14 hours ago
CT teen wins national inventor award. His patent pending invention was inspired by helping his uncle
Nolan Kosciukiewicz did what any teen might do when they learn their invention has been nationally recognized.
He celebrated.
'It was crazy. Right when I heard 'Super Flipper,' everyone went crazy. It was so amazing,' Nolan, 13, of Newington, said. 'It just means so much to me.'
The John Wallace Middle School eighth grader qualified for the 2025 Invention Convention U.S. Nationals held at the Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation in Dearborn, Michigan from June 4-6. He won the category for Household Organization and Appliances. He found out the good news about his invention, the Super Flipper, on Friday at a ceremony.
The invention is a type of spatula. Nathan's win was under the Industry Award category.
Kosciukiewicz needed to advance to state and regional competitions before qualifying for the U.S. Nationals. In all, more than 202,000 students from kindergarten through 12th grade participated in Invention Convention Worldwide programs and 490, including Kosciukiewicz, made nationals in Michigan, according to the program.
Steve Kosciukiewicz, Nolan's father, said Nolan had submitted the idea for Super Flipper in 2024 to earn him a selection in 2025.
'It gives you a year to refine a prototype and data and get ready for the competition,' Steve Kosciukiewicz said.
The idea for the Super Flipper came from Nolan after being inspired by his uncle Paul, who has cerebral palsy. It's a lever-driven spatula. The user would press on the lever and the spatula spins 180 degrees.
Steve Kosciukiewicz said his son is on the second prototype now and will be on his third for the product in the next few months. In all, this project is 18 months in the making so far.
'It's patent pending right now and by the end of next January we will be in a provisional patent state,' Steve Kosciukiewicz said. 'We have a year to finalize the design and drawings. We are working with a couple of different manufacturers now.'
Steve Kosciukiewicz said his son is on every manufacturing call throughout the process and that he is interested in quality and not quantity when it comes to manufacturing.
Steve Kosciukiewicz said his son's love for inventions comes from the side of his mother, Jen. Her late father was also an inventor; he invented 11 medical products.
Jen Kosciukiewicz is a special education teacher at E.C. Goodwin Technical High School in New Britain, and Steve works at MobilityWorks in East Hartford.
'Nolan has an inventing table in the basement where he is always working,' Steve Kosciukiewicz said. 'This could not have been a better finish for him. He has worked so hard over the last year and pre-orders keep coming in.'
Nolan Kosciukiewicz said the notion for the Super Flipper came to him after four months of thinking of ideas and it took another six to seven months to get to the phase of his first prototype. He was continually getting feedback from his uncle.
'It's a way for me to show my creativity and ideas to other people,' Nolan said. 'This award displays my desire to help others. I can invent things to help others. This shows how important it is to me.'
Kosciukiewicz will be starting at Xavier High School in Middletown in the fall.
According to a statement about the 2025 Invention Convention U.S. Nationals , more than 75 awards, including cash prizes, trophies, medals and patent applications were presented on Friday. This is the 10th year this event has taken place.
