From Nov. 7 to Nov. 8, Macalester held its annual Macathon innovation challenge, where 18 teams spent 24 hours creating various solutions to global problems. This year, six finalists were selected and gave seven-minute presentations before a crowded John B. Davis Lecture Hall.
First to present was “Edible Rice,” who created their “Toasty Tubes” product as an outdoor heat insulator for cold-sensitive medical tubing, such as catheters, IV drips and similar devices. Group member Shelly Bai ’25 drew comparisons to pre-existing personal heaters as the inspiration for their project.
“[People] deal with the cold in the Minnesota winter with things like heated blankets and heated shawls and heated gloves,” Bai said. “We know that this technology exists — it’s workable, it’s manufacturable, it’s used in close-to-human-contact situations. This is a viable technology … for those who desperately need this kind of thing to exist.”
“Edible Rice’s” device works with multiple layers of physical insulation and an electric heating element inserted through the tube cover to provide heat on command. This comes from a backpack battery system, which a temperature sensor prevents from overheating. Toby Hibbard ’27 described the product’s accessibility as a major design priority for the team.
“We have multiple colored lights in case you’re deaf or hard of hearing, and it will also emit a sound so if you’re blind and can’t see the lights, you can still know when the battery is running low,” Hibbard said. “On the off-chance it overheats, we also have an extra safety function … in which the system will just auto shut off [to prevent burns].”
“Salchipapa” then presented their project, which was designed to correct blood-oxygen device readings for skin tone. The program the group created takes datasets with device readings and true blood-oxygen levels and adjusts results based on patterns found by machine learning algorithms. “Salchipapa” hopes that their device will decrease misinterpretation rates for high-melanin blood-oxygen device users and increase the likelihood of successful detection and treatment.
The group gave a demonstration of the program, which used a blood-oxygen sensor to take data from a group member and then applied the correction to the sensor’s readings based on the user’s skin color.
“Salchipapa,” if given the opportunity, would market the product to U.S. oximeter manufacturers. They hope the program would increase the accuracy of blood-oxygen readings and prevent dangerous misreadings.
“Team Y” proceeded to present their product, “Buckle Y-Up,” which is a seatbelt modified to better protect women and children.
“Current federal safety mandates for seat belts showcase that the ideal body type that’s protected by the seat belts is the 95th percentile of American men,” group member Roy Andrei ’29 said. “With our product Buckle Y-Up,’ we address these inequalities.”
The group emphasized that despite changes to the seatbeat’s pressure points on the upper body, the product continues to be made of nylon webbing and complies with federal seatbelt safety guidelines.
Next up were “The Squirrels,” who presented their anti-cavity product. Group member Lenți Govoreanu ’29, who is from Romania, detailed that their project was partly inspired by his experience with American dental care.
“The big shock that I had was that in order to treat this it would be even cheaper to fly across the ocean, to go to Romania [for treatment],” Govoreanu said. “This shock was a great catalyst for us to take action, not only for us college students and international students, but also for people that can’t afford in the United States to treat their dental [pain].”
The group outlined the product’s three key features; a cosmetic paste to cover cavities in the short term, a refillable pain-alleviating paste applicable to the site of the cavity and a pH tester designed to detect potential cavities before they expand.
“Jeet’s Jesters” then presented a waste-sorting program intended to cost-effectively determine types of waste and allow for quicker categorization by recycling center workers. Group member Bruno Guiduli ’26 explained that the group decided to take on the project after observing issues with waste-sorting at Macalester and throughout the Twin Cities.
“The [University of Minnesota] recently invited me to one of their football games, and I got to see a waste sorting facility at the game, [but] it takes a really long time,” Guiduli said. “Here at Macalester, we’re an incredibly sustainable school, and everyone has access to so much [sustainability] education, and we still have so many issues with our sorting.”
The program “Jeet’s Jesters” created uses tracking software with annotated data and machine learning to sort items into categories of waste. The program is then integrated with a camera and laser system that highlights specific types of waste for sorting by recycling center employees. While similar solutions currently exist, the group emphasizes that their solution is an accessible and low-cost alternative to higher-end products.
“Accessibility is a huge issue for smaller scale waste plants who can’t afford the AI waste solutions that are already on the market that can cost hundreds of thousands to even millions of dollars,” group member Sanjeet Devidayal ’26 said. “[They] also require facilities to shut down for extended periods of time, which our solution does not.”
The last team to present was “Step One,” who presented their online platform for international students. The web-based video-sharing platform is designed for international students studying in the United States to connect over shared experiences like culture shock or American college life.
For Macathon organizer and Director of Entrepreneurship & Innovation Allan Martinez Venegas ’14, the platform hit close to home with his experiences as an international student at Macalester.
“I came here a little over 15 years ago as an international student with just a backpack, no coat, because I didn’t know what Minnesota meant,” Venegas said. “When I was seeing some of their work and seeing this, … I’m sleeping proud, but I got a little emotional about it.”
The finals then adjourned for 15 minutes to determine award winners.
“Salchipapa” placed third and won $500 while “Jeet’s Jesters” placed second, winning $750. “Edible Rice” came in first for the grand prize of $1,000. Bai shared that “Edible Rice’s” champion product was in part inspired by Macalester’s environment.
“Macathon weekend happened to be the weekend where the weather was just starting to turn really cold,” Bai said. “So the problem became really apparent … and so that was top of mind.”
For group member Evvie Bond ’26, the motivation around the choice of medical tube insulation was personal.
“I’m the one with feeding tubes,” Bond said. “This is a problem that’s been affecting me since I had these tubes placed last year, and because of it, I haven’t been able to go to classes like a normal student. I’ve been attending classes on Zoom. So I think actually making this product something that functions, even just for me, as selfish as it sounds, would be phenomenal.”
The group also gave special credit to the owner of Shish Mediterranean Kitchen, whose insight helped them with their project.
“We just suddenly ran into him as we were going up to get dinner … and he asked us about our idea,” Bai said. “We told him about it, he immediately got so excited, and that really motivated us to dedicate ourselves to this project, because we knew it wasn’t just for us or even Evvie [Bond], who is our wonderful friend, but it was for this group of people who really cared.”
