A&E Students Make it to Finals in an Entrepreneurial Competition

Congratulations to Derek Zimmerman, senior environmental science major from Round Rock, Texas, and John Stephens, senior environmental science major from Abilene.  These students entered ACU’s Springboard Ideas Challenge, a competition for entrepreneurs to enter and win money for their business ideas.  At the 2011 competition Zimmerman and Stephens made it to the finals and received honorable mention in the students division along with a cash prize. 

Zimmerman and Stephen’s entry is a live trap to catch wildlife. It is outfitted with a GSM motion sensor camera, which sends real time photos to a phone or email address. They also assembled a tripping mechanism that allows the user to close the trap with a mobile device once they have viewed the contents of the trap in the pictures sent by the camera. This allows the user to be active in wildlife management on a property without being on site.

“As long as we have wildlife passing in and out of the trap, we can capture what we are looking for, at the convenience of the landowner or trapper, and without harming wildlife,” Zimmerman said.

Stephens saw a similar idea at a farm and ranch convention in Abilene.

“It seemed overpriced, and we certainly couldn’t afford it,” Zimmerman said. “So we brainstormed and after a couple of weeks we began assembly out of a hodgepodge of materials. It took a little trial and error. Then one day it all fit into place.”

Innovative ideas and hard work paid off when the trap was finally completed.

“John and I had a fun celebration of high fives after it was all assembled and functioned properly,” Zimmerman said.  “A couple weeks later it caught its first feral hog on the Smith Ranch as a demo for the Wildlife Management Techniques course taught by Professor Miller.”