Student inventions win spot in national competition

Young inventors from J.C. Booth Middle and Flat Rock Middle schools brought home awards from the 2017 K-12 InVenture Challenge at Georgia Tech, and two teams are heading to a nationwide event after taking top prizes. Katie Barry, Olivia Quern and Esther Ofielu clinched first place for an invention called "The Locker Hammock," a redesign of the standard locker shelf that consists of suction cups and fabric. Olivia Quern and Esther Ofielu provided presentation assistance. The second J.C. Booth Middle team of Gracie Weldon, Johanna Nelson and Raaga Bramhadevi took third place for an invention called "Let's Deet This," a bug-repelling laundry detergent made from environmentally safe ingredients. The product also includes a portable washing machine. Raaga Bramhadevi provided presentation assistance. Both teams will compete at the National Invention Convention and Entrepreneurship Expo at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in Washington, D.C. June 1-3. An eighth-grade team from Flat Rock Middle received a specialty award from IronCad, a developer of 3D modeling software, for their invention called Xtendlet, a cord that extends the reach of electrical outlets up to 25 feet and can retract back neatly into the wall outlet. The team members are Ashton Mobley, Mohammed-Faiz Ali Khan and Thomas Bryan. Their teacher is Monica Reckley.