Armour College of Engineering undergraduate Aaron Brown (AE 3rd year) was recently announced as a semi-finalist in the Future Founders U.Pitch College Elevator Pitch Competition. During the event, entrepreneurs from universities across the country will compete for a portion of the $10,000 prize pool by pitching business ideas to a panel of judges.

Six finalists will be selected from the 24 semi-finalists after they present their products in the Showcase, an expo-style reception where the audience votes on their favorite idea or product. The finalists will then give their 90-second pitches and answer questions from an expert panel of judges before a winner is selected.

Brown will pitch Sun Quilt, a small modular solar charging panel he developed for his company Lumia LLC. His company’s focus is developing products catered to the needs of people in the developing world. His device can charge a typical smartphone in four hours. When paired with another Sun Quilt, it can charge the same device in half the time. Learn more about Brown’s product in his 90-second pitch video.

Sunny Shaw, from Lewis College of Human Sciences and Michael Johannsen, of Stuart School of Business, will also represent Illinois Tech at the competition.