MECH grad student's team wins Rice venture competition

Trio including Samantha Wong '23, who earned a Master of Mechanical Engineering and MBA at Rice, took home Napier Rice Launch Challenge top prize.

Headshot of Samantha Wong

Samantha Wong, a graduate student in mechanical engineering (MECH), is a member of the design team that has won the H. Albert Napier Rice Launch Challenge (NRLC).

Her team, Goldie, developed fit-finding software for women’s jeans, and took home the top prize of $50,000. Wong this year earned a Master of Mechanical Engineering and an MBA. Her teammates are Viviane Nguyen and Stephanie Zhou, both of whom earned MBAs this year from Rice University.

The NRLC is Rice’s newest venture competition, with 114 teams of undergraduates and graduate students competing this year for a share of $100,000 in equity-free funding. The five finalists made their pitches before a live audience on April 19.

The competition is sponsored by the Liu Idea Lab for Innovation and Entrepreneurship.