Winners Split $45,000 at 2025 Arctic Innovation Competition
Photo Credit: mihacreative | Envato
The UAF College of Business and Security Management awarded more than $45,000 in cash prizes to winners of the 2025 Arctic Innovation Competition (AIC). Competitors across all age ranges invented solutions for home construction, mental health, and Arctic living.
Profitable Ideas for Real-Life Problems
A housing foundation system designed for Alaska won first place in the main division finals. Ryan Tinsley and Stacey Fritz created the Alaska Adaptable Kit Foundation System and collected the $15,000 top prize. They also won two $2,000 kicker prizes in the Arctic and Climate Adaptation categories. Jessica McKay and Dan Fritz are also listed as winners.
“We’re incredibly grateful for the opportunity to compete in AIC,” says Fritz, co-founder of Alaska Adaptable Housing. “Even before winning, the process was invaluable; refining our pitch and building a toy-sized model of our foundation system helped bring our idea to life. Pitching to fellow Alaskans who understand the region’s unique challenges made the experience even more meaningful.”
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The competition received almost 150 submissions from participants in Alaska and across the country. Main division submissions were evaluated three times before the finals—first by UAF and UAA students; second by an expert panel of engineers, business owners, and previous competitors; and last by judges composed of leading professionals in their industries.
Following presentations from the four main division finalists at the 8 Star Events Center in Fairbanks on April 19, the top six competitors in the junior (ages 13-17) and cub (ages 12 and younger) divisions pitched their idea to the judges’ panel, followed by Q&A sessions.
In the junior division, Lathrop High School 10th-grader Sydney Plumlee took first place and a $1,000 prize with Sensory Blocking Hats, a hat that blocks 90 percent of sound and light. “I often experience sensory overload and would like an accessible space to recover,” says Plumlee. “My idea is made for other autistic people and those who experience sensory overload. I want this idea to be inexpensive and available to everyone.”
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Plumlee’s entry was one of twenty-nine from engineering and statistics teacher Christopher Benshoof’s class at Lathrop.
In the cub division, for ages 12 and under, the first-place prize and $500 went to Denali Walrath, a returning competitor from Anvil City Science Academy in Nome, for Frazzled Frozen Free, a protective hair net that keeps hair from freezing. The inventor says it was inspired by her walk to school after swimming practice. Walrath previously won the 2023 competition for proposing a mobile app to alert users of potentially dangerous animals nearby.
The top three ideas in the junior and cub divisions each received $2,000 awards from Alaska 529, an educational savings program established by the Education Trust of Alaska.
AIC recognized other competitors with additional awards. Junior entrant Yedidia Diboue was voted a fan favorite for proposing a CRISPR cancer treatment, as were Michael and Paula Williams for a peony extract submission. A rhodiola extract project earned Noah Emerson a kicker prize for Alaska college students.
The submission period for the 2026 AIC will open in the fall.
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