{"311841":{"#nid":"311841","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Grand Challenges Team Designs Winning Rewards System for Bank of America","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EA group of ten sophomores from the Grand Challenges program have taken first place in Bank of America\u2019s 2013 Campus Challenge.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe competition consisted of two rounds. In round one, the team was asked to create a data organization system that could be used to illustrate relationships between customers and clients. Their initial prototype displayed transaction information, demographics, and other data in a simple interface.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EA single team from each of the twelve participating universities was chosen to move on to round two. In round two, Bank of America asked each team to suggest improvements to its current customer rewards system. Bank of America currently offers a one-time, $100 gift to customers that open a credit card at one of their locations.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EUnfortunately, one-time gifts do not reward customers for being financially responsible or being active with their budgeting. The Grand Challenges team felt that they could fix this problem by designing a rewards system that focuses on the long-term benefits of financial responsibility and increases a user\u2019s involvement in their Bank of America accounts.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cOther teams seemed to be bogged down by trying to come up with the most accurate solution possible, but our team felt like there wasn\u0027t one right answer,\u201d said Ethan Smith, a second-year industrial engineering student and member of the team. \u201cWe had no experience in finance or the banking industry\u2014the ideas that we came up with were based on our collective experience with banks. We then chose realistic but innovative solutions based on those experiences.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDespite the simplicity of their approach, which included intense brain-storming sessions and objective problem-solving techniques, the team was faced with one distinct challenge: finding the time to develop high-quality deliverables while balancing the demanding schedules of ten college students.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESmith credits their success to the team\u2019s collective experience in Grand Challenges.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThrough Grand Challenges, we learned the skills required to work on this competition like teamwork, report writing, and time management,\u201d Smith said. \u201cWe worked well together because we all lived together and knew each other last year, but we couldn\u0027t have won if it weren\u0027t for everyone\u0027s dedication to the project. In the end, our hard work paid off. \u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETeam members received $5000 each for their individual contribution to the team\u2019s solution. Bank of America also donated $50,000 to Georgia Tech and is considering integrating the team\u2019s solution into their existing rewards system.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ETeam Members:\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli\u003EPaul Anderson, 2\u003Csup\u003End\u003C\/sup\u003E year, Business Administration\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003ESarah Lynn Bowen, 2\u003Csup\u003End\u003C\/sup\u003E year, Business Administration\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003EMisha Desai, 2\u003Csup\u003End\u003C\/sup\u003E year, Industrial Engineering\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003ECourtney Hall, 2\u003Csup\u003End\u003C\/sup\u003E year, Industrial Engineering\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003EAlec Kaye, 2\u003Csup\u003End\u003C\/sup\u003E year, Industrial Engineering\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003EPatrick Kelly, 2\u003Csup\u003End\u003C\/sup\u003E year, Business Administration\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003EEthan Smith, 2\u003Csup\u003End\u003C\/sup\u003E year, Industrial Engineering\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003EAlex Stelea, 2\u003Csup\u003End\u003C\/sup\u003E year, Computer Science\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003EElizabeth Waters, 2\u003Csup\u003End\u003C\/sup\u003E year, Mechanical Engineering\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003EZac Zachow, 2\u003Csup\u003End\u003C\/sup\u003E year, Aerospace Engineering\u003C\/li\u003E\u003C\/ul\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EBank of America Press Release:\u003C\/strong\u003E \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/newsroom.bankofamerica.com\/press-releases\/community\/student-team-georgia-institute-technology-wins-bank-america-campus-challeng\u0022\u003Ehttp:\/\/newsroom.bankofamerica.com\/press-releases\/community\/student-team-georgia-institute-technology-wins-bank-america-campus-challeng\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":"","field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"A group of ten sophomores from the Grand Challenges program have taken first place in Bank of America\u2019s 2013 Campus Challenge."}],"uid":"28036","created_gmt":"2014-07-31 09:40:32","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:16:48","author":"Alison Hemmelgarn","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2013-11-11T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2013-11-11T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"312001":{"id":"312001","type":"image","title":"Bank of America Campus Challenge Winners","body":null,"created":"1449244751","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:59:11","changed":"1475895020","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:50:20","alt":"Bank of America Campus Challenge Winners","file":{"fid":"199866","name":"boacampuschallenge.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/boacampuschallenge_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/boacampuschallenge_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":5754853,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/boacampuschallenge_0.jpg?itok=J7reJ2fW"}}},"media_ids":["312001"],"groups":[{"id":"290801","name":"Grand Challenges"}],"categories":[{"id":"8862","name":"Student Research"}],"keywords":[{"id":"78181","name":"Bank of America Campus Challenge"},{"id":"27471","name":"grand challenges"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}