A group of engineering students from Illinois Institute of Technology received the top award at the fifth annual Grainger Computing Innovation Prize, held on November 6. Their project, Drain Watch, uses sensors on sewer drain covers to provide real-time data during rainstorms to municipal wastewater teams. This system aims to help manage flooding by allowing crews to operate flood mitigation tools such as gates and pumps more effectively. The collected data can also assist in scheduling maintenance and predicting future flooding events.
Team member Michael Sansone explained the value of working across disciplines: "To see an aerospace engineer and a civil engineer find a meeting point speaks volumes as to how important it is to have a holistic vision through a multidisciplinary team," he said. "I was able to learn and be taught by them, and it gave me an opportunity to share my knowledge."
Trevin Cox noted that Drain Watch has built a prototype device, which will soon be tested in Chicago’s Belmont Cragin neighborhood. The team is collaborating with Alderperson Jesse Fuentes from Chicago’s 26th Ward for this pilot program.
Felix Nkurunziza shared his experience solving technical challenges during development: "We had a circuit board with no WiFi and had to figure out how to connect it to the system," he said. "These are problems that you just can’t Google. You have to figure it out."
The Grainger Computing Innovation Prize was launched in 2021 by Illinois Tech’s College of Computing. It encourages students from various academic backgrounds to apply computing skills in areas like big data, artificial intelligence, and data science through projects intended for social good. This year’s theme was “Computing with Data and AI for Social Good,” focusing on issues including education, health, energy, public safety, transportation, economic development, sustainable infrastructure, climate change, among others.
This year’s competition saw participation from 26 student teams who worked throughout the semester developing their prototypes. The top three teams received awards of $15,000, $10,000, and $5,000 respectively.
The second-place prize went to SeismoAI—a team consisting of Charlie Yonkura, Kadidjatou Yattassaye, Yessenia Nicasio-Rosales, and Humza Ali—for their low-cost AI-powered seismometer designed for homes and infrastructure. Their device detects seismic activity as well as structural strain and air quality; alerts are sent via a mobile app.
Third place was awarded to Ocean’s Four-vArI—comprised of Vishnu Thampuran, Pranav Kuchibhotla, Ishaan Goel, and Lalith Kothura—for creating a volunteer computing platform that simulates ocean drift using users’ devices. Their system predicts plastic hotspots almost in real time without relying on supercomputers.
Nicole Beebe, dean of the College of Computing at Illinois Tech, commented on the competition: "For five years now, the Grainger Computing Innovation Prize has brought multi-disciplinary teams of Illinois Tech students together to use computing in its many forms to make our world better," she said. "It’s not surprising that many of this year’s teams leveraged AI to solve pressing social, environmental, and health care problems… It is truly inspiring to see the creativity, technical skill, and caring hearts of more than 140 students who entered this year’s competition."
Illinois Tech trustee Brian Walker also praised participants: "These students served as an inspiration by thinking about problems that are hard to solve and came up with inventive prototypes. With this competition we are hoping to engender interdisciplinary solutions to address society’s biggest problems."
The annual prize is supported by an endowed gift from The Grainger Foundation—an independent foundation established by William W. Grainger.
Jonny LeRoy from Grainger remarked: "By bringing together students from different disciplines to use computing to solve problems we see where the magic happens… It’s exciting to see the next generation work together on these issues."