Alex Bauer a semifinalist in Fairleigh Dickinson University innovation contest

2014 Apr 18

Livingston Senior High School Junior, Alex Bauer, of Livingston, NJ, has been recognized as a semifinalist in Fairleigh Dickinson University's Rothman Institute of Entrepreneurship's 2014 New Jersey Idea Competition.

Bauer's idea was Auto-Collapsible Crab Trap.

In Bauer's own words: Crab trap for commercial fisherman that is set on a timer and if the trap is not recovered within a set time, a release mechanism is activated, allowing the crabs to escape without harm. The release mechanism also contains a gps device in case a trap is lost, so it can be recovered. The timer can be set to your liking, so a fisherman who wants to leave his traps for a full day should set the timer for 26 hours, giving time for the trap to be recovered.

The contest is an annual competition designed to help foster an entrepreneurial mindset among all New Jersey high school students. Divided into Northern, Central, and Southern regions, more than 800 students across the state submitted more than 520 ideas this year. Each region had a winner (Northern had two), four finalists, and eight semifinalists.

Part of FDU's Silberman College of Business since 1989, the mission of the Rothman Institute for Entrepreneurship is to teach and support entrepreneurship and innovation in the academic, business and nonprofit communities. An outstanding entrepreneurship curriculum taught by an excellent faculty has helped make the academic program among the top 20 in the nation (as ranked by the Princeton Review). For more information, go to www.fdu.edu/rothman.