Celebrating soy: 30 years of innovation

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — The Student Soybean Innovation Competition has a 30-year legacy in which Purdue University students create a host of products out of one main ingredient: soybeans.

The competition, hosted by Indiana Soybean Alliance, was created in 1995 to develop new products made from soy.

Students from Purdue use their creativity and education to develop a product from beginning to end, from concept to commercial viability.

“The Student Soybean Innovation Competition allows ISA to create relationships with bright and creative students and their advisers at Purdue,” said Jenna Scott, a farmer from Muncie and chair of the ISA Sustainability and Value Creation Committee.

“Some of the products from this contest will help us move more soybeans into the market. Indiana soybean checkoff funds are used to find new uses and new markets for our soybeans, which creates more demand and helps our farms to be more profitable and sustainable.”

Winner Timeline

1995 — Crayon by Jocelyn Wong, Thomas Chang and Don Rode

1996 — Fire starter by Amy Khal and Brian Beales

1997 — Birthday candle by Amy Khal, Rahul Nair and Adam Watkins

1998 — Ski wax by Ryan Howard and Faye Mulvaney

1999 — Cereal by Aaron Davis, Jon Gray and Laura Zimmer

2000 — (tie) Gel by Ryan Howard and Faye Mulvaney

2000 — (tie) Cracker by Amanda Zeltner, Melody Marshall and Markelle Grossman

2001 — Heating fuel by Matt Peter, Louis Cassens and Bekki Kennedy

2002 — Marker by Brian Costigan, Mindy Durack, Rylie Vance and Amanda Stewart

2003 — No Contest

2004 — Nail polish remover by Ruth Hegarty and Courtney Howard

2005 — Pectin jam by Phil Dorroll, Courtney Howard and Ruth Hegarty Pinto

2006 — No Contest

2007 — No Contest

2008 — (tie) Waffle bowl by Brian Hunter, Clay Arnett and Todd Case

2008 — (tie) Clay pigeons by Benn Hall, John Mullen, David Conway and Adrien Boeh

2009 — Cupcake liners by Marcianne Colglazier, Victoria Horton, Erin Rosswurm and Anna Verseman

2010 — Soy Tabs excipient by Danielle Carpenter, Krista Eakins, Ryan Fox and Brittany Phillips

2011 — Denture cream by Manaz Taleyarkhan, Ankit Gupta, Alvin Ang and David Barron

2012 — Flexible circuit board by Aniruddha Kelkar, Carmen Valverde-Paniagua and Anand Venkatesan

2013 — Fiber insulation by Anshu Gupta, John Grace and Solwoo Kim

2014 — 3D printer material by Carmen Valverde-Paniagua, Nicole Devlin and Yanssen Tandy

2015 — Air freshener by Evan Anderson, Sean Anderson and Sara Richert

2016 — Exfoliating bead by Samuel Lewis, Steve Ferris, Alison Switzer and Ryan Pendergast

2017 — Air filter by Anderson Smith, Andrew Huang, Sushant Mehan and Samaneh Saadat

2018 — Hydroseeding tech by Terence Babb, Susan Hubbard, Jacob Semonis and Christopher Stichter

2019 — Drinking straws by Morgan Malm, Ruth Zhong and Natalie Stephenson

2020 — Herbicide by Alyson Chaney and Peyton Clark

2021 — Biostimulant by Cai Chen, Nathaniel Nauman and Emmanuel Alagbe

2022 — Soy mulch by Libby Plassard, Ethan Miller and Zuhal Cakir

2023 — StyroSoy by Alyssa Choi, Amy Tang, Valeria Tellez Gallego and Louis Edwards Caceres-Martinez

The contest has produced numerous success stories, including products that have done well in the marketplace.

Former competitors have gone on to medical school and graduate studies and to work for companies such as Proctor & Gamble, Favorite Brands, Nestles, M&M Mars, Kroger Foods and Union Carbide.