Cincinnati Country Day School’s InvenTeam Goes from Idea to Patent Pending: With the Aim to Protect Cyclists

By Mary Casey-Sturk

In early July of 2023, Cincinnati Country Day School’s (CCDS) InvenTeam began brainstorming as they worked together to define an invention that could solve an existing problem in the community.

They also sought to involve other community members and organizations in the conversation. During this process, Ashley Ward, who recently retired assistant to the head of school, shared personal details about a bike accident in 2014 that took the life of Fred Carey, a much beloved English teacher, dean of students, parent, and alumnus. Carey was hit from behind by an intoxicated driver during a daytime bike ride.

The InvenTeam landed on an idea that could potentially save the lives of bike riders: a safe passing distance indicator for road bicycles.

They then presented their idea to the Lemelson-MIT InvenTeams ® Initiative, which inspires a new generation of inventors. The program has become a national leader in preparing the next generation of inventors as well as entrepreneurs of all backgrounds and are committed to diversity, equality, and inclusion.

Jamie Back and Angela Barber-Joiner, director of belonging & wellbeing and InvenTeam co-educator, initiated the application process in the spring of 2023, and their proposal was one of just 28 accepted across the country! The team worked diligently during the summer, school lunchtimes, free bells, weekends, and after school to prepare the final proposal in time for the September 2023 deadline.

Grant Awarded

Their efforts paid off and CCDS’s InvenTeam was awarded a Lemelson-MIT (LMIT) InvenTeam® grant in the amount of $7,500 to create an invention geared towards improving road bike safety. CCDS, which was recently ranked the #1 best high school for STEM in the Cincinnati area by niche.com, is one of only eight high schools nationwide to be selected to have an InvenTeam this year.

“We are thrilled and proud to receive this prestigious grant,” says Jamie Back, InvenTeam co-educator, STEAM teacher, and Makerspace coordinator. “It’s a big responsibility, but because our InvenTeam is such a diverse group, we have been able to come up with innovative and unconventional solutions. We are prepared to make a difference with our invention and the support of this esteemed program.”

Grant recipients were selected by a respected panel of university professors, inventors, entrepreneurs, industry professionals, and college students, including former InvenTeam members now working in the industry.

“We put an incredible amount of time and thought into the grant application, and to have it selected as one of eight schools nationwide makes it totally worth it,” says Arif. “I am looking forward to continuing the process of inventing a solution, which has been very rewarding so far. We started with three unrelated ideas this past summer and by early spring we started seeing an actual solution and that’s an amazing thing to be a part of.”

“There’s something special about working on a team versus being by yourself,” says Kranias, adding “working together and watching an invention come together as something that will actually help bicyclists will be really satisfying.”

According to the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention, over 100,000 bicyclists are injured or killed every year in the United States. In addition, the National Safety Council reported that the number of preventable deaths from biking accidents increased 44% between 2011 and 2020. Many driver-related bicycling accidents are caused by lack of visibility, even in daylight.

“I enjoy biking a lot, so it’s cool to be part of a team that has the opportunity to solve a problem that cyclists face on a national scale,” says Starodub. “The direct impact we can make in our community and the overall impact we can make for cyclists everywhere is really special to me.”

Patent Pending

In the months following the grant announcement, the InvenTeam continued working to develop a solution to the problem of road safety for cyclists. With 250 hours of work behind them, CCDS hosted a mid-grant technical review where parents, students, teachers, and community members gathered for updates.

During the presentation, the team revealed that their  invention had four integral parts that will help bicyclists be  safer while cycling on the road: an “always-running” light that will alert motorists of their presence, a turn signal, a green laser line that projects onto the ground on each side of the bicycle to indicate the legal passing distance to drivers, and an AI (artificial intelligence) system that alerts the bicyclist when a motor vehicle is approaching.

I am incredibly proud of our team,” says co-educator Jamie Back, Upper School STEAM teacher and makerspace coordinator. “Each team member presented with poise and confidence, showcasing the team’s passion for and understanding of the work we’ve been doing for months. This was made even more evident during the Q&A portion of the program, when team members answered impromptu questions from the audience with thoughtful and informed responses.”

“This journey was not an easy one, but the students gained a tremendous amount of experience and knowledge,” states Angela Barber-Joiner, co-educator and director of belonging and well-being. “It included challenges and celebrations, which built resiliency and agency that will enable them to be confident leaders.”

Alex Back, who technical lead shares, “When working on the prototype there were a lot of issues. I’ve had to spend a lot of time outside of meetings sometimes painfully going through revision after revision [before finding success].”

The InvenTeam will present its final prototype during EurekaFest ® , an invention celebration which took place in June 2024 at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Read on to see what happened.

Cincinnati Country Day School’s InvenTeam Wins Big at EurekaFest

In June, they presented their patent-pending invention at EurekaFest, “Where High School Teams Display World-Class Inventions”. After being selected as one of eight teams across the country for the grant, the team worked extensively throughout the past year.

The InvenTeam used this opportunity to address bicycle safety by inventing a safe passing distance indicator, which the team has named the IllumiLane, for road bicycles that improves road bike safety by increasing bicyclist and driver awareness of each other.

EurekaFest, which is hosted on the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) campus, is an event that empowers student inventors, honors role models, and encourages creativity and problem-solving. Programming features the 2023 Lemelson-MIT InvenTeams, which are composed of high school students from across the country who received an InvenTeam grant to build a working prototype to solve a real-world problem in their community or beyond.

“The morning began with the InvenTeam’s flawless presentation to a packed audience at EurekaFest,” said Jamie Back, Upper School teacher and InvenTeam co-educator. “The team fielded audience questions with ease, so much so that throughout the day people continued to approach Angela Barber-Joiner and me to tell us how polished, knowledgeable, and passionate the team was during the presentation.”

Later that day during the EurekaFest closing ceremony, the CCDS InvenTeam was recipient of two awards: the “Excellence in Communications Award” for their well-written monthly blogs, community and media outreach, and consistent social media presence and the “Golden Beaver Award.” The Golden Beaver Award recipient is determined by a member of Beaver Works, an educational partner with Lincoln Laboratory and MIT School of Engineering. The representative selects one team for excellence in technical achievement.

“We heard the name ‘Cincinnati Country Day School’ announced, and the entire team froze, then Angela [Barber-Joiner, co-educator] and I burst into tears as the rest of the team erupted in cheers,” said Jamie Back. “Yes, a person who works with MIT chose our team as the 2024 winner of the Golden Beaver Award, which is pretty much the award for the best overall invention. We are so proud of our entire team!”

Country Day’s team’s patent-pending invention has four integral parts that will help bicyclists be safer while cycling on the road: an “always-running” light to alert motorists of their presence, a turn signal, a green laser line that projects onto the ground on each side of the bicycle to indicate the legal passing distance to drivers, and an AI system that alerts the bicyclist when a motor vehicle is approaching. Over 100,000 bicyclists are injured or killed every year in the United States. In addition, the number of preventable deaths from biking accidents increased by 44% between 2011 and 2020.

The CCDS InvenTeam members include Ayaan Arif `25, Alex Back `25, Donovan Gray `25, Kate Kranias `26, Lucia Murdoch `25, Kevin Pearson `25, and Jason Starodub `26, with co-educators Angela Barber-Joiner and Jamie Back. In addition to participating in EurekaFest, team members also toured the Boston area, with highlights including the MIT Museum, Boston Commons, the Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, and college tours of Tufts University, Northeastern University, Harvard University, and Boston University.