Cade Prize Fibonacci Finalists showcase their prize-worthy discoveries at Q&A

Press release from the Cade Museum
From high-performance running shoes to medical breakthroughs, the annual Cade Prize for Innovation awards the thinkers and tinkerers whose inventions make our lives safer, healthier, and happier.
On Saturday, Sept. 11, the Cade Museum will commemorate the top 21 finalists of its prestigious competition with the Virtual Fibonacci Finalists Q&A. Special events throughout the day will celebrate the milestone both virtually and inside the state-of-the-art museum.
It all starts at 10 a.m. on Zoom, when museum Co-Founder and Chairman Phoebe Cade Miles — daughter of the museum’s namesake, Dr. James Robert Cade, inventor of Gatorade — will address the forum with welcoming remarks, followed by her husband, Richard Miles, Cade Prize Committee Chair and museum Co-Founder.
The finalists will then share their inspirations during virtual Q&A sessions from 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Each session will last about 30 minutes and will reflect a different prize category: Agriculture/Environmental, Energy, Healthcare/Biomedical, IT/Technology, and Wildcard.
The free, informal virtual event is great for viewers of all ages, from high school and college students wanting to learn more about career paths to anyone excited about cutting-edge technologies and glimpses of the future.
The Virtual Fibonacci Finalists Q&A will also be played in the Cade Museum for visitors to watch. Activities inspired by past Fibonacci Finalists’ inventions will complement regular museum programming.
“We are excited to hear from our 2021 Fibonacci Finalists about the market potential of their groundbreaking inventions,” says Stephanie Bailes, Cade Museum President and Executive Director. “Past winners and finalists have included NewGenerator, currently being adapted by NASA for use on the Moon and Mars, and On Running Shoes, now worn and promoted by celebrity athletes like Roger Federer. It’s thrilling to imagine the ways this year’s group of finalists could change the world.”
Five of the 21 finalists will be selected as Cade Prize Award winners on September 30.
“We are proud to have supported innovators over the past eleven years with some of the most generous cash seed-money prizes in the U.S,” says Richard Miles, Cade Prize Committee Chair. “This prize is a catalyst for nascent companies. Invention continues to fuel billion-dollar economies, and many of our Cade Prize winners have played roles in advancing important business sectors. We are looking forward to seeing what the twelfth year of Cade Prize brings.”
Since 2010, the Cade Prize has celebrated innovation by identifying, recognizing, and rewarding inventors and entrepreneurs from research universities and the private sector, who, through an invention, demonstrate a creative approach to addressing problems in their field of expertise. This is the second year the competition has expanded beyond Florida to include Alabama and Georgia, with the goal of expanding across the Southeast.
In the past, the Cade Prize has awarded a total of $50,000 in cash prizes. Thanks to a generous pledge from Scott. R. MacKenzie, the Cade Prize will award $64,000 in 2021: $34,000 for first place, $13,000 for second place, $8,000 for third place, $5,000 for fourth place, $3,000 for fifth place, and $1,000 for the People’s Choice. Final judging will take place at the Cade Prize Awards Ceremony at the Cade Museum on Sept. 30.
The Cade Prize is sponsored by Scott R. MacKenzie, Florida Trend, the Gainesville Sun, Modern Luxury, Community Foundation of North Central Florida, and Saliwanchik, Lloyd & Eisenschenk law firm.
To learn more, visit cademuseum.org/cadeprize.
Register for this free, virtual event at: https://38646.blackbaudhosting.com/38646/Cade-Prize-Fibonacci-Finalist. A Zoom link will be provided.