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SoySeal adhesive tape wins $20,000 prize in ISA and Purdue University Student Soybean Innovation Competition
A soy-based adhesive tape took home the top prize at the 32nd annual Student Soybean Innovation Competition sponsored by the Indiana Soybean Alliance and Purdue University.
Biological engineering sophomore Jocelyn Erickson explains the product.
“SoySeal is a 90% soy-based tape where the adhesive part is 100% soy-based and the backing is 90% with only one non-soy ingredient, which is baking soda,” she says. “It is currently pressure sensitive and is able to hold more weight than the traditional masking tape.”
She tells Brownfield it’s all about creating new markets for U.S. soybean farmers.
“At just a 3 percent market share of the adhesive tape market, we would be able to sell 351,000 tons of soybeans per year with our product alone,” she says. “To see that come to life and see it enter the market as more of a niche product is something that would be absolutely amazing to see come to fruition.”
AUDIO: Team SoySeal
Lucy Shepard, sophomore majoring in biological engineering and a member of the second-place team SoySlipSafe, says the contest highlights the versatility of soy and helps address consumer need.
“Meeting actual farmers and knowing that this is their livelihood, they’re producing soy, wheat, and corn, this is how they make their living,” she says. “The fact that we could create a product that could impact their life is just so fulfilling.”
AUDIO: Team SoySlipSafe
Decatur County farmer Roger Wenning helped judge this year’s competition and says the products highlight the value U.S. soy can bring to the marketplace.
“It’s just an awesome competition,” he says. “It’s awesome to see what these students can do and how they come up with their marketing plans and just the work that they put into this. It’s good for all soybean farmers when we can increase demand.”
The Indiana Soybean Alliance and the soybean checkoff awarded more than $35,000 to the winners of the competition. Twelve teams and 36 students competed in this year’s industrial soy products competition.
Team SoySeal received $20,0000 from the Indiana Soybean Alliance for winning this year’s contest.
Earning second place this year, and a $10,000 prize, were the creators of SoySlipSafe, a soy-based anti-icer that can be used on roads prior to snowfall or freezing precipitation. The SoySlipSafe team members include Taylor Helman, Marley Kakalia and Lucy Shepard.
In third place and earning a $5,000 prize, were the creators of SoyLam, a soy-based plastic laminate designed to replace current plastic lamination materials. The SoyLam team members are Elizabeth Rozzi and Erica Conley. Both are biological engineering majors.
AUDIO: Team SoyLam
The competition also includes a People’s Choice award of $500, which is determined by votes of attendees at the awards ceremony. This year’s award went to Soyé, creators of a soy-based menstrual pad. The makers of Soyé include Purdue students Marcia Kusumah of Jakarta, Indonesia; Eleanor Malinowski of Downers Grove, Ill.; and Chanyoung “Ivy” Moon of Seoul, Korea.
Following the contest, ISA works to develop the products and evaluate their long-term feasibility and commercial viability.