Set a Goal, Take Risks, Learn from Process, Win Big
The ECenter's Maurice Prize for Innovation offers undergraduate students the opportunity to pursue their idea for the chance to win $5,000. Success and failure are equally valid outcomes - all that matters is what is learned in the process.
Top Reasons to Participate:
Maurice Prize for Innovation
- Explore your idea without worrying about the outcome
- Gain valuable lessons from the discovery process
- Be judged on the journey, not "success" or "failure"
I really learned the value of diving in headfirst and getting started. By iterating fast, learning from our failings on the fly, reflecting, and keeping progress moving forward within the deadlines of the competition, we were able to go from an idea to a real business with a launched software product and revenue by the time of our final presentation.
-JACK POTVIN '22 (PAUL), WINNER OF THE 2021-2022 MAURICE PRIZE FOR PROJECT HAPPY
Quick Steps
Important Information
- The Maurice Prize at UNH is limited to UNH undergraduate students only
- Can be submitted as an individual UNH undergraduate student or as a team of UNH undergraduate students
- No class projects or papers are eligible to win the Maurice Prize
- Previous winning ideas are not eligible to submit again
- Projects are of the student/team’s choosing but are required to be extra-curricular and not used as part of any academic credit course including independent study
REGISTRATION ON INTENTION TO COMPETE - REQUIRED
Opens: September 3, 2024
Deadline to submit intention to complete: December 6, 2024 at 11:59 am EST
The earlier this is submitted, the more time you have to work on your project. Time worked on project will be part of the evaluation criteria.
WORK ON THE PROJECT
Develop your idea until the Submission of Formal Analysis Deadline of March 26, 2025 at 11:59 am EST.
SUBMISSION OF “FORMAL ANALYSIS” DUE - REQUIRED
Formal Analysis due March 26th, 2025 by 11:59 am EST
See requirements of Formal Analysis in Submission Information section
Email to ECenter Associate Director, Belle Vukovich Kenoyer at belle.kenoyer@unh.edu or deliver in person at the ECenter (21 Madbury Road, Durham, NH)
Formal Analysis from each individual/team will be reviewed by the Judges by early April 2025
FINALISTS ANNOUNCED AND NOTIFIED
by April 4, 2025
FINALIST PRESENTATIONS
In Mid- April 2025
WINNER ANNOUNCED
after presentations
- Registration is REQUIRED
- The earlier this is submitted, the more time you have to work on your project. Time worked on project will be part of the evaluation criteria.
SUBMIT BY EMAIL
Email to ECenter Belle Vukovich Kenoyer at belle.kenoyer@unh.edu or deliver in person at the ECenter (21 Madbury Road, Durham, NH).
The Formal Analysis shall be a review of the project that an individual or team undertook and what the individual or team accomplished. The Formal Analysis shall be delivered in whatever form is most appropriate to the nature of the project. Acceptable forms shall include, but shall not be limited to, written summary, power point, graphics, representations of studio and/or performing arts, in the form of reports, posters, or electronically.
SUBMISSION REQUREMENTS
The Formal Analysis shall include at a minimum a descriptive analysis of the following elements:
- The purpose and goals of the project
- When did you start work on the project
- The participants - why they were included, what role they played, what contributions they made, and what they learned from the project
- The degree to which the purposes and goals of the project were met
- Successes and disappointments - the factors that led to success or failure
- Recommendations for future endeavors in the area of the project or in similar areas
Questions? Email the ECenter
EVALUATION PROCESS
In evaluating Maurice Prize projects and selecting the finalists to present and the selection of the winner(s), the Judges shall include the following evaluation criteria:
- Importance and/or originality of the project/idea proposed in Registration on Intention to Compete
- The thoughtfulness of the initial goals
- Execution of the project
- Depth of the learning experience the project gave to the participant(s)
- Impact of the project on the UNH community and/or on external communities
- Quality and clarity of the Formal Analysis
- Quality and clarity of the presentation of the Formal Analysis (part of winning evaluation)
- Responses to the questions and answers
Projects do not need to have a positive outcome in order to be a finalist or win the Maurice Prize. For example, research based on a given premise may end up proving that premise wrong. Or a project that involves a presentation to an audience may not receive the expected audience response. In such instances of failure or disappointment, the Formal Analysis should present an analysis of the reasons for the failure or disappointment and offer modifications that could have improved the outcome.
After it evaluates the formal analyses, the Judges shall choose finalists for the Maurice Prize. The finalists will be invited to present in person to the judges. The number of finalists may vary from year to year and shall depend upon the number of participants and the quality of the projects.
FINAL PRESENTATIONS
Finalists will be invited to present their Formal Analysis in person to the judges.
The limitations are 10 minutes for your presentation followed by a 15 minute Question and Answer session.
NOTE: Final presentations will take place in person at the ECenter, unless University policy prohibits in-person gatherings. If that is the case, presentations will take place via Zoom.
NO PRIZE USE RESTRICTIONS
The Maurice Prize requires no post-award engagement with the ECenter. Winner(s) may use the $5,000 prize for any purpose. If the winning participant is a team of students, the team shall determine how the Maurice Prize shall be used and how it shall be divided among the members.
AWARD PAPERWORK
Maurice Prize winner(s) are required to provide information for all taxes and reporting prior to being awarded the check. Winner(s) will be required to complete a W-9 tax form and other documents as required by UNH and the IRS guidelines and are solely responsible for any tax implications of this award and should consult their tax advisors for additional information.
CONSENT TO USE QUOTES AND MEDIA
In order to receive the Maurice Prize, participants give permission to the ECenter at the University of New Hampshire to use photographs, audio and video recordings of participant(s), without compensation, for promotional activities. All materials and summaries of the project will be required to be made available for future review on the MauricePrize.com website.
PAYMENT DISTRIBUTION
Actual payment occurs on or after August 1, 2025.
Questions? Email the ECenter.
The purpose of the Maurice Prize is to encourage and foster innovation, creativity, originality, ingenuity, and resourcefulness in undergraduate students enrolled at the University of New Hampshire (UNH). The goal of the Maurice Prize is to encourage students to be daring and not to fear failure. Students should know that not achieving everything they set out to achieve is not a failure, but an invaluable learning experience.
The Maurice Prize is offered in the belief that the education students receive derives benefit when students undertake projects of their own choosing and in doing so apply their knowledge, tap their ingenuity, identify valuable resources, and exercise their ability to work with others. The UNH Maurice Prize Judges will award the Maurice Prize annually to the participating student or team of students deemed to have done the most outstanding work on a project.
Please note that this is not a prize for an idea TO DO… but a prize for an idea that has been worked on. The Registration of Intent is the starting point which will be evaluated.
About the Maurice Prize
The J. Dolores and Alfred P. Maurice Prize for Innovation (Maurice Prize), an endowed prize established at the ECenter, was first awarded in the spring of 2018. The purpose of the Maurice Prize is to encourage and foster innovation, creativity, originality, ingenuity, and resourcefulness in undergraduate students enrolled at the University of New Hampshire (UNH).
The goal of the Maurice Prize is to encourage students to be daring and not to fear failure. Students should know that not achieving everything they set out to achieve is not a failure, but an invaluable learning experience. A team of judges comprised of faculty, staff, and students will select a winner and award an individual undergraduate student or a team of undergraduate students $5,000 based upon a set of evaluation criteria.
Past Winners
One Tier Up (2024)
Douglas Coulter '26 and Colton Potter '26 One Tier Up, is an innovative muscle scraper/massager and bar of soap in one. (a tool used in physical therapy and for breaking muscle knots) With four sides, each designed for different muscle sizes and tightnesses the product retains the properties of the soap - the ability to clean and leave a lasting scent - while encompassing the hardness factor of a muscle massaging tool. One Tier Up is marketed towards individuals and communities that frequently exercise - such as athletes and yoga enthusiasts. These innovators learned about the production process as well as ways to innovate on the fly.
College Connector (2023)
Brett Schultz '26 College Connector, is a multipurpose app designed to alleviate common social, emotional, and financial problems among college students. To help students socially and emotionally, College Connector offers a free-to-use Connect feature to find other students on campus with whom they can connect and share common interests and activities. This feature allows campus clubs and organizations to advertise themselves better and make them more accessible to students. The app also helps students financially, offering a Marketplace tool. This feature allows students to sell goods and services to one another, where they can meet on campus to process the transaction.
Project Happy (2022)
Jack Potvin '21 Project Happy is an innovave nonprofit tech startup on a mission to reconnect young people to their community, in an effort to help them live happier and more connected lives. Our iniave eliminates the barriers that discourage a student from community involvement & volunteering, by simplifying & improving the student volunteering process. We aspire to foster posive behavior change through our technology, resulng in passionate life-long volunteers and community leaders. Our web (and soon IOS & Android) app eliminates the barriers that discourage a student from volunteering, by simplifying and improving the student volunteering process. We plan to launch at high schools across the state and at UNH as a completely free resource to thousands of students.
A New Dream (2021)
Ely Marciano '21 from the College of Liberal Arts won the $5,000 Maurice Prize in 2021 for his learnings while exploring his idea, A New Dream. A New Dream is a content channel “created by seekers, for seekers” to explore a variety of subjects ranging from wildlife ecology to philosophy, with an emphasis on learning how to learn. Ely, a Philosophy major, impressed the judges with the caliber of his idea, the growth that occured during the compeittion window, and the thoughtfulness of his presentation. During the comeptition window of November 2020 - March 2021, he delved into the data behind his channel, grew his paid supporters on Patreon, and further developed the content on his channel. Ely is the first COLA student to win the Maurice Prize!
AnimalTemp (2020)
Hannah Ziegele '20 from the College of Life Sciences and Agriculture won the $5,000 Maurice Prize in 2020 for her learnings while exploring her idea, AnimalTemp. AnimalTemp is an animal temperature monitoring project that uses RFID tags on collars to take consistent, reliable, and non-invasive temperature readings on animals of all sizes. The goal of AnimalTemp is to improve animal health by automating the temperature monitoring process, save time for vets and farmers, and leverage technology to the benefit of both animals and caretakers by sending alerts when problems are detected.
NH Toy Library Network (2019)
Marisa Rafal '19 from the College of Health and Human Services won the $5,000 Maurice Prize in 2019 for her learnings while exploring her idea, NH Toy Library Network. The New Hampshire Toy Library Network is an initiative to support children and families across the state of New Hampshire by providing educational, enriching toys and games at no cost to families. This in turn reduces waste (since toys do not get thrown out as often), improves parent-child attachment and quality of dialogue, and increases equity and accessibility
EcoText (2018)
Joel Nkounkou '18 from the College of Engineering and Physical Sciences won the $5,000 Maurice Prize in 2018 for his learnings while exploring his idea, ecoText. ecoText is an electronic main-stream distribution platform service revolutionizing how college students obtain, manage and interact with their textbooks. ecoText acts as a bridge between universities, publishers and students. ecoText combats the rising costs of textbooks, alleviates environmental destruction, encourages publishers to produce high quality textbooks and keeps professors connected to their students.
About J. Delores and Alfred P. Maurice
Alfred P. Maurice was born on March 11, 1921 in Nashua, NH. His multi-faceted career including 36 years as an educator/administrator in colleges and universities ended in 1984 with his retirement from the University of Illinois at Chicago after 24 years with the title of Professor Emeritus. His career as an artist/author continues. In 1990 the Maurice’s moved from Chicago to Vancouver, WA. He attended the University of New Hampshire as part of the Class of 1944.
His wife of 61 years, J. Dolores Maurice (née Robson), was born in Detroit, MI on June 8, 1924. She died on November 27, 2007. Her career was as a librarian and helpmate to her husband in all his work.
With the death of his wife and having no children or other immediate family, Professor Maurice decided to dedicate his estate to the enhancement and enrichment of the education of undergraduate college. He developed the concept embodied in the Maurice Prize for the University of Illinois and Western Oregon University.
In 2016, Alfred Maurice worked with Susan McDonough of the University of New Hampshire’s Advancement Office and Ian Grant, Director of UNH’s Entrepreneurship Center, to create a $150,000 endowed fund that offers an annual $5,000 prize patterned after the Maurice Prize at the University of Illinois and Western Oregon University.
Alfred Maurice passed on February 25, 2019 at the age of 97. We are greatly saddened by his passing, but comforted in the legacy that he left behind. Thanks to the Maurice Prize, the University of New Hampshire will be able to support the devleopment of innovative risk-takers for years to come.
"The purpose of this Fund is to encourage and foster innovation, creativity, originality, ingenuity, and resourcefulness in undergraduate students enrolled at the University. The Fund establishes the Maurice Challenge and provides for the J. Dolores and Alfred P. Maurice Prize for Innovation. I am excited to see the outcomes from UNH students and excited to have the ECenter be the home of this prize also named for my wife, Dolores."
-ALFRED MAURICE, MAY 2017
