Dan Jacobs, BFA Notre Dame industrial designer, has successfully applied research and functional prototype development from his 2011 senior thesis project, winning the $15,000 KLAU Family Prize for Greatest Social Impact, Gigot Center for Entrepreneurial Studies.
Awarded on April 20, 2012, during the Business Plan Competition at Mendoza College of Business, the winning business plan centerered on a working model (Hands On) developed one year earlier by Dan. Hands On interactively exhibits qualities of both toy and therapeutic tool when worn by a user. The design affords recreational as well as social developmental therapy among children diagnosed with autism through a compelling tactile and visual interactive experience.
Dan’s work distinguished itself as a student design project because his Hands On concept was presented in a fully functional model and backed by collaborative undergraduate research that bridged departments and colleges throughout the University.
(Dan’s Thesis Director was Professor Ann-Marie Conrado.)
Investing time at Innovation Park since graduation helped align Dan with Tushar Anand, 2013 MBA and Don Vince-Cruz, 2013 MBA. Together, the trio assembled the business plan entry around Dan’s well-substantiated research.
Hats off Guys!
Paul Down, FIDSA
