Matthew Raggard, Kacie Neutz, Nick Phelps and Leah Enders claimed the $100,000 Mercury Fund Tech Transfer Investment Prize and another $1,000 for placing first in the Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP Challenge Round.

The 42 teams at Rice, culled from more than 500 contest entrants worldwide, competed in four categories—life sciences, information technology, energy and sustainability.

Earlier this month, TheraBracelet won $2,500 as runner-up in the Oregon New Venture Championship.

Four other UofL teams also placed highly in the Idea State U competition April 11-12 in Lexington, a Kentucky contest that encourages business innovation by student entrepreneurs:

  • Trifecta Cooking won more than $21,000 for best graduate business plan for its idea to market an open fryer using 40 percent less cooking oil than standard fryers
  • CypressMD won more than $3,800 for best graduate concept for its plan to  commercialize a new intubation technology
  • PocketParkU won more than $3,800 for best undergraduate concept for its plan to sell a mobile app that helps faculty, staff and students park on college campuses
  • Jockey Analytics won more than $11,000 for second-best undergraduate plan for its horse racing industry system  that rates jockeys on a race-by-race basis

For more information, call Van Clouse at 502-724-7320 or Suzanne Bergmeister at 502-396-3519.