Invented at UML

Consider the Impact

33,791

Students reached
$1.3 million

Raised by student teams
73

Winning teams
$280,000

Won by winning teams
19

Companies formed by teams
8

Patents filed or issued

DifferenceMaker Program Helps Bring Student Ideas to Life

Allison Dunbar '17 (Exercise Physiology); eNABLE Lowell team member poses with prosthetic hand — Allison Dunbar '17, eNABLE Lowell team member, poses with a prosthetic hand.

06/12/2018
By David Perry

Launched in May 2012, DifferenceMaker is one of those UMass Lowell programs where everything comes together. Innovation. Cross-disciplinary cooperation. Communication. Engagement. Entrepreneurship.

The idea is to help students understand how they can make a difference in the world and to gather with others – faculty, other campus programs and students from colleges other than their own – to bring their vision to life.

And if it really works out, a business may emerge from the hard work.

It wouldn’t be the first time.

DifferenceMaker Products & Services to Market

invisaWear

The smart jewelry company designed to keep women safe by sending alerts via text to love ones and even police when activated began in 2016 as a DifferenceMaker project but is gaining big-time sparkle as it launches to the rest of the world. Read more

eNABLE Lowell

eNABLE Lowell is an all-volunteer student chapter that designs and fabricates low-cost 3D-printed prosthetic devices for children with physical disabilities. Read more

Laptop pictured with state-of-the-art ECG technology to screen students for undetected cardiac conditions

Mass HeartBeat

Mass HeartBeat is an organization dedicated to bringing affordable and convenient heart screening services to students directly at their school, camp, or university. Read more

Veloxity

Felipe Nascimento '16 and Upkar Singh '16, co-founded startup Veloxity, maker of the cell phone charging kiosk located at University Crossing. Read more

TopaCan

Industrious and driven to entrepreneurship, 25-year-old mechanical engineering grad Justin Lozier ’17 invented TopaCan, “the most convenient ashtray in the world.” Read more

Operation 250

Op250, which educates students, parents and teachers about the recruitment tactics of violent extremist organizations, was started by Tyler Cote '17 and other interns at the UML's Center for Terrorism and Security Studies. Read more

Nonspec is moving toward the market and winning acclaim

Nonspec Inc.

The co-founders and partners in Nonspec Inc., an emerging business that makes affordable prosthetics, landed a $50,000 prize as one of the Top 26 startups at MassChallenge, the Boston-based business accelerator. Read more

Breezy

Breezy is a real-time air quality-monitoring device, which can be tracked through its cell phone application or online website. Read more

Meet More DifferenceMakers

ZENYAI

DifferenceMakers

Developing software to those who struggle with traditional communication methods to express feelings and achieve a higher level of emotional connection with whom they are speaking to.

ZENYAI is developing software to those who struggle with traditional communication methods to express feelings and achieve a higher level of emotional connection with whom they are speaking to.