UW-Whitewater: Water distillation system wins in Wiscontrepreneur 100-Hour Challenge

Contact: William Dougan

(262) 472-1159

douganw@uww.edu

WHITEWATER ­ Junior Anthony Gierczak didn’t have a project in mind when he and seven other members of the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater Collegiate Entrepreneurs’ Organization decided to enter the Wiscontrepreneur 100-hour Challenge. But a glass canister provided the entrepreneur major all the inspiration he needed.

“The idea for our project was really spontaneous,” said Gierczak of Greenfield. “After seeing the glass canister, I thought it was perfect for holding water and went from there.”

Distillagua 6000, created by UW-Whitewater students and spearheaded by Gierczak, is a water distillation system that can operate by solar power, fire or bunsen burner, and purifies water in a cost-effective, efficient way. The students had to come up with and build their idea in less than 100 hours, from 9 a.m. Wednesday, Feb. 17 to 1 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 21, to qualify.

The invention earned Gierczak an award for Most Social Value Generated at this year’s competition. Gierczak and his peers represent the only team from a university other than UW-Madison to receive an award.

Along with creating the distillation system, the students needed to market their product online in order for it to be judged in the competition. Multi media students from UW-Whitewater professor Spencer Stuart’s Introduction to Multimedia class teamed up with the Collegiate Entrepreneurs’ Organization members to create a Web site and video posting on YouTube.com to raise awareness of Distillagua 6000.

“Their help was invaluable,” said Gierczak. “They were very enthusiastic in helping us create a unique Web site.”

To see pictures of Distillagua 6000, read about the invention and see a video demonstration, visit http://web.me.com/distillaqua.

The contest, sponsored by the UW-Madison Office of Corporate Relations and supported by a grant from the Kaufmann Foundation, encourages students from any two- or four-year Wisconsin institution to create the most valuable, innovative or socially beneficial product or service using materials from UW SWAP (Surplus with a Purpose), a UW-Madison resale shop that sells surplus university equipment, ranging from athletic gear to lab equipment.