Innovation Works is back Nov. 6-8, and this year the challenge comes straight from Lockheed Martin Skunk Works, the team behind the SR-71 and the X-59. The problem is “Firewatch,” to design an early-response system for wildfire, from first smoke to first response.
Why this one? Wildfires burned 5.1 million acres across the United States last year. Extreme fires are about 3% of all wildfires but cause roughly 80% of the damage, and it doesn’t stay local. In 2023, smoke from Canadian forest fires affected New York City air quality. Most wildfires are still detected by a 911 call, minutes to hours after ignition, and nobody has cracked those first minutes yet. That’s the part Skunk Works wants Shockers to take on.
You and your team will move into the John Bardo Center Friday night with a real problem, a blank page and 45 hours. Satellites, drones, sensors, AI, community alerts, something nobody’s thought of yet. You decide. Saturday, Skunk Works engineers sit down with your team and poke holes in your idea. Sunday, you pitch it to them.
You don’t need an engineering background. The best teams mix builders with people who think about dispatch, cost, communication and the business case, and last year’s 62 participants came from over 14 majors. Come with a team or register solo and we’ll help you find one.
The winning team earns a trip to a Lockheed Martin facility to see the work up close and meet the engineers behind it. Last year’s winners toured Lockheed Martin in Fort Worth.
How to get in:
- Register your interest now at wsuinnovationworks.com
- Challenge brief releases Oct. 9
- One-page team responses due Oct. 22
- Teams notified Oct. 23
Spots are limited and teams must be registered ahead of time. There’s no walk-up on Nov. 6. For questions, email Jared Goering at jared.goering@wichita.edu.
