Invention Convention Michigan

Meet the Invention Convention Michigan (ICM) Team – Katie Dallos and Andaiye Spencer!

Curious about how Invention Convention Michigan can be implemented in your classroom, after-school club, homeschool pod, scout troop, seasonal workshop, or other educational setting? We can help you frame the problem-solving, STEM, and project-based learning experiences you may already be doing in a fresh, innovative way that empowers students to become inventors and changemakers.

ICM is a complimentary educational resource with an optional competitive pathway. We offer educator workshops onsite at The Henry Ford, or we can come to you!

Message us for more information:

[email protected] (Michigan statewide)

[email protected] (Detroit/Wayne County)

The official 2026 Invention Convention U.S. Nationals Winners List!

Proud of all our Michigan inventors!! Let’s do this again next year.

Congratulations to Harshi Jariwala, who placed 3rd in the 7th grade division and won the RTX Connectivity Award for her invention, PotholeSense: Smart Pothole Detection and Reporting Using AI, at the Invention Convention U.S. National competition!!

Harshi is a student from the Novi Community School District, who participated through our Michigan Independent Inventor program at EMUiNVENT.

Our program is growing! The 2025-2026 school year had highest participation in the history of the program - in Michigan and throughout the country - with over 500 students across 25 states qualifying to compete at Invention Convention U.S. Nationals.

In total, over 300,000 students engaged in invention education and engineering design thinking curriculum nationally, including Michigan’s 5,459 young inventors!

🎉 ICM 2026 RTX Invention Convention U.S. National Finalists 🎉

Congratulations and Good Luck to the following students who will be competing today!

▪️ Disease Defenders – Jenisha Rathod (Grade 6, Novi Meadows School)
▪️ ShoeQ – Samarthika Karthik & Saadhana Satyanarayanan (Grade 3, Parkview Elementary)
▪️ Smart Safety Pal – Kriti Gangumalla (Grade 6, Novi Meadows School)
▪️ Designing Antibacterial and Biodegradable Wound Dressings – Seneli Amaratunga & Dharshna Chandra Mouleeswaran (Grade 11, Kalamazoo Area Math and Science Center)
▪️ Automated Calf Puller – Kylie Alexander & Fletcher Cherry (Grade 5, Petoskey–Lincoln)
▪️ PotholeSense: Smart Pothole Detection and Reporting Using AI – Harshi Jariwala (Grade 7, EMUiNVENT & Michigan Independent Inventor Program)
▪️ Vesticator – Kashvi Rai (Grade 12, Huron High School)
▪️ The Smart Backpack – Rohan Aravind & Aadvik Mishra (Grade 5, Thornton Creek Elementary)
▪️ Zen‑Eye – Dhruv Magar & Renesh Sreenath (Grade 6, Novi Meadows)
▪️ Automatic Pedestrian Crossing Detection – Elliot Scully (Grade 12, Skyline High School)
▪️ Magic Footsteps – Allie Johnson & Adelyn Wilson (Grade 3, Baraga Area Schools)
▪️ Snow‑GO – Thivikshan PR (Grade 4, Village Oaks Elementary School)
▪️ Dust Bunny – Daniel Calcut & Crosby Ferguson (Grade 8, Grosse Ile Township Schools)

👏 We can’t wait to see how well you represent Michigan on the national stage!

A huge Thank You to Delta Dental of Michigan, our presenting partner for

Kalamazoo Gazette Kalamazoo Public Schools Petoskey News-Review Skyline High School The Ann Arbor News

🎉 ICM 2026 Best in Region – Young Innovators of Genesee County🎉

Congratulations to Makenna Miller, a fourth grader from Way of Wisdom, for the invention, The Doubler—a bottle holder designed to hold two bottles at once, making feeding easier for parents of twins.

On hand to bestow the honor, Hub Leader Vivian Williams

🎉 ICM 2026 Best in Region – EMUiNVENT 🎉

Congratulations to Clara Russell and Evalee Streeting, fifth graders from Petoskey–Lincoln Elementary, for their invention, Clean Strike—a device designed to clean and sanitize bowling ball finger holes, helping reduce germ spread and save time for staff.

On hand to bestow the honor, Hub Leaders Roche and Sarah Bye, Northwestern Lower Michigan Region

Northwestern Lower Mi STEM Network News-Review Petoskey, Michigan - Petoskey.net

Congratulations to Best in Region winner Corbin Anderson, a seventh grader from Copper Island Academy (), for the invention Snowmobile Pull Jacket—a winter jacket with a built‑in support system designed to help safely pull-out stuck snowmobiles while stabilizing the rider and reducing risk of injury. 👏

The honor was presented by Thomas Oliver, InventCon@MTU Director and ICM Western UP Hub Leader.

Invent Con Michigan Technological University

Congratulations to Best in Region, Eastern Upper Peninsula ISD winner Emma Richter, a sixth grader from Pickford Junior High, for the project Study Habits—an app designed to incentivize students to complete tasks and build strong study habits. 👏

This honor was presented by ICM's Katie Dallos on behalf of the Eastern Upper Peninsula Intermediate School District.