Overall, the challenge awards $50,000 in prizes to the 10 finalist teams.  Each receives a share of $35,000 in privately funded prize money. In addition, this summer, the finalists will participate in the DifferenceMaker Program’s boot camp, where they may apply for one of three awards of in-kind services worth $5,000 provided by sponsors Foley and Lardner, LLP and UMass Lowell alumnus Chris McKenna ’89.

 

Since the program was founded in 2012, DifferenceMaker participants have launched 38 companies, raised $5 million to advance their inventions and have received or filed 10 patents. More than 60,000 students have been introduced to the program. Along with the TrueFIT team, winners were named in seven other categories. UMass Lowell student participants, their majors and hometowns are