is the combined weight of these individual decisions that gives such far-reaching credibility to these awards.”

Handing out the awards at this year’s event were the “two Toms” – Thomas Frey and Tom Franklin, Partner at Kilpatrick Townsend.

The complete list of inventors receiving awards and honorable mentions included:

• Inventor of the Year Award – Dan Hobson – Ross Nanotechnology Corporation – NeverWet™ is a super hydrophobic coating that completely repels water and heavy oils.
• Commercial Product of the Year Award – Daryl Oster – ET3™ – Evacuated Tube Transport Technologies is a patented transportation technology (for people and goods) that is faster than jets, yet can provide 50 times more transportation per kWh than the most efficient electric car or train.
• Consumer Product of the Year Award – Francisco Garcia and Gustavo Leo – Klinggon – Magnetic earphone cable holder
• Software Product of the Year Award – Eric May – CoKnown – CoKnown is the Knowledge Network: a collaborative, cloud based, research platform.
• Food & Drink Product of the Year Award – Nancy Mercanti – Herbs Unlimited Inc. – Innovative process to “Fast Freeze” and package chopped herbs in a way that is measured, always at hand and tastes great.
• Honorable Mention – Dave & Valerie Marshall – Leash Locket – A retractable dog leash designed to fit into a compact locket that snaps to a magnetic collar attachment when not in use, allowing your dog to carry the leash when you want hands-free convenience.
• Honorable Mention – Brian Trang – Gadget Feet – A unique and compact Portable Electronic device stand (for laptops, iPad, Tablet PC, keyboard…)that helps improve posture and increase productivity.
• Honorable Mention Larry Pliley – Portavise – Portable vise allows for mobility and flexibility while enabling you to perform precise or delicate workmanship.

“The Lamplighter” banner hung above the front entrance to Noahs

Featured prominently at this years event was the artwork of Boulder artist Tyler Voorhees, winner of the 2011 Inventor Art Competition. His piece titled “The Lamplighter,” one of his five ‘inventor’ works, was selected to be the focal image for this years event.

Keynote speakers included Diana Urbine, a nationally known QVC expert and executive at the Spectrum Rep Group in Lancaster, PA and Louis Foreman, CEO of EdisonNation and Producer of the “Everyday Edisons” television series. As part of his presentation, Foreman gave details about their newly formed $25 million innovation fund designed as an investment tool for early stage inventions.

“With this fund we will invest up to $250K in select inventions to cover the cost of patents, design, packaging, marketing, and licensing in exchange for 50% of the profits,” says Foreman. While he readily admits this may not be the best fit for everyone, and that they are very selective in choosing the products they wish to work with, they have had a lot of success so far.

Working furiously behind the scenes was Deb Frey, Vice President of the DaVinci Institute.

“This has turned into a very significant national event,” said Deb. “This year over half of the exhibitors and a significant number of judges and attendees came from other states. It such an inspiring event that it naturally draws a lot of attention.”

An after-event dinner had the team already framing out plans for the 2012 event. In a word, it’s going to be huge.

More details at DaVinci Inventor Showcase.

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