University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, $5,000
This E-Team is addressing two problems at the same time: e-waste, of which smartphones are becoming a rapidly increasing percentage, and the lack of people to fill job positions in the tech sector. The team’s product, the Neo, is a computer powered by a discarded mobile phone and comes pre-loaded with an operating system designed to introduce computer programming to novices. The Neo is envisioned as a sustainable and socially responsible way of introducing school-aged children to programming.