Purdue University Students Compete to Create the Best Soybean-Based Products
In partnership with: Indiana State Department of Agriculture
When you think of soy products, candles and crayons may not be top of mind, but they were for students at Purdue University involved in the Student Soybean Innovation Competition.
Now in its 28th year, student teams use their skills and knowledge to create new industrial products from soybeans, with the possibility of the product later being patented and commercialized.
Since soybeans can easily be transformed into oils and flours and contain a protein that can emulsify fat and bind with water, the hearty legume creates an ideal binding agent used for many products from sustainable fuel to cleaning solvents to plastics and animal feed.
With two to four students per team and two faculty advisers offering scientific and marketing support, there are typically 10 to 15 teams per competition.
“I enjoy helping students take their idea from concept to completion,” says Micky Creech, Purdue University Student Soybean Innovation Competition program manager. “Students have to develop a product that is novel, that someone would buy, that can be patented and give a pitch presentation to judges at the end explaining advantages and disadvantages of their product and why it should win.”
Sponsored by the Indiana Soybean Alliance (ISA), the Student Soybean Competition has produced numerous commercialized products. Winners of the 2022 competition include a soy-based rubberlike mulch that won the top $20,000 prize, a dry-erase ink that won $10,000 and a biodegradable agricultural film that won $5,000.
“I’m constantly amazed that students come up with original and innovative soy-based products,” Creech says. “One year, students developed a soy boot polish made with three simple ingredients, and a local Indiana company bought the rights and the students received revenue from the product.”
See more: Top 10 Indiana Agriculture Products
Students involved in the competition learn skills on many levels, from isolating soy proteins in a lab to entrepreneurial skills like writing a business plan and public speaking.
Whether they place in the competition or not, many teams have earned provisional patents for their soy-based products. Past students have continued their innovative work with roles in large companies such as Proctor & Gamble, Nestle, Mars Inc. and the Kroger Co., as well as entering advanced graduate studies and medical school. Participating students also continue to advocate soybean use beyond the competition, with one past winner even opening his own soy product company.