Four Major Universities to Showcase Technologies at Ben Franklin’s 2016 Shale Gas Innovation Contest!

STATE COLLEGE, PA – We are pleased to announce that four regional universities: Carnegie Mellon, Penn State, University of Pittsburgh, and West Virginia University have all enthusiastically agreed to join the list of sponsors supporting Ben Franklin’s Fifth Annual Shale Gas Innovation Contest.  This year’s event, which is FREE to attend, will be held on May 18, 2016 at the Hilton Garden Inn in Southpointe, PA.   New this year, faculty and students will be invited to showcase their most promising technologies under development in the shale energy space by participating in a poster session during the reception that follows the contest.

Ben Franklin’s Shale Gas Innovation and Commercialization Center www.sgicc.org is now accepting applications to this year’s contest which offers a total of $80,000 in cash prizes for the four best shale energy oriented innovations, new product ideas, or service concepts. Researchers, entrepreneurs, or small businesses in Pennsylvania or West Virginia focused on developing a new product or service for the shale energy space can apply.  A simple online application can be found at http://www.sgicc.org/2016-shale-gas-innovation-contest.html. In addition to the cash prizes, successful applicants will gain exposure to investors, potential partners, and industry sponsors. 

This 5th Annual Shale Gas Innovation Contest’s GOLD Sponsor is Ben Franklin Technology Partners (http://www.benfranklin.org).  Industry sponsors include: AquaTech (www.aquatech.com), Chevron Technology Ventures (http://www.chevron.com/ctv/ctvi/), EQT Corporation (https://www.eqt.com/ ), First National Bank (www.fnb-online.com ), GE Oil & Gas (http://www.ge-energy.com), Inflection Energy (http://www.inflectionenergy.com/),  LPR Energy (http://www.lprenergy.com/), LPR Land Services (http://www.lprls.com/), the Marcellus Shale Coalition (http://marcelluscoalition.org), PPG Industries (http://corporate.ppg.com/), Praxair (www.praxair.com), Steptoe & Johnson PLLC (http://www.steptoe-johnson.com/ ), and Williams (www.williamsinthenortheast.com).  As mentioned above, university sponsors include: Carnegie Mellon University’s Scott Institute for Energy Innovation (http://www.cmu.edu/energy/), Penn State University’s Institute for Natural Gas Research  (http://www.ems.psu.edu/INGaR), the University of Pittsburgh’s Center for Energy (http://www.engineering.pitt.edu/cfe/), and West Virginia University’s Energy Institute (http://energy.wvu.edu/). 

Contest Finalists will be chosen by a panel of industry experts. To download an application, visit www.sgicc.org and click on the 2016 Shale Gas Innovation Contest tab.  Deadline to enter is 11:59PM on February 1, 2016.

​For details regarding eligibility or other questions, contact Bill Hall at either 814-933-8203 or billhall@psu.edu.