Battelle Center for Science, Engineering and Public Policy

Rapid Innovation Challenges

Wicked problems require a variety of backgrounds to solve. Each of these challenges has technical aspects, including data analysis and machine learning, that must be informed by social, economic/business, and arts backgrounds.

Spring 2025 Challenges

  1. Challenge Details Coming Soon!

Past Challenges

Fall 2024 Challenges

  1. P.O.W.E.R. - What if we improve the awareness of the Foster Youth Bill of Rights amongst foster youth to help them advocate for themselves?
  2. AI-Vengers - What if Artificial Intelligence (AI) could be used equitably in workforce development to upskill entry-level employees?
  3. Guardian Angels -What if we could translate engineering into policy and better position Ohio to take advantage of the emerging Advanced Air Mobility industry?
  4. Frontier Labs - What if we could ensure that the newest technologies are available to address challenging engineering and science challenges without crippling financial resources?

Spring 2024 Challenges

  1. Hale Yeah - What if we could help the Office of Diversity and Inclusion have a larger impact in a new work environment at Ohio State? 
  2. Leeward Legends - What if we could better define the pushback to energy projects in communities and get better sense of what happens after a project is constructed?
  3. Healthy Energy - What if we could gain more acceptance of sustainable energy alternatives in health care systems? 
  4. Solar Squad - What if we could build solar farms on flood plains?

Fall 2023 Challenges

  1. H2F - What if we could develop a digital user experience that connects members of the Ohio National Guard to the resources they need to improve all elements of their helath?
  2. Needs 4 Peds - What if we could reignite the passion of medical trainees to become pediatric anesthesiologists?
  3. Cyber Baddies - What if we can improve the safety of national security projects by creating and incentivizing a culture that utilizes and prioritizes cybersecurity best practices?
  4. Drive You Crazy - What if we can better prepare Ohio for the emergence of Automated Vehicles (AVs) by going beyond the hype to identify and categorize the most likely uses of AVs in the state?

Spring 2023 Challenges

  1. Moonwalkers - What if we could Imagine new space exploration missions now possible thanks to the newest rockets' ability to carry some of the largest payloads ever.
  2. Unplugged Buckeyes - What if we could reduce fossil fuel consumption by incentivizing businesses to embrace energy efficiency projects that might not show returns on investment quickly?
  3. Resilient Invenergy - What if we could accelerate the United States’ independence from fossil fuels by securing effectively state governments’ acceptance of, instead of hostility to, sustainable energy initiatives?
  4. Fast, Furious, Electric Family - What if we could contribute to a more sustainable environment by making Electric Vehicles the Car of Choice for an average buyer?

Fall 2022 Challenges

  1. Electric Vehicle Buckeyes - What if we could provide accessible, affordable, equitable, and sustainable electrified mobility to disadvantaged communities in Ohio?
  2. Space Saviors - What if humanitarian aid and disaster recovery could be informed by rapidly deployed space imaging that delivers many images per day of specified locations?
  3. Top Gun - What if we could accelerate the equitable deployment of advanced air mobility (AAM) across Ohio by developing local policy guidelines and identifying community benefits and addressing challenges?
  4. Whisker Cure - What if we could evaluate the probability of tin whisker formation causing an electrical short that leads to critical impacts on hardware systems?

Spring 2022 Challenges

  1. E^3 - What if European Command could lead the way in reducing DoD’s carbon footprint and better support European nations’ climate laws and initiatives?
  2. Avenergizers - What if we had a better system of identifying and combatting misinformation related to Sustainable Energy?
  3. Canister Crushers - What if we reimagined camping gas cylinders for a greener world?
  4. No Carbon Cruisers - What if we could better prepare our cities to undertake the added energy demands from increasing vehicle electrification?
  5. Street Smart - What if we could make Columbus streets safe for all modes of transportation as the population continues to grow?
  6. Family First - What if we could relieve parenting students of the worry and burden that comes with locating suitable childcare?
  7. Disconnection Redirection - What if we could create better processes to reduce the number of utility disconnects and provide consumers with the knowledge and time required to prevent disconnection?

Fall 2021 Challenges

  1. APL to Orgs: What if we could ‘engineer’ the human dimension of change in research and development organizations? 
  2. Guard Gals: What if unit commanders could better promote physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, and social fitness in their unit?

Spring 2021 Challenges

  1. Space Junkies – Deconstructing Electronics Modules for Space-Based Applications
  2. Feed the Need – Identify critical populations and needs to address food insecurity and hunger
  3. Isolated Personnel – Devise new methods for locating and identifying isolated personnel in complex environments
  4. Mind the Gap – Transform Ohio’s economy by providing reliable transportation solutions for low-income residents to connect with employers in need of skilled labor
  5. Data Defenders – Find a middle ground between digital information ownership and privacy rights of individuals and the duty of care that rests on local, state, and federal governments
  6. A.R.I.A. – Prevent human trafficking in Appalachian Ohio by predicting vulnerable populations

Fall 2020 Challenges

  1. Mad Mappers – Leverage innovative mapping tools to support redistricting and improve representation of the democratic process in Ohio
  2. Circuit Boarders – Applying artificial intelligence/machine learning to build schematics from images of electronic circuit boards
  3. SITRREP’D – Incorporate new environmental monitoring data into the decision making processes of the Ohio Department of Health and Comprehensive Monitoring Team in order to give actionable steps on the COVID-19 pandemic.

Spring 2020 Challenges

  1. Space Cadets: Ensuring the public safety of launch vehicles’ Autonomous Flight Safety Systems
  2. Public Health: Improving public health outcomes with collaborative planning between state government and hospitals
  3. Buckeye Choppers: Improving helicopter maintenance management to ensure successful naval missions
  4. Paw Platoon: Addressing the shortage of U.S. working dogs for security
  5. 007: Designing a task order system to manage intelligence requests
  6. F.R.U.I.T.: Advancing Regulations for the use of Machine Vision in Utility Inspections

Fall 2019 Challenges

  1. Zone Out: Rejuvenating urban neighborhoods through creative zoning
  2. Lost in Space: Finding lost satellites in space
  3. Smart Swarm: Coordinating drone swarms in order to track toxic plumes

Spring 2019 Challenges

  1. Keeping it Cool — Defining a risk measure/standard for the HVAC supply chain which may contain foreign-manufactured components
  2. No Surprises — Quickly & quantitatively finding and weighing the importance of research networks before disruptive technology shows up on a launchpad or runway
  3. Green Grass — Identifying incentives to retain highly trained talent for important missions
  4. Arrows in the Quiver — Developing an advocacy strategy for counter-UAS operations on domestic soil
  5. Extreme Ops — Enhancing situational awareness and communications in austere/low connectivity environments
  6. Auto Route — Planning faster land routes through unfamiliar and/or hazardous