2025 Completed

2025 NVC

Sustainability, Student Life Solutions, and Medical Tech

Announced prize pool. Over $150,000 (Cash & In-Kind).

Awards

Category	Place	Team	Prize	Project
Grand Prize	Winner	Grad2Go Yifan "May" Mei, Chengxi Li, Xinyu Zhang, Yuhan Yue, Yilin Shen, Hannah	$20,000	A sustainable furniture resale and storage service for students during move-out/move-in cycles to reduce waste.
Runner-Up	Winner	GlowGuard	$5,000	Smart dental retainer case with UV-C sanitization and Bluetooth tracking capabilities.
Specialty (MIE Award)	Winner	PCOSitive Buddy Ricianne "Chi" Rey (MIE; co-founder and Marketing Lead per RocketReach 2026-05-12), Rafelia Angel (core team), Varshini Vijay (tech team; UCI student, Zotbotics Robotics Club co-president per LinkedIn), Benson Manzano (tech team; UCI ICS student, FUSION at UCI ICS project director per LinkedIn)	$2,500	AI-powered wellness companion (the AI assistant is named 'Chloe') for women with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS), with tracking, community, and support features.
Specialty (EvoNexus Fan Favorite)	Winner	Oslo	$1,000	Passive thermal/optical vital-sign monitoring system for seniors ("Birdhouse by Oslo").
Track Award (Business Products)	1st	TransMobile VR	$10,000	Immersive VR safety training simulations for waste-management drivers.
Track Award (Business Products)	2nd	ServEasy	$5,000	Reverse-bidding auction platform connecting homeowners with home service providers.
Track Award (Consumer Products)	1st	GlowGuard	$10,000	See Runner-Up Winner.
Track Award (Consumer Products)	2nd	NūCo	$5,000	Biodegradable leather handbags made from waste coconut water.
Track Award (Consumer Services)	1st	PCOSitive Buddy Ricianne "Chi" Rey (MIE), Rafelia Angel, Varshini Vijay (tech), Benson Manzano (tech)	$10,000	See Specialty (MIE Award) Winner.
Track Award (Consumer Services)	2nd	MinuTax	$5,000	AI-powered automated tax-filing platform tailored for international students.
Track Award (Life Sciences)	1st	NasoCoustics Dave Soliven (UCI BME 4th-year undergrad, Management minor), Jordan Ulibarri, Kenji Inducta, Natalie Benneian, Neha Muvvala, Neharika Gopikrishnan	$10,000	Wireless, child-friendly handheld nasometry device for speech therapy in cleft-palate patients. Quantitatively evaluates hypernasality and other resonance disorders; replaces bulky, stationary, intimidating-to-children clinic-based nasometers.
Track Award (Life Sciences)	2nd	Oslo	$5,000	See Specialty (Audience Favorite) Winner.
Track Award (Social Enterprise)	1st	CleanHydro	$10,000	AI-powered app for real-time analysis of water quality test strips and samples.
Track Award (Social Enterprise)	2nd	Grad2Go Yifan "May" Mei, Chengxi Li, Xinyu Zhang, Yuhan Yue, Yilin Shen, Hannah	$5,000	See Grand Prize Winner.

Judges

• Richard Matthew (Blum Center Faculty Director, Social Enterprise track judge)

Full grand-finale judging panel not preserved in indexed press materials; likely published in the password-protected 2025 NVC report PDF.

Post-competition outcomes

• Grad2Go Operating Won the 2025 Grand Prize on May 22, 2025 (Merage press release published June 2025). Team led by Yifan 'May' Mei. Too recent for outcome data.
• GlowGuard Operating Bluetooth/UV-C smart retainer case, 2025 Runner-Up. Too recent for outcome data.
• NasoCoustics Operating UCI-affiliated design-stage team (per the .uci.design domain). nasocoustics.uci.design is up; LinkedIn presence. Also placed 1st in the 2025 Beall Competition per bbcomp.tech.uci.edu. Pre-incorporation; design-review ...
• PCOSitive Buddy Operating Founder Ricianne 'Chi' Rey was hired in October 2025 as the UCI ANTrepreneur Center Program Lead and continues to be described as a PCOS-platform co-founder.
• ServEasy Operating Confirmed as a 2025 Stella Zhang finalist; no independent product traction yet.
• Oslo Operating Passive thermal-imaging vitals monitor for seniors; confirmed as a 2025 Stella Zhang finalist per Merage. Also placed in 2025 Beall/Butterworth competitions per bbcomp.tech.uci.edu. No independent funding or launch news.
• TransMobile VR No public outcome Immersive VR safety training simulations for waste-management drivers. No traceable post-competition activity beyond 2025 finalist status.
• NūCo No public outcome Biodegradable leather handbags made from waste coconut water. No traceable post-competition activity beyond 2025 finalist status.
• MinuTax No public outcome AI-powered automated tax-filing platform tailored for international students. No traceable post-competition activity beyond 2025 finalist status.
• CleanHydro No public outcome AI-powered app for real-time analysis of water quality test strips and samples. No traceable post-competition activity beyond 2025 finalist status.