Invention Awards: Power From Shock Absorbers
Invention: GenShock
Inventor: Shakeel Avadhany, Zack Anderson, Zack Jackowski, Ryan Bavetta and Vladimir Tarasov
Cost: $100,000
Time: 2 years
Is It Ready Yet? 1 2 3 4 5
The idea for an energy-producing shock absorber started humbly enough, just another wild invention tossed out during a late-night dorm-room bull session. Only, the students involved were among MIT’s best, and they actually went ahead and built it. Two years later, they’ve got a shiny Hummer H1, loaned by the manufacturer to use as a rolling testbed, and their GenShock may soon find its way into the military’s fleet of Humvees.