The Lewis Family Awards exist to honor the memory of brother and sister, Drew and Nancy, by encouraging others to be “who they are, enjoy everything they do, and make a difference within their community.”  The Lewis family legacy to make others’ lives easier through volunteerism and philanthropy lives on through this wonderful opportunity in the University of Colorado Denver (CU Denver) community.  The Lewis Family Awards offer two separate, the Make it Mater and If I Can’t Fix It Milestone, all to champion the development of innovative solutions that address the world’s most challenging problems.  One-time cash awards totaling more than $5,000 are distributed via two competitions in both fall and spring semesters, to the CU Denver and CU Anschutz Medical Campus (CU Anschutz) students, staff, faculty, or community members for the successful design and development of working product prototypes that have high potential to move toward commercialization.  The awards committee and the Lewis Family have identified the following winners for the 2021 spring semester:

Make it Matter – Winner

• Facehugger – Dan Griner, Daniel Rodriguez, Abby Krohn, Inworks I CU Denver

If I Can’t Fix It Milestone Winners (unranked)

• Dynamic Forceps – Brandon Manusov, Dr. Maria Albuja-Cruz, Monika Wittig, Inworks (CU Anschutz)
• Epidural Hematoma – Dr.  Alexis Cralley, Inworks (CU Denver)
• Smart Desk System – Connor Wilson, CU Denver College of Engineering, Design and Computing
• Five Points to Five Notes – Ryan Breuer, CU Denver Comcast Media and Technology Center

Other submissions receiving judge’s recognition as excellent innovations:

• Robotic Vehicle Sensor Placement System – Ariel LaFuente, CU Denver College of Engineering, Design and Computing Capstone
• Bleuth – Dr. Laing He, CU Denver CU Denver College of Engineering, Design and Computing
• A Cognitive Vaccine for Perioperative Anxiety – Marie Evans, Inworks (CU Denver)
• Wearable Stress-Measurement Device – Claire Charlton, CU Denver CU Denver College of Engineering, Design and Computing Capstone
• BLOQUE – Saeed Amirchaghmaghi, CU Denver, Design Horizons

Faculty, staff, and students at CU Denver and the College of Engineering, Design and Computing are tremendously grateful to the Lewis Family for their support in creating the Lewis Family Awards program. This semester’s award opportunity was a high-value developmental experience for the applicants.  We hope you will join us in celebrating our culture of innovation, creativity, and ingenuity in the CU Denver and CU Anschutz community.

Visit the Lewis Family Award webpage for more information and follow these links to learn about the signature offerings available to support creativity, innovation, and entrepreneurship at CU Denver and CU Anschutz

• College of Engineering, Design and Computing Capstone Design Course
• College of Engineering, Design and Computing First-Year Design Expo
• Design Horizons Labs Entrepreneurial Fellows Program
• Comcast Media and Technology Center Design Innovation Projects
• Inworks Innovation Initiative